Ken Simpler sworn in as treasurer
Ken Simpler was sworn in Jan. 6 as Delaware's treasurer in the conference room of the Office of the State Treasurer in Dover. Simpler was born and raised in Rehoboth Beach and resides in Newark.
The oath of office was administered by Justice Randy J. Holland of the Delaware Supreme Court.
“First and foremost, I simply want to say thank you again to the people of Delaware for giving me this opportunity,” said Simpler. “I read and reread the oath of office several times before today and weighed it very carefully. It is indeed a privilege to serve as your next state treasurer, and I will do so to the best of my ability.”
The new treasurer thanked many in state government who assisted in the transition, as well as his family for their support.
“I want to thank Gov. Markell who has made time for me personally and who has ensured that a number of his top people - his chief of staff, Mike Barlow, Secretary of State [Jeffrey] Bullock, Secretary of Finance [Thomas] Cook and especially Head of OMB [Ann] Visalli - have all contacted me to help get me up to speed,” said Simpler. “Thank you governor for your confidence in me and for your collegiality and your advice as a former state treasurer. I look forward to working with you and your staff.
“Second, I want to thank outgoing State Treasurer [Chip] Flowers and Deputy Treasurer [Kelly] Callahan. They have both made themselves available to me and my team as needed and have been thoroughly professional in assisting with this transition. I wish them both well in their future endeavors.
“Last, I want to thank Elizabeth and the rest of my family for pulling me through a fairly long election only to have me lean on them anew as I prepared for this position. And let me say the last two months have been full and bittersweet for us. Even as we celebrated an historic election win, two national holidays and birthdays for both my son and my father, we also endured some tragedy. We lost Liz’s father in early December. Alan had avidly followed my campaign via Facebook and social media throughout the race and I know he would be looking for the press release on today’s swearing in if he were with us. We will miss him and remember him.”
Simpler holds an M.B.A. and a J.D. from the University of Chicago, and previously held the position of managing director at Citadel LLC, a global investment fund, where he oversaw a billion-dollar portfolio.
Simpler is an owner of Rehoboth-based Seaboard Hotels and serves on the board of directors of Draper Holdings, the parent company of WBOC and Fox 21, and the finance committee of Beebe Healthcare.
