Points of Interest

Interview with Jim Spainhower

The state treasurer is state government's chief financial officer and banking director.

Among other things, the state treasurer:

----Manages Missouri's $3 billion investment portfolio (funds not needed for current operating expenses); safeguards more than $200 million in unclaimed assets that have been turned over to the state by banks, businesses, insurance companies and government agencies, and tries to locate the rightful owners of those assets; and invests hundreds of millions of dollars in state funds in Missouri financial institutions, which, in turn, make low-interest loans for agriculture, job creation, small business, drought relief and multi-family housing.

-- Serves as chairman of the Missouri Saving for Tuition (MOST) program, authorized under Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code, and serves on the boards of the Missouri State Employees Retirement System and the Missouri Housing Development Commission, which helps create affordable housing for low- and moderate-income Missourians.

As treasurer, Dr. Wheeler would:

--Conservatively manage Missouri's $3 billion investment portfolio and effectively oversee the office's 48-member staff.

--Try to expand the use of state tax credits for worthy projects.

--Recommend any changes that he believed would improve the Section 529 college savings plan.

--Seek to have the treasurer's office serve as ombudsman for juvenile matters, just as the lieutenant governor's office acts as a clearinghouse for issues pertaining to the elderly.

--Promote environmental responsibility in state government, particularly by implementing recycling and energy conservation in all aspects of the treasurer's office.

--Consult with former state treasurers about operational and policy issues.

--Work with mayors around the state on a variety of issues, including selected tax-credit projects.

Keep this in mind about Dr. Wheeler…

--He has been in public service for more than 40 years and has never been the object of a hint of scandal or impropriety. He is a strong advocate of openness in government and prides himself on being accessible to the public.

--He has the experience, judgment and integrity to handle the post honorably and ably. In addition, he has the political breadth and depth to stand on the same platform with the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state and state auditor.