Ted Wheeler for State Treasurer

Of the some 75 endorsements OLC V has made for 2010, one that may have flown under the radar is our endorsement for Ted Wheeler for Oregon State Treasurer. But what role does the state treasurer have in protecting Oregon’s environment and why is Ted Wheeler the environmental candidate?

The most obvious impact the Treasurer has is overseeing the management of the State’s investment portfolio with a market value of more than $68 billion. This portfolio includes the Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund, The State Accident Insurance Fund, the Oregon Short Term Fund and numerous smaller funds. Ted Wheeler pledges to band together with other state treasurers to collectively wield the power of proxy to support environmental policies and spur more corporate accountability around environmental issues.

Wheeler also supports assessing climate and other environmental risks—like greenhouse-gas emissions—as a metric in evaluating investment decisions. In addition, he would leverage Oregon’s investment portfolio to bring more corporate accountability and disclosure of investment-relevant information that impacts our environment. He would be a strong advocate for leveraging Oregon investments in local renewable energy projects, which he sees as helping to reduce Oregon’s dependence on gas and coal while creating jobs and making Oregon’s economy more local and stable, and less vulnerable to the swings of Wall Street.

And Wheeler also supports more investments in Oregon businesses in general, and in promoting those who conduct business in an environmentally responsible manner.

Another key role that Oregon’s treasurer plays is in its seat on the three-member State Land Board (the other seats are held by the Governor and the Secretary of State). This board manages a significant chunk of Oregon’s natural resources, fish and wildlife habitat, and special places--1.6 million acres of state-owned lands, including our state forests, agricultural, grazing and mining lands, and even the land under Oregon’s territorial sea and navigable waterways. The board also manages the Common School Fund, which is funded by the revenue generated by state land, including timber harvest, grazing fees and mineral rights.

Ted Wheeler recognizes the importance of protecting Oregon’s remaining old-growth forests and threatened fish and wildlife and understands that we need to balance all uses of the State forests, including pursuing alternative revenue sources such as carbon sequestration to help fund the Common School Fund.

Wheeler is also open to selling at market value select state lands with high recreation or ecological value to a federal land agency for conservation, raising grazing fees to cover the full direct and indirect cost of managing and restoring the health of much of our grazing lands, and allowing conservation groups to bid on state grazing leases to manage the land for recreation and wildlife values.

As a numbers guy, Ted Wheeler is committed to protecting Oregon’s unique natural assets and is committed to leveraging Oregon investments to build a greener, cleaner, more robust local economy.  That’s why Ted Wheeler has earned OLCV’s sole endorsement for State Treasurer.