In The News: Editorial: For Pa. Treasurer, McCord is the Experienced Choice (Inquirer 10/21)

Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Philadelphia Inquirer

The worldwide economic crisis has given added meaning to the usually low-key race for Pennsylvania state treasurer. Voters are blessed to have two highly qualified candidates running for the post.

Republican Tom Ellis, 49, is an attorney in the public finance department at the politically connected Ballard Spahr Ingersoll & Rand law firm, where Gov. Rendell used to hang his shingle. Ellis has been a Montgomery County commissioner and Cheltenham Township commissioner.

Democrat Rob McCord also is 49 and lives in Montgomery County. A former congressional aide, McCord is a successful venture capitalist, investing his and others' money.

The incumbent, Robin L. Weissman, said she would not seek election when she was appointed treasurer to replace Bob Casey after he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006.

The state treasurer, a gubernatorial appointment in most states, serves as steward of the commonwealth's finances, cutting checks and overseeing state assets as well as the teachers and public employees pension funds. Before Wall Street imploded, the combined balance sheet was about $120 billion.

In his stump speeches, Ellis has promoted campaign finance reform, vowing not to take donations from anyone who would be doing business with the Treasury Department.

McCord has taken a different stance, saying he would recuse himself from any decision involving a donor to his campaign.

Both candidates have said they would bring more transparency to the office, which is a promise that carries even more meaning now, with the nation reeling from a crisis brought on in part by investments in little-understood and unregulated financial products.

Libertarian candidate Berlie Etzel also promises increased transparency, but his experience as a township constable in western Pennsylvania and as a retired math professor do not recommend him for this important job of protecting the investments of the state and its pension funds.

To his credit, Ellis has promised that, if elected, he would not use this post as a stepping stone to higher political office, a common act by some past state treasurers. But Ellis' past political connections and some personal issues raise questions about his independence and judgment. Ellis was unopposed in the Republican primary.

McCord, who won the three-person Democratic primary, has not ruled out seeking higher public office. But his investment skills make him a better fit than Ellis for this job. McCord also promises to cut fund-management costs and demand transparency from outside fund managers. The Inquirer endorses ROB McCORD for state treasurer.

Source: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20081021_Editorial__For_Pa__Treas...