Wednesday evening's candidate forum.
They agreed that Connecticut’s investments need bigger returns — and they each argued they were the best person to make that happen. The three candidates suddenly vying for the Democrats’ state treasurer nomination this year showed New Haven Democrats last night that what differentiates them is not politics — but what each of their individual qualifications say about their capacity to best serve in the position.
That was the gist of the pitches Dita Bhargava, Karen DuBois-Walton, and Erick Russell made Wednesday night on a Zoom-held candidate forum hosted by New Haven Ward 25, 26, and 27 Democratic committees.
The committees held the forum to give active party members a chance to hear directly from the three candidates in a race that suddenly opened up the month before the upcoming state nominating convention: the race for the Democratic endorsement for state treasurer.
That wasn’t supposed to be a contested race this year. But then a vacuum emerged on April 7, when incumbent State Treasurer Shawn Wooden announced he won’t see reelection
Each candidate to succeed him had five minutes at Wednesday evening’s forum to give an introduction, followed by a question-and-answer portion.
Bhargava, a Greenwich fintech COO, ran against Wooden for the party’s nomination in 2018. DuBois-Walton, who runs New Haven’s housing authority and chairs the State Board of Education, has also thrown her hat into the ring. And New Haven attorney Erick Russell stepped down from his role as vice chair of the Connecticut Democratic Party to make his bid for the nomination.
On the Republican side, State Rep. Harry Arora of Greenwich has made his candidacy official.
Dita Bhargava.
Bhargava said she is passionate about the treasurer’s role for two reasons. First reason: to use the office as a platform to “encourage and force corporations that Connecticut is invested in to exhibit strong corporate governance and social responsibility.” She said corporations need to do their part to prevent opioid addiction, teen suicide, gun violence, and environmental disasters.
“Second, and equally important, the primary responsibility of the treasurer is to actively manage $44 billion of Connecticut’s most precious assets and meet our obligations to retirees,” Bhargava said.
As an investment portfolio manager for “over two decades,” Bhargava said, she has a proven investment track record, making her the “most qualified candidate for this very specific and important job of the treasurer” to “maximize the returns of the pension portfolio, minimize fees, and ensure that the most amount of resources is going into the home of our retirees.”
“Given my 25-year track record of money management, I’m confident that I will be able to be a strong strong challenge to him and challenge him to the fullest,” she said.
Karen DuBois-Walton.
DuBois-Walton was second to give her introductory pitch. She said that having lost her parents at age 17, she knows deeply how important it is for families who rely on a public pension to know that they money they are investing will grow and be there for them when they need it.
Serving as the chief administrative officer and chief of saff under former Mayor John DeStefano, DuBois-Walton said, she learned “firsthand about public finance and bonding and pensions, and so many of the same things that are managed by the State Treasurer.” She said that she took that knowledge to her current role as chief of the housing authority over the past 15 years/
“I direct an organization of over 150 employees, both union and non-union. I’m responsible for a budget of over $140 million and investments valued at over $800 million. And we’ve rebuilt our portfolio using the bond authority that we have — our own bond authority, the housing authority — where we’re responsible now of having raised over $60 million of tax-exempt bond financing to fund that redevelopment, the communities that you can see throughout our city,” she said.
DuBois-Walton said she has been responsible for “bond issuances, for working with investors, bond counsel, financial analysts.” She has “worked with rating agencies and have consistently maintained a strong and stable bond rating,” and “designed and implemented impactful programs that have helped hardworking families acquire financial literacy and build their assets, programs that have moved families from minimum wage to homeownership.”
“We need a treasurer with my experience, a treasurer who will manage fairly and equitably and who will ensure the responsible growth of socially responsible investments, and a treasurer who will create opportunities for the hardworking families of Connecticut,” she concluded.
Erick Russell.
Russell, a partner at a law firm where he practices in the public and private finance group, spoke third. “I’ve been doing this work for about 10 years, largely representing state and local governments in the issuance of debt and debt management,” he said. “So a lot of focus on critical infrastructure in our communities, transportation, infrastructure, housing, health care institutions, child care facilities, clean drinking water, and all of the things that we really take for granted and that we see go up in our communities.
“I’m running because I think that it’s important that we are obviously maximizing return on investment for citizens of our state, for our municipal and state employees, for our teachers who work so hard. And I also think it’s important that we really do this in a socially responsible way. I give Treasurer Wooden so much credit for really using this office to innovate and to think about how we can, again, not only maximize return and make sure that we’re fiscally stable as a state, but do so in a socially responsible and innovative way.”
Russell said he is committed to continuing Wooden’s efforts. “I spent the last 10 years on the local, state, and national level helping other Democrats get elected. And I’m excited this time to be running myself and think that I have the best qualifications, the support, and the leadership to do this job very well.”
Ward 26 Democratic committee Co-Chair Amy Marx, who led the meeting.
Candidates agreed that the primary responsibility of the role is to maximize the return on the state’s $44 billion of pension assets and minimize the fees to get resources into retirees’ homes, to emphasize corporate governance and enforce socially responsible investments, and to increase financial literacy of the state citizens.
Bhargava had to leave halfway through the forum to attend another. Amy Marx thanked her for squeezing in the discussion at the last minute; Bhargava replied that this is the “way for all of us right now. We’re trying to squeeze a nine-month campaign in three weeks, so I appreciate all of your patience.”
After Bhargava’s departure, one question that stumped the remaining two candidates on the call. Judy Sparer, a new co-chair for Ward 27, asked if the candidates knew how big the state’s unfunded pension liability is.
“I actually don’t have that dollar amount for you,” DuBois-Walton replied.
“I don’t either. I don’t know the exact dollar amount,” Russell said.
But they both agreed that fixing the liability is a “high priority,” and that it would take “significant time and commitment.”
“The next time I speak with you, I’ll know what that number is,” DuBois-Walton said.
Sparer asked if she would take a guess.
“I would really prefer to get back to you. I don’t want to throw out a number that’s not accurate,” DuBois-Walton said.
On Thusday the Independent contacted the treasurer’s staff to receive the answer: approximately $40.5 billion
With a little bit of time left over in Wednesday evening’s question and answer portion, Marx was able to ask the two New Haven candidates who were still on the call a question about pensions: “What would you think about transitioning to a defined contribution plan?”
“We transitioned at the housing authority years ago from defined benefit to defined contribution. We certainly need to think about new hires going forward versus people that have already been in the system and certainly retirees,” DuBois-Walton responded. “For new hires and going forward, I think that that should be on the table,” but said she was “open to discussion” and negotiation.
Russell agreed, adding that “for our municipal and state employees and teachers who have been in the system and ultimately bought into the current plan, this is not something we should be looking at unwinding and then applying.” He said the transition is something work looking at “as an option going forward for new state hires.”
“I think over the last week and a half trying to put this together, I think we’re all still thinking through some of these issues,” Russell said.