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The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of Ohio and asked of all candidates for this office.
See below for questions on
Public investments
Click on a name for candidate information. See also more information about this contest.
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1. What additional safeguards will you put in place to protect public investments? What are your investment strategies that would safely maximize the rate of return? (150 word limit)
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Answer from Richard Cordray:
I would operate the State Treasury like the Franklin County Treasury, where we invest safely and prudently and maintain a AAA bond rating, the highest available. We instituted an investment ethics policy and strengthened internal controls, including cash handling and cash management
improvements. Importantly, our investments are transparent: all information is made readily
available to the public. We instituted new collateral requirements, obtaining specific collateral to protect our investments rather than less secure "pooled" collateral. And we have improved methods of electronic payment, making our processing more efficient and accurate. The same kinds of upgrades would benefit the State Treasury.
Our investment strategies include consistent yield curve analysis and mathematical modeling without trying to "guess" interest rate movements. We carefully review liquidity needs to maximize returns on investments of any duration. We also refinanced outstanding debt, taking advantage of lower interest rates to save millions of dollars for our taxpayers.
Answer from Sandra O'Brien:
I will restore trust to this office. We find ourselves embroiled in a scandal at the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation, of which the current treasurer bears a certain amount of responsibility. As the chief custodian of the assets of the O.B.W.C. it was the treasurer's responsibility to make sure all of the missing/stolen/nonexistent coins were in her possession. We have come to find
out that they were not. A complete audit of all assets under the jurisdiction of the state treasurer needs to be undertaken in order to guarantee Ohio's public funds are safe. My main priorities
would be to protect all assets as required by law, manage and invest taxdollars in a safe and prudent manner, full disclosure of all transactions, and lobby to bring all investment authority under the State Investment Board for full accountability.
Responses to questions asked of each candidate
are reproduced as submitted to the League.
Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. 150 Word limits apply for each question. Direct references to opponents are not permitted.
The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.
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League of Women Voters of Ohio
