Sims named health exchange chairman

OLYMPIA — Ron Sims will be the new chairman of the Washington Health Benefit Exchange, which operates the state’s online system for finding health insurance.

Sims, a member of the Washington Health Alliance board,  is a former King County Executive and former deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 1994 as a Democratic challenger to incumbent Republican Slade Gorton.

On a more parochial note, he’s a Spokane native and graduate of Lewis and Clark High School.

Gov. Jay Inslee announced the appointment this week to replace current chairwoman Margaret Stanley.