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Candidate Conversation: State Treasurer
Our series of Candidate Conversations continues with a look at Oregon's Office of the State Treasurer which is responsible for managing 68 billion taxpayer dollars. The Treasurer also issues state bonds, serves as the central bank for the state, serves on the State Land Board and administers Oregon's 529 College Savings Network. As Oregon struggles with financial crisis, incumbent Democratic candidate Ted Wheeler and his Republican opponent Chris Telfer are campaigning on their financial expertise.
Ted Wheeler was appointed State Treasurer by Governor Kulongoski last March after the death of Treasurer Ben Westlund. Wheeler touts that since taking office he has reformed the travel policy by Treasury's investment managers, relaunched Oregon's college savings program and supported timber harvests on state lands. Prior to becoming State Treasurer, Wheeler was chairman of Multnomah County.
Chris Telfer points to her credentials as a certified public accountant for nearly 30 years as a uniquely valuable asset for becoming the cheif financial officer of the state. Telfer, a resident of Bend, is a small business owner, and is currently serving her first term as the Republican State Senator for District 27 where her healthcare bill passed unanimously in both House and Senate.
With The Oregonian's endorsement of Wheeler and The Bend Bulletin's endorsement of Telfer, the race for treasurer will have impacts statewide and locally around Oregon.
Why do the candidates want this job? What issues matter the most to you in deciding who will get your vote? What questions would you like to ask these candidates?
Tagged as: 2010 election · economy · politics · treasurer
Photo credit: Tracy O / Creative Commons
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Please explain the differentiation between the state controller's office function of gathering and showing information of the various agencies and funds usages and the treasurer's office.
Chris Teffler seems to place a lot of commentary on the controller's office effectiveness and not directly related to treasury functions.
Thanks
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I'm not sure Telfer knows that the position of Treasurer is. She consistently talks about things that have nothing to do with the position.
And why is she trying to blame the current treasurer for things that happened before he was in office?
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Wow, just a few minutes in and I'm already developed a strong preference for Ms. Telfer. Even though I'm a democrat I like her resume, and I really prefer her non-politicico way of speaking. Ted. If banks and credit unions HAVE to hold onto reserves, how is it good idea to take that and open it up for small business investments? Sound a little risky to me. It also sound a little too much like political double talk.
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Fred, you misunderstand what Ted suggested. Banks and Credit Unions HAVE to hold onto reserves because that's the way those funds are collateralized. He's not saying to scrap that requirement, but rather to restructure that collateralization on a national scale so that more of those funds are voluntarily available for lending.
It is a complex subject. I work in the financial industry, so it's apparent to me that it's not double-speak, but rather just that Ted Wheeler knows what he's talking about. (Though it sounds very nerdy, he's obviously got a firm handle on these concepts.)
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Telfer,"reduce the regulatory environement..."
Yeah, that worked real well for Ken Lay and Enron didn't it? But look at what De-Regulation did to the energy markets; the price of electricity has been raised from around three cents to what it is now. De-Regulation has allowed the Energy Corporations to financially rape the public.
And just look at what gasoline costs now, since that industry was De-Regulated, they have raised prices from around $1.20/gal to about $3.00 now.
And let's remember what De-Regulation of Derivatives has done to nearly all of economy and businesses with subprime loans and weird swaps, etc.
We really do need proper Regulations, Oversight, and Enforcement, and so we really do not need any more Republicanism.
Vote for Wheeler and against the De-Regulators!
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Senator Telfer said there is too much regulation on businesses. Could she please give examples of duplicate regulations and a regulation that she would eliminate?
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I have enjoyed the interviews with political candidates, and I believe this information is absolutely critical to voters. This is particularly the case as we are bombarded with out-of-state mystery money funding attack ads that drown out other sources of information. OPB and Think Out Loud are providing an essential public function. However, I really wish the candidates would not speak over each other and the moderator. I get that there is a lot of emotion in campaigns, but it is hard to listen to people talking over each other, or in a previous interview, the political sniping. Unfortunately this is what turns off voters and makes people turn the channel. Our political climate is very polarized and highly charged. Let's have a rational discussion of issues that is respectful...that is the unique nitche of OPB. On another note, what role does the Treasurer play in making policy recommendations or advocating for fiscal models that make our state's revenue model more stable, adequate and fair? Seems to me that the kicker is a major destabilizing force in our state's budget and that getting rid of the corporate kicker is low hanging fruit.
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There is danger in a CPA defending themselves as the only "Numbers" person in a race, as the classic joke between CPAs and Finance majors is that Finance majors use the windshield while the CPAs only drive using the rear view mirror.
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Good one!
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Republicans caused our current economic problems of joblessness and hurting small businesses, so giving Telfer the job would be like Charlie Brown trusting that Lucy will hold the football and not snatch it away like she always does.
We Oregonians would be stupid to ever trust Republicans again, they have always promised financial prudence and they have always broken that promise and spent us into deeper debt.
Don't be a Charlie Brown, don't ever trust the Republican "Lucys" again.
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Question for Treasurer candidate Telfer-
As a Bend City Councilor, you advocated and voted for the passage of Measure 37 in 2004. Measure 37 mandated that property owners may sue state or local government if they believe their property value is reduced by land use regulations.
As Treasurer, you’d be in charge of the state’s funds.
Do you still think that compensating landowners who claim their property value is reduced by land use regulations is a good use of taxpayer dollars?
And in an interview in 2002, when asked about the impact of such a measure, you said 'well, I guess the state would have to go bankrupt'. With such an attitude, can you really claim you're interested in public money?
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Here's a new site that helps keep track of what the Republicans are doing to hurt small businesses and workers:
http://www.workingamerica.org/jobtracker/
Check this out: Tapping into the public anxiety about offshoring job losses, the AFL-CIO and its community affiliate, Working America, last week unveiled a new website feature called "Job Tracker" that allows anyone to search by zip code for companies that have outsourced jobs. While it is unlikely in itself to influence the elections, AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka hopes it will help stimulate interest in policy proposals such as forcing Chinese currency revaluation and ending tax breaks that support increased job exports, in particular permitting multinational corporations to defer repatriating overseas earnings indefinitely and granting tax deductions when companies close U.S. facilities and move out of the country. -
Comments are now closed.
Why does the State's 529 Plan have such high fees--significantly higher than ETF alternatives, and higher than most mutual funds with similar objectives. Is there a marketing fee in it to attract investors? If so, why should those participating pay to attract those not participating. Given the terrible losses incurred over the last few years, it seems a decent return without excessive fees would be the best marketing.