State treasurer

State Treasurer Debate

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• published: 25 Mar 2015
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Presented on September 29, 2000 Randall Edwards, Democrat; John Kvistad, Republican; Mitch Shults, Libertarian, candidates, Oregon State Treasurer "The Oregon State Treasurer manages more than $44 billion in state investments and serves as the state's central banker and issuer of debt. But this is not a race for top accountant. True, the State Treasurer is the financial leader of Oregon, but the position is more one of policy leadership than of number crunching. This is an election race to watch, a race with no incumbent—and the winner could significantly change the fiscal face of Oregon. At one end of the spectrum is Democratic candidate Randall Edwards, a former manager and senior advisor to the Oregon State Treasurer as well as an Oregon State Representative. Edwards says his top priorities are to fight for better funded schools, to safely and prudently invest taxpayer money and retirement funds, to reduce the property tax burden for seniors on fixed incomes, and to give Oregonians the tools they need to save for retirement and college. Edwards would create a Special Capital Fund, in which the State would invest in updating and repairing old schools, help build new ones, and lower class sizes. Then there is Libertarian candidate Mitch Shults, a strategic investment director at Intel, who sees the Treasury as a ""mismanaged monopoly"". Shults wants to privatize some Treasury functions, reasoning that he can reduce operating costs by at least 10 percent a year by outsourcing and by allowing more banks to compete for the agency's business. Shults also has big plans for the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System (PERS)—he supports allowing Oregonians to ""opt out”, instead giving individuals the option to invest their retirement savings in state-sponsored accounts. Education, under Shults' direction, would be funded by the sale of state-owned lands. A $2 billion sale of 800,000 acres of forest and range land could generate $200 million in annual returns for schools. Shults' ultimate goal is to transform the Treasury from a ""large bureaucracy to a small organization that audits underwriting activities, supervises investment fund managers, and oversees the provision of financial services for state government."" Metro Councilor Jon Kvistad is receiving widespread support from Republicans who hope that, under a unified party, Kvistad can reclaim the treasurer's office, which the party held from 1977 to 1992. Kvistad's platform includes expansion of the Oregon Baccalaureate Bond program, investing state assets to help create jobs, and maximizing returns on public infrastructure investments. Kvistad would also work to eliminate the hidden tax of high interest rates by improving Oregon's credit rating. This Friday, the City Club of Portland and the League of Women Voters of Oregon will co-sponsor the State Treasurer debate, helping Oregonians decide who they want to hold the State's purse strings—and how they want them held. "