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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Treasurer

Election Results

Candidate Votes Pct
Steven Matheson (R) 24,365 67.50%
Janet Callen (D) 11,733 32.50%

* Race percentages are calculated with data from the Secretary of State's Office, which omits write-in votes from its calculations when there are too few to affect the outcome. The Spokane County Auditor's Office may have slightly different percentages than are reflected here because its figures include any write-in votes.

About The Race

The county treasurer’s office, with seven employees, bills and collects property taxes for all taxing authorities in the county; serves as the county banker for deposits and investments; and serves as the public administrator to oversee assets of those who die without a will. Tom Malzahn, who was appointed treasurer in 2001 and elected to the post three times, did not seek re-election. Republican Steven Matheson and Democrat Janet Callen are vying to succeed him. Matheson said he would take a new approach to handling deposits and investments, saying the treasurer has not kept current with best practices. Callen said she does not see a need to shake up how things are done, preferring instead to invest county funds wisely and manage the office in an open and transparent way.

The Candidates

Steven Matheson

Party:
Republican
Age:
60
City:
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Occupation:
Municipal adviser

Matheson is a municipal adviser and managing principal with Steven Douglas LLC. He has worked 28 years in financial management, including with JPMorgan Global Derivatives Products Group, Bank One Risk Management, Seattle First National Bank. He majored in accounting and finance at Central Washington University. Matheson is married with three children. This is his first run for public office.

Janet Callen

Party:
Democrat
City:
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Occupation:
Retired CPA

Callen, who doesn’t disclose her age, is a retired certified public accountant and H&R Block franchise owner, and a former Internal Revenue Service agent. She has a bachelor’s degree in business management from Lewis-Clark State College. She is not married and has three children. Callen ran unsuccessfully for state House in 2012.

Complete Coverage

CPA, municipal adviser vie for Kootenai County treasurer’s job

Kootenai County is about to get a new treasurer – the first change in the leadership of that office since 2001. One candidate on the Nov. 3 general election ballot said he would take a new approach to handling deposits and investments, saying the treasurer has not kept current with best practices.