The two candidates in the Nov. 5 election for Mississippi treasurer present a marked contrast in campaign funding and priorities.
Republican David McRae of Ridgeland has loaned his campaign $1.7 million of his own cash through Sept. 30 while raising $167,000 from others. Democrat Addie Lee Green of Bolton has raised less than $3,000 for her campaign through Sept. 30.
McRae powered past state Sen. Eugene “Buck” Clarke in the Republican primary in August. He is making his second run for treasurer after failing to defeat incumbent Lynn Fitch in the 2015 GOP primary.
Fitch has served two terms as treasurer and is now running for attorney general. The treasurer - who is paid $90,000 a year - manages the state’s cash, has a seat on the board of the Public Employees Retirement System and tries to return unclaimed property to its rightful owners.
McRae comes from a family that owned department stores and said he wants to make sure Mississippi earns as much interest as it can on its own money while paying as little interest as possible on borrowed money.
“I want to maximize the state’s investment returns,” he said.
McRae manages family investments for a living, and said he sees his heavy spending in his own campaign as an advantage.
“Investing this much money, you can’t say I don’t have a passion for that office,” he said. “Being able to pay for the election myself doesn’t make me beholden to anybody.”
Green is a former Bolton alderwoman and has unsuccessfully run twice for public service commissioner and once for agriculture commissioner. She said she wants to do more to publicize unclaimed property and advocate for issues she cares about, such as higher salaries for workers and more health care spending.
“I want to make sure we let everyone know we have unclaimed property in the state of Mississippi,” Green said.
The treasurer also oversees the state’s college savings plans. Fitch several years ago initiated an overhaul of Mississippi’s Prepaid Affordable College Tuition plan, saying it was underfunded. Under her leadership, the college savings board started a new plan and cut off contributions to an older fund.
The new plan had $54 million in assets as of June 30, 2018, and more than enough money to pay its $46 million in future projected obligations. But the old plan was $127 million short - about 70% - of the projected amount needed to pay tuition in the future. Last year’s projections show the fund running out of money in mid-2027, which could be at the end of the second term of someone elected treasurer this year. Several thousand students would still be owed money and would have to be paid somehow, because the plan is backed by the full faith and credit of the state of Mississippi. Ignoring or cutting payments would be equivalent to defaulting on the state’s bonds.
Neither McRae nor Green offered any specific plans to deal with the shortfall. Green said she would study it. McRae said he couldn’t speak with any knowledge until he won and was briefed by staff members, but said he’d look to other states for solutions.
___
Follow Jeff Amy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jeffamy .
Please read our comment policy before commenting.