Back in 2016, the SECB held our noses and endorsed current Washington State Treasurer and fucking Republican Duane Davidson to avoid getting stuck with another candidate we described as “the evil human version of the Geico Gecko.” It was a dark time, and we were in a dark place. But we’re in a much better place now that we can support former Democratic Washington State House Rep. Mike Pellicciotti, who we’ll describe as “the law school version of Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard.”
Though Pellicciotti did try to strip money from Sound Transit in a misguided attempt to route Tim Eyman’s idiotic $30 car tab initiative, his refusal to take corporate PAC money and his career-long emphasis on transparency make up for that. In the Legislature, he stood out as one of the few Democratic lawmakers to oppose a bill designed to hide public records, and he’s led the way on good campaign finance bills. Before that he prosecuted Medicare fraud in the Attorney General’s office.
As Treasurer, Pellicciotti plans to bring more transparency to the office, maintain the state’s good credit rating, and, unlike the incumbent, work closely with lawmakers without the aid of an expensive corporate lobbyist. Though we’d prefer a Treasurer who supports establishing a state bank, Pellicciotti is at least “open to a study” of the issue, whereas Davidson is over here calling it Socialism.
