GOP lawmaker challenges incumbent for state treasurer
- October 4, 2010
LOS ANGELES -- The two candidates vying for California treasurer -- one a seasoned politician with decades of experience in state government, the other a former investment broker and current state senator -- say they can provide sound financial direction to help the state emerge from its $19 billion budget deficit.
Incumbent Treasurer Bill Lockyer, a former state lawmaker and attorney general, said he has managed to prevent California from losing any principal on investments since the financial collapse two years ago. The 69-year-old Democrat also said he has helped stimulate job creation during the recession by selling tens of millions of dollars in bonds that funded infrastructure projects.
Mimi Walters, a Republican, believes her prior experience at an investment-banking firm will help in her bid for higher office. She opposes raising taxes on employers that create jobs and favors reduced government regulations.
The treasurer oversees California's nearly $70 billion investment account and issues bonds for public works projects. The slot also holds a seat on dozens of governing boards and commissions, including the state's public employee and teacher pension systems.
Lockyer, who served in the Assembly and state Senate from 1973 to 1998, has been critical of legislators for being unable to approve a budget by the July 1 start of the fiscal year. He has said this year's budget impasse could threaten an estimated $7 billion in planned public works projects.
Lockyer supports Proposition 25, which would change the legislative vote requirement to pass a budget from two-thirds to a simple majority, handing power in the Legislature back to his own party. He also said the state needs a long-term plan to address its pressing infrastructure needs.
"We got hit harder than the rest of the country because of an overreliance on the construction sector," Lockyer said of the fallout from the recession. "It's going to take some time to come back from that. When we are down, we are worse than most of the nation and when we are up, we are better than the rest of the country."
Walters, 48, said creating private-sector jobs is vital to restoring the state's economic vitality.
She said companies leaving California for other states has contributed to an unemployment rate that has been above 12 percent since August of 2009.
"What we need to do is give businesses incentives to do business here in California," Walters said. "Boosting jobs in the private sector will increase the tax base."
She believes the state needs to revisit bonds that have already been issued and see if they are still worthwhile. She favors issuing bonds for roads, schools and water projects.
Bonds that go toward taking "care of the environment and studies and stuff like that, I don't agree with," she said. "They have to go toward building something."
Walters' fundraising effort has been dwarfed by Lockyer's. She has accumulated roughly $350,000, according to finance records, while Lockyer's campaign account has about $8.5 million.
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