Three want to keep pension fund sound

Democrats Cowell, Weisel, Young seek a place in the Council of State

The $78 billion job in state government, the position that thousands of government retirees rely on for regular pension checks, is open this year.

Three Democrats are vying to represent the party on the November ballot in the state treasurer's race: Janet Cowell, a state senator from Raleigh; Michael Weisel, a Raleigh business lawyer; and David Young, a Buncombe County commissioner and business owner.

The sitting treasurer, two-term incumbent Richard Moore, is running to be the Democratic nominee for governor. His decision to seek higher office set off the scramble for his job.

The Democrat who wins May 6 will face Bill Daughtridge, a Republican state legislator from Rocky Mount, in the general election.

The treasurer's main job is to keep the pension fund healthy, but the position comes with many other lesser-known responsibilities. The treasurer tells the governor and legislators each year how much debt the state can manage and heads a commission that approves local government bond issues, among other duties.

Experience

Cowell said her MBA and her work as a securities analyst for the bank HSBC and Lehman Brothers -- researching companies and recommending whether stock should be bought or sold -- have made her ready for the job. She's using the familiarity she gained into the office's workings as a state senator as a selling point.

Weisel worked as an investment manager and pension fund adviser from 1982 to 1995 for financial firms including Wells Fargo Bank. In the mid-1990s, he was a trustee on the boards that govern the state and local government retirement systems.

Young worked for BB&T in commercial lending in the mid-1980s, working at branches in Raleigh and eastern towns for three years. He owns an Asheville travel agency and three real estate companies, and has been a Buncombe commissioner since 1992. As president of the N.C. Association of County Commissioners, Young touted his familiarity with local government and said he would work with those governments as they plan bond sales to pay for growth.

"New schools, new water lines, new roads -- the treasurer would have a tremendous impact on all of that growth through the local government commission," he said.

Moore has received good notices for how he managed investments, and none of the Democrats has proposed a change in strategy. However, Moore has been criticized over the years for accepting campaign contributions from executives at investment firms that manage state pension money.

Views on donations

Weisel has promised not to accept campaign donations from banks, investment managers, or anyone else who invests the state's pension funds.

"Wall Street is not our friend," Weisel said. He'll bring perspective to the treasurer's office and the knowledge to separate sound investment proposals from slick sales pitches, he said.

"I'm not going to get us sold a bill of goods," he said.

Cowell and Young have put no such restrictions on their fundraising.

"I'd take anything that's legal," said Young, adding that 90 percent of his campaign contributions have come from North Carolina residents.

Young said he would base investment decisions on performance, not on who contributes.

Cowell said she wants candidates for treasurer to be able to participate in a public campaign financing program, in which candidates would agree to private fundraising limits in exchange for public money for their campaigns. She pushed for the new law that allows candidates for auditor, insurance commissioner and superintendent for public instruction to qualify for campaign money from a public fund.

Without that, Cowell said, she did not think it would be a good idea to shut candidates off from a category of contributors.

"If you want to do voluntary public financing for every office, I'm all for it," she said. "If not, the wealthiest person will win," she said.

Like Young, Cowell said contributions would not influence her decisions about pension fund management.

Key proposals

One of Cowell's key proposals is for an investment advisory board, made up of investment managers from universities and private foundations, that would share ideas with state treasury officers.

"We have so many money managers with a lot of skill out there," she said. "Why not tap into that?"

Weisel said his key program would be financial literacy courses for children and adults.

"The only way people can truly have freedom is to understand their financial situation," he said.

The project would be supported with money and materials from the private foundations. The courses would be for students in middle school, high school and community colleges.

Weisel has run for treasurer before, challenging the late longtime treasurer and fellow Democrat Harlan Boyles in 1996. Weisel said he's back for another try because it's the only elected office he wants.

"I will never run for any other public office," he said.