Democrat John Norwood says if he’s elected treasurer he’ll ensure more of the taxes Iowans pay the state “are kept circulating” inside the state’s borders.
“We send $2.5 billion of our short-term taxpayer dollars out of state chasing a return,” Norwood said, “instead of keeping that money with our local banks and credit unions to help support growth in the economy.”
During a speech at the State Fair on the Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox, Norwood said depositing that money in Iowa banks means bankers can make loans against that $2.5 billion. Norwood the founder of a firm that provides financial and management advice to small businesses. He said the state treasurer should be more engaged in accountability and the long-term value of state investments, including how the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System or IPERS is managed. The State Treasurer is a member of the board that oversees IPERS. “The treasurer serves as Iowa’s state banker, a chief pension fiduciary,” Norwood said, “…and what I like to call Iowa’s chief financial officer for the people.”
Norwood said the lowest cost bid for state funded construction projects sometimes produces shoddy work that has to be repaired at additional cost. “The lowest upfront price isn’t always the lowest long-term cost,” Norwood said. “When taxpayers invest tens of millions of dollars in schools, roads, bridges, water systems and public buildings, we should build them right the first time using skilled union labor.” Governor Chet Culver, a Democrat, required state agencies to consider project labor agreements for public works projects, but when Republican Governor Terry Branstad, Culver’s successor, took office he immediately issued an executive order to ban state funds for any project with an agreement to exclusively use union labor.
Norwood is running against Roby Smith, the Republican who is running for a second term as state treasurer.