Monday, October 29, 2012


Election Coverage: State Treasurer Race
 As part of its continuing election coverage, the GRC blog will focus each week on a different state or national race for office.  This week, we focus on the often overlooked but critical position of the state treasurer.  The Treasury Department is responsible for investigating financial loss, theft, and fraud in checking; reviewing real estate leases and contracts; and managing the affairs of several programs that directly financially benefit Pennsylvanians.  The Treasurer himself oversees this department, with the specific duties of chairing the Board of Finance and Revenue, through which he chooses which banks will hold the state’s money; setting the interest rate for commonwealth deposits; managing money invested in the state college system, including at the University of Pittsburgh; and deciding state tax appeals.  If there is a single race that should be watched for its direct impact on the lives of voters, it is this one.
 This year, there are three candidates for Treasurer: incumbent Rob McCord on the Democratic ticket, Diana Irey Vaughan on the Republican ticket, and Patricia M. Fryman running as a Libertarian.

Treasurer Rob McCord (D):
 Robert McCord is a native of Montgomery County.  He attended Harvard University and received a B.A. in economics, graduating with high honors.  He received his MBA from the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania.  Following graduation he worked in venture capitalism, serving as a senior executive of Safeguard Scientifics from 1994 to 2007.  He was the founder of the Eastern Technology Fund, co-founder and Managing Director of Pennsylvania Early Stage Partners, and was leader of the trade association known as the Eastern Technology Council in 2007. In 2007 he was elected PA State Treasurer.

McCord counts among his successes in office the Treasury Department’s history of bringing in revenue for the state during his term.  He claims that the investment strategies he has brought to the department have generated $1.4 billion since January 2009.  He cites the jump in funding for the PA 529 College Savings program from 70% to 98% as a success, as well as its history of strong investment returns (13.6% during the fiscal year of 09-10).  He cites the reduction of the state Government Operations Budget and the reduction of his department’s workforce and automobile fleet as an improvement in efficiency, though this might be an effect of the government cutbacks required by the budget crisis rather than actual streamlining.  He also cites improvement in the efficiency and productivity of the Personal Income Tax auditing process, a 73% reduction in overtime hours (again perhaps due to cutbacks), and the creation of several programs to educate Pennsylvanians on saving for retirement.

McCord is campaigning on the efficiency of the Treasury Department under his lead, pointing out that throughout his tenure the Department has consistently turned a profit for the state and promising more of the same should he be reelected.  He promises to continue his investment strategy in order to create jobs and generate public income while increasing the accountability and transparency of his department.



Diana Irey Vaughan, Republican candidate for State Treasurer:
 Diana Irey Vaughan is a graduate of West Virginia Business College, with work in business, accounting and legal studies both at Fairmont State College and California University of Pennsylvania.  She is the Washington County Commissioner and is serving her fifth term (16th year) in that office, which entails managing 53 departments, nearly a thousand employees, and overseeing all county property including a nursing home, airport, ports and bridges.  She is a member of the Washington County Pension Board and the Washington County Prison Board, and in the latter position has voted down measures such as cable TV for inmates while ensuring that non-violent inmates serve community service hours, which creates unpaid labor for the County.

She is campaigning on the issue of fiscal responsibility.  She states that as commissioner she has balanced seven consecutive budgets without tax increases and has approached pensions with a strict, conservative investment policy.  She takes credit for Washington County being ranked third in the nation for job growth by the U.S. Department of Labor.  She is promising to bring that same minimalist approach to government with her to the position of State Treasurer.

Campaign Website: http://friendswithdiana.com/


Patricia Fryman, Libertarian candidate for Treasurer:
 Patricia Fryman is the third-party candidate for State Treasurer this year.  She was born and raised in Mercer County and a current resident of Venango County, for which she served three terms as the County Auditor.  She previously worked in several positions, including as an office manager, in business, banking, and industry, but is now retired.  She holds a degree in Accounting from Clarion University and a degree in Social Sciences from Penn State University, with additional education at the American Institute of Banking.  She is also the current treasurer of the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania and a previous treasurer for the Pennsylvania State Association of County Auditors.

She is running on the issue of wasteful spending and on her independence as a third party candidate.  “In every election, it’s been a choice between two evils, and I feel it’s time to quit voting for the evils and have a real choice,” she stated in an interview.  She has refused campaign financing on the principle of maintaining her independence, a bold move that also greatly reduces her publicity.  She follows the Libertarian Party’s broad policy of economic freedom which includes “less rules, less regulations,”  though she admits that especially in finance some oversight is necessary.  She states that her top priority is to manage the state budget, which she finds needlessly complicated, poorly overseen, and too heavily invested in the operations of the State Legislature.  She specifically targets the controversial Liquor Control Board as wasteful, citing international trips for product sampling as an example.

She states that as Treasurer, she would bring accountability to the state pension system.  She contends that the increases in tuition for the state college system is due to an oversized and inefficient administration and that this needs to be curbed.  She states that as State Treasurer, she will scrutinize all payments before signing any checks.  She would like to disband the PA Turnpike Commission and turn over its operations to PennDOT, reasoning that the system has already paid for itself and should not be used to garner state funding.  She promotes the idea of a return to small government and low taxes under her term of office.

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