I am supporting Representative Tom Conroy for State Treasurer. The office and duties of State Treasurer matter, and Tom is the most qualified candidate for the job.
The State Treasurer impacts our state government’s ability to deliver every service it provides, from public safety to education to job training to environmental protection. The Treasurer is responsible for investing billions of taxpayer dollars, managing billions of dollars of state debt, overseeing billions of dollars of pension fund investments and managing the state’s cash flow needs.
Our State Treasurer must have the financial expertise to perform these responsibilities in a manner that ensures state funds are secure and available for critical public services. A competent Treasurer can also generate hundreds of millions of dollars of additional investment earnings and interest savings on state borrowings to reduce the burden on taxpayers for funding services. Alternatively, a Treasurer without proven experience can put billions of taxpayer dollars at risk.
The State Treasurer is also responsible for supporting the Commonwealth’s 351 cities and towns. Whether delivering hundreds of millions of dollars of lottery proceeds each year for local public safety, education and public works projects or overseeing the financing of local school construction projects and water and sewer improvements, the Treasurer plays an integral role in creating and maintaining strong and vibrant communities.
I worked with Tom Conroy for years when I was Governor Patrick’s Secretary of Administration and Finance. Tom has years of experience in the financial industry and understands investments, bond financing and fiscal management. Tom was also one of the most active partners in working with me and Governor Patrick to put sound new fiscal policies in place. As a result, with Tom’s help, we made it through the Great Recession better than most other states, improved our fiscal stability, built one of the strongest Rainy Day Funds in the country, and earned the highest credit ratings in the history of the Commonwealth.
Despite the importance of the office of State Treasurer, it is often overlooked and overshadowed by higher-profile elections. Consequently, elections for State Treasurer are often won by the person who has the largest campaign war chest to bolster their name recognition. However, the top qualification should not be who can personally fund or raise the most campaign money; it should be who can best protect the taxpayers’ money.
Tom Conroy will be the fiscal watchdog we need, and I know he will do the job well. He has the expertise and experience the job requires, and he is a person of integrity, with strong values and a positive vision for Massachusetts.
Let’s do our part to make sure Tom Conroy is our State Treasurer.
Jay Gonzalez
Former Secretary of Administration & Finance for Governor Deval Patrick
Brookline, MA
discobolos says
Steve Grossman has done an excellent job managing and protecting our tax dollars over the past 3.5 years. He came from a family business, not Beacon Hill.
Deb Goldberg will bring the same type of business experience to the job and will expand on his success. She has long term ideas to be the next treasurer for several terms.
striker57 says
If you are looking for a fiscal watchdog (oddly I thought that was the Auditor’s job -is Conroy running for the right seat?) than you should be voting for a candidate outside the State House – not an insider and Chairman in the Speaker’s or Senate President’s leadership teams. That candidate is Deb Goldberg.
rcmauro says
Along with the many good points made by Jay Gonzalez, I’d like to add that he speaks from an unusual position of authority in this case. Democrats will be working in the general election to keep the governor’s office away from Charlie Baker — a man who will be emphasizing his experience in the very same office, Secretary of Administration & Finance, that Mr. Gonzalez used to hold. It will be a great advantage to us in this race to have a down-ticket candidate with Tom Conroy’s expertise in this area.
michaelbate says
Tom Conroy won at least 80% of the vote in this important endorsement.
Tom’s campaign is not well financed. Goldberg is trying to buy this election by pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars of her own money into the race. Finegold is heavily supported (financially) by the liquor industry, which the Treasurer is supposed to regulate.
This seat should not go to the candidate with the most money.
andrews says
there would be sufficient funds available for public financing in down-ticket races like this. That’s obviously not the case, so candidates will play the cards they’re dealt and write or raise as much money as they can to win. It’s perfectly reasonable to question where a candidate’s contributions are coming from, but other things equal, we should want to nominate candidates who can bring in a lot of money. Frankly, the pitiful fundraising performance of our candidates for LG is concerning to me when I think about the general election. Conversely, I believe that on balance, the ability of Finegold and Goldberg to generate significant cash for their campaigns for a fairly obscure office is a valuable asset that Conroy seems to lack. That doesn’t mean he wouldn’t make a good Treasurer, but in a race with three qualified candidates and very few issues separating them, I think fundraising capacity is a practical concern that warrants consideration.
Of course this seat shouldn’t necessarily go to the candidate with the most money, but to go out of one’s way to oppose a well-funded candidate seems rather shortsighted to me.
I will be voting for Deb Goldberg.