Issues
1. Campaign Finance Reform.
“Restoring
the public trust” in the office. It is incumbent, in this day when so
many of our elected officials have turned their backs on the public’s
trust and confidence, to assure them, not just with words, but with actions.
I have said, “the first order of business, when elected is to go to
both the Ethics Commission and the legislature and draft a bill making it
illegal for a candidate for Treasurer to seek or accept contributions from
banking interests”. We need to use the Ethics Commission in order to
close any “loopholes” in the law before it is enacted. It is patently
wrong for banks to subsidize elections, where the winner will be in a position
of returning these financial favors through million dollar deposits to the
“Big Banks”. A Republican, party executive challenged me on this
point, saying, “they (the banks) have a vested interest in who wins
and that is why they contribute so much money.” And that is the very
reason they should not contribute any campaign funds to this race. No one,
no matter how honest their intentions, can avoid the broad brush of public
opinion and legitimate scrutiny from the media while taking monies from the
very people they do the State’s business with. . This is why I have
refused to ask for or accept any campaign contribution from any bank or banking
interest.
Further, it is important for all people seeking public office to attempt to reign in the exorbitant and obscene costs of elections. We, the candidates and the media, need to work together to inform the voters on issues and let them decide whom they feel is the most qualified. The day of the “sound bite” needs to come to an end. With enough money, almost anyone can propel them self the forefront of the public eye
2. State Deposits.
With
consideration of the above response, the placement of state money is of vital
importance. The certified banks, ( SAFE Act, 1975) , who do business with
the state have criteria which they must meet in order to hold state funds.
It is my opinion that too much of your state money is funneled into accounts
of foreign banks, not locally owned banks. I am not concerned about the out
of state banks making money for their cities, and states, I’m concerned
with Alabama banks and Alabama cities, making money for their towns and using
the power of state funds in those community banks to develop business and
industry in our smaller, more rural areas. For much too long, we have allowed
the “Big Banks” to dictate to not only the community banks, but
to the state how much of your money they would control. My advice to the “Big
Banks”, “ find a new trough, because this one is going to be shut
down”.
3. Pre-paid Affordable College Tuition program.
In
the past few weeks my opponent has announced through the media that she wants
to make the (PACT) program more flexible. Hooray, I’ve been saying that
since we got into the race. The entry fee is over $21,000 for a one year old.
We need to ask, why is it 3 ½ years into her tenure she suddenly sees
a need that’s been there since taking office? She also said, at her
campaign kickoff, she wanted a tax write-off for money contributed to a child’s
fund. Once again, why now? Two months before the election, why not when she
took office 3 ½ years ago. These are the very reasons I’m running.
To end the usual let’s make an announcement at a date that is good politically
for me. Alabama is tired of the same old shenanigans. Our PACT program should
be ranked at the top, sadly we’re not. Also, let’s consider some
recent years actuarial reports done for the State Treasurers office. According
to the Associated Press (June 2005) our PACT program had a deficit of $51.8
million. This had grown to a deficit of over $70 million as of September 30,
2005, as reported by Actuarial Resources Corporation, of Alpharetta, Georgia.
People from Alabama are investing in states such as Utah and Virginia. If
those states have a better program than us, let us study their programs and
utilize the best of theirs’, to enhance ours. In the past eight years,
college tuitions have nationwide risen 40% and congress has cut $12 Billion
in college aid. In the past decade, Alabama 19 year olds enrollment has dropped
12%. I fear the dream of a college education will soon be just that, a dream,
not a reality. I plan to implement a study committee, made up of Treasurer
Office staff, investment counselors, and college admissions personnel, to
examine other states programs in order to enhance and streamline our program.
We also need to investigate avenues of investment that truly are affordable.