Other LanguagesHorn has long history with AGO
SEATTLE— Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced today he has selected David Horn, Assistant Regional Director for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and former Assistant Attorney General, to serve as his Chief Deputy, the highest ranking legal position in the Attorney General’s Office (AGO).
“Dave is highly respected in the Washington legal community, within the Attorney General’s Office and among Attorneys General across the nation,” Ferguson said. “I am honored to welcome such a distinguished and experienced leader back to our office.”
Horn worked in the Attorney General’s Office for more than 18 years and frequently worked with the AGO in his role at the FTC. He recently worked with the AGO in coordinating a state-federal enforcement sweep against timeshare resale scams. He will begin his service as Chief Deputy on Oct. 7.
“I am thrilled by this opportunity to help Bob carry out his vision for the Attorney General’s Office—and really excited to come back home to so many friends, old and new, at the agency where I grew up,” Horn said.
A Harvard Law School graduate, Horn joined the Washington Attorney General’s Office in 1986. He worked in the Fish & Wildlife, Consumer Protection, and Antitrust Divisions. He also served in the Policy and Government Affairs Unit.
Highlights of his AGO career included:
• Coordinating the AG’s work on tobacco issues, including working for the Tobacco Project of the National Association of Attorneys General;
• Chairing the AG’s Task Force on charitable solicitations and serving on the board of the National Association of State Charities Officials;
• Serving as the AGO Risk Manager and member of the AG’s Risk Management Task Force;
• Creating and leading a federally funded project to demonstrate the use of the state Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act in narcotics cases; and
• Leading the AG’s Anti-Bullying Task Force and the ultimately successful effort to team up with legislative leaders and a host of community organizations to pass anti-bullying legislation.
Horn left the Attorney General’s Office in 2005 to join the Northwest Regional Office of the FTC in Seattle. As a staff attorney there, he coordinated Operation False Charity, involving 61 agencies in 49 states, and handled a number of antitrust and consumer protection cases.
He was promoted to Assistant Regional Director in 2009 where he supervised 16 of the 20 full-time staff in the Northwest Region, which serves Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming. In that role, he:
• Supervised merger investigations and cases against alleged violators of federal consumer protection laws, including fake loan modification and debt relief firms and fraudulent telemarketers;
• Coordinated on consumer protection issues with the six state Attorneys General in the region;
• Taught classes on identity theft for detectives at the Criminal Justice Training Commission;
• Launched the office’s first Diversity Committee; and
• Was selected to participate in technical assistance missions to Romania and Armenia to share information on the US approach to consumer protection.
Horn was born in Tacoma, went to Mt. Rainier High School in Des Moines and graduated from Whitman College in Walla Walla. He and his husband, Jedsada (Joe) Vanamathin, who married on July 27 after 12 years together, live in Seattle.
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The Office of the Attorney General is the chief legal office for the state of Washington with attorneys and staff in 27 divisions across the state providing legal services to roughly 200 state agencies, boards and commissions. Attorney General Bob Ferguson is working hard to protect consumers and seniors against fraud, keep our communities safe, protect our environment and stand up for our veterans. Visit www.atg.wa.gov to learn more.
Contacts: Janelle Guthrie, Director of Communications, (360) 586-0725
Alison Dempsey-Hall, Dep. Communications Director, (206) 641-1335