The race for state treasurer may not be as high-profile as the race for governor, but Oregon’s next treasurer will take on the responsibility of working with the legislature in a time when substantial budget shortfalls dominate the discussion.
Treasurer is a partisan office, and incumbent Oregon Treasurer Ted Wheeler is running as the Democratic candidate,  while Chris Telfer is running as the Republican candidate.
Margaret Hallock, director of the Wayne Morse Center of Law and Politics, said Wheeler took on a variety of issues during his six month tenure as state treasurer, including cutting back the travel expenses of treasury officials, increasing the online transparency of the office and raising a red flag on the state’s general fund debt. Wheeler called a policy advisory meeting in late September to warn the legislature about Oregon’s deficit.
The policy advisory board, chaired by the treasurer, would normally convene in January in unison with the state legislature to provide legislators with detailed information on the state of the budget, but Wheeler believed the legislature urgently needed to know that the state is reaching dangerous waters in its incurrence of debt.
Wheeler explained that if the cost of bonds increases for a state, so does the cost of many of its infrastructure projects. He said independent bonding companies are tracking the states’ bond ratings with heightened scrutiny because of the national recession. Wheeler also sought to differentiate between general bond debt, which is based on the state’s credit and the faith of lenders, and revenue backed debt, which is also a large part of the state’s ability to fund services.
“The policy that’s been in place for many, many years (in the legislature) is you can’t issue more than five percent of the general fund toward supporting general obligation bonds,” Wheeler said. “It’s a self-imposed limit, because the consequence of exceeding that limit would mean the state’s bond rating could be lowered, and if your bond rating is lowering the cost of your bonds begins increasing.”
General fund debt is another area that concerns Wheeler.
The legislature has three main options in solving budget shortfalls: raising taxes, cutting services and incurring more debt. Those options are limited by the state’s budget forecast.
“My personal viewpoint is debt is off the table,” he said. “It throws another monkey wrench into the plans of the legislature … leaves them with really limited options.”
While her campaign could not be reached for this article, Telfer shares many of the same concerns about Oregon’s budget woes. Telfer is a first-term state Senator with a strong background in finance, and she currently sits on the Senate Revenue and Finance Committee.
Her acknowledgement of the need to reduce the state debt is addressed on Telfer’s website. “With the state facing a budget deficit of over $2.5 billion next year, Chris Telfer will work to ensure that legislators don’t try to balance the state budget on the backs of our children and grandchildren through excessive debt and borrowing.”
Wheeler said he doesn’t believe that Telfer differs significantly from him philosophically, but that his record and credentials better support his vision for Oregon’s financial future.
“I don’t see that philosophically, as far as where she would take the office and where I would take the office, she differs that much,” Wheeler said. “The question is whose skills better suit their vision for the state … I’m not a bean counter — I see my job as being about bigger picture thinking for Oregon.”
Hallock said she believed the treasurer’s race is as important as any in this election. Hallock considers these examples an important indication of Wheeler’s qualifications in the position.
Hallock encourages voters to think about the role the treasurer can play in the grander political scheme.
“It’s obviously an important position for the overall health of Oregon,” Hallock said. “(Wheeler) has shown good money management.”
Formerly the chairman of the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners, Wheeler was appointed by Governor Ted Kulongoski to fill the position of Oregon’s chief financial officer after the previous treasurer, Ben Westlund, died of lung cancer in March.  Because of Westlund’s death, Wheeler, the Democratic incumbent, is competing for the seat against Telfer in a year that wouldn’t otherwise involve a state treasurer’s race.
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