Wikipedia

Duane Davidson

Duane A. Davidson (born June 6, 1959) is an American accountant and politician who served as the 23rd Washington State Treasurer from 2017 to 2021. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Duane Davidson
23rd Treasurer of Washington
In office
January 10, 2017 – January 13, 2021
GovernorJay Inslee
Preceded byJim McIntire
Succeeded byMike Pellicciotti
Personal details
Born (1959-06-06) June 6, 1959 (age 65)
Carnation, Washington, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Kathy
​
(died 2016)​
Children3
EducationBellevue College (AA)
Central Washington University (BS)

Early life and education

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Davidson was born and raised in the Snoqualmie Valley near the town of Carnation, Washington, into a family involved in dairy farming, logging and other small businesses. He graduated from Tolt High School, in Carnation. He attended Bellevue Community College before earning a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington.

Career

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Davidson is an actively-licensed certified public accountant (CPA). He was elected to four terms as Treasurer of Benton County, Washington. He took that office following his initial election in 2003.[1] During Davidson's tenure as Benton County Treasurer, available public documents show that total outstanding year-end debt dropped from $24.4 million as of December 31, 2012 [2] to $12.6 million as of December 31, 2016.[3]

Immediately prior to being elected as Benton County Treasurer, Duane was the Chief Financial Accountant for the county. Earlier in his career, as auditor for the Washington State Auditor’s Office, he served as the Assistant Audit Manager in the Tri-Cities in charge of the Walla Walla regional offices.

State Treasurer

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Davidson was elected state treasurer by winning 58% of the statewide vote against another Republican. Davidson's youngest daughter, Grace, was his campaign manager for his 2016 election to state office. When his wife Kathy died in 2016, he contemplated dropping out of the race. Grace offered to be his campaign manager; she was 17 at the time. Duane has been vocal about the experience of having Grace run his campaign. Grace lead the Davidson campaign to victory and set multiple state records.[4][5]

Davidson has said his agenda as State Treasurer includes emphasizing financial education for consumers, and particularly students. In a May 2017 visit to the Yakima area, he visited a Junior Achievement program focusing on financial education and emphasized the utility of successful learning models already in use, rather than the development of new curricula by state agencies.[6]

Davidson has raised concerns about Washington state's total outstanding debt, and annual debt service costs.[7] The state’s total outstanding obligations at the close of FY 2019 totaled $21.3 billion. He issues an annual report electronically by the request of the Legislature to each legislative member to provide an overview on the state's debt portfolio.[8] While a county treasurer, Davidson served three terms as president of the Washington State Association of County Treasurers (WSACT) and earlier served as the organization’s treasurer.

Davidson lost re-election in 2020 against state Rep. Mike Pellicciotti.[9]

Retirement

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On March 2, 2021, Davidson announced his candidacy for the Washington House of Representatives in the 8th district. In March 2022, Davidson withdrew from the race to focus on his work with local nonprofits and being a father and grandfather.[10] [11]

In October 2022, Davidson was appointed interim County Administrator for Franklin County, Washington. He served in that capacity until March 2023, with the appointment of Michael Gonzalez.[12]

Personal life

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He and his wife Kathy (deceased 2016), had three children, Bailey (Justin Young), Luke (Tanisha) and Grace (Preston). Davidson is a long-time Kiwanian. He is the past-president for two separate Kiwanis Clubs in the Tri-Cities and served as treasurer for the Kiwanis Club of Tri-Cities Industry Foundation.[13]

Electoral history

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Washington State Treasurer Duane A. Davidson is sworn in before a joint session of the State House and State Senate, in January 2017.
Washington State Treasurer, 2020 Election[14]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mike Pellicciotti 2,089,159 53.41
Republican Duane A. Davidson 1,818,895 46.50
N/A write-in 3,339 0.09
Washington State Treasurer, 2020 Primary Election[15]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mike Pellicciotti 1,279,452 53.22
Republican Duane A. Davidson 1,121,885 46.67
N/A write-in 2,604 0.11
Washington State Treasurer, 2016 Election[16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Duane A. Davidson 1,576,580 58.15
Republican Michael Waite 1,134,843 41.85
Washington State Treasurer, 2016 Primary Election[17]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Duane A. Davidson 322,374 25.09
Republican Michael Waite 299,766 23.33
Democratic Marko Liias 261,633 20.36
Democratic John Paul Comerford 230,904 17.97
Democratic Alec Fisken 170,117 13.24
Benton County Treasurer, 2014 Election[18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Duane A. Davidson 38,215 100
Benton County Treasurer, 2010 Election[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Duane A. Davidson 46,829 100

References

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  1. ^ "Benton County Treasurer sets sights on the state job". Tri-City Herald. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  2. ^ "Comprehensive Annual Financial Report For Year Ending December 31, 2012 (p. 5)" (PDF). Benton County Auditor. June 27, 2013. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  3. ^ "Comprehensive Annual Financial Report For Year Ending December 31, 2016 (p. 4)" (PDF). Benton County Auditor. June 28, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  4. ^ "Duane Davidson wins over Michael Waite in state treasurer race". The Seattle Times. November 8, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  5. ^ "Politics Needs New Blood – And Youth Is No Barrier". Washington State Wire. May 9, 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  6. ^ "Best lesson on financial literacy found here in Yakima". Yakima Herald Republic. May 24, 2017. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  7. ^ "Raise your drink to state's financial state, but watch out for the hangover". Tacoma News Tribune. July 8, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  8. ^ "The State Treasurer wants Washington residents and the Legislature to know just how much debt the state has amassed, releasing a study on the state's debt portfolio and other financial obligations". Office of the State Treasurer (see News - "The State Treasurer wants Washington residents and the Legislature to know just how much debt the state has amassed"). January 16, 2020. Archived from the original on February 25, 2020. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  9. ^ "Republicans lose one of two statewide elected offices". AP News. November 5, 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  10. ^ "Former State Treasurer Duane Davidson announces candidacy for State Representative". Washington State Wire. March 2, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  11. ^ https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/politics-government/election/article259750245.html. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. ^ "County Administrator & Support Staff | Franklin County, WA".
  13. ^ "Treasurer's Biography". Treasurer's Office website. June 28, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  14. ^ "November 3, 2020 General Election Results - State Treasurer". results.vote.wa.gov. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  15. ^ "August 4, 2020 Primary Election Results - State Treasurer". results.vote.wa.gov. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  16. ^ "November 8, 2016 General Election Results - State Treasurer". results.vote.wa.gov. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  17. ^ "August 2, 2016 Primary Results - State Treasurer". results.vote.wa.gov. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  18. ^ "Benton County November 4, 2014 General Election". results.vote.wa.gov. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  19. ^ "Benton County November 02, 2010 General Election". results.vote.wa.gov. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
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Political offices
Preceded by Treasurer of Washington
2017–2021 		Succeeded by
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