The candidates for State Treasurer faced off Thursday in a debate at the Wilmington Rotary Club’s monthly meeting.
Republican Ken Simpler, a former hedge fund manager, continually stressed his years of experience in the financial world.
“Those to me are the kinds of jobs I’ve done in the real world to make real money for real people. I would like to bring those same skills to the state of Delaware,” Simpler said.
Democrat Sean Barney, on the other hand, tried to engage the audience on a personal level, highlighting his Iraq War service.
“Fighting in Fallujah I was shot through the neck,” said Barney, former Policy Director for Governor Jack Markell. “I am here on extra time, on lottery time. And I want to use that time...to give back.”
The two also offered fundamentally different views on the role of the State Treasurer.
Simpler argued that the job is more about money management than anything else - adding if elected he wouldn’t “get distracted.”
“The Treasury has to be refocused on the things that are its core responsibilities, managing the flows of 8 billion dollars, and managing the investment of 2 billion dollars,” said Simpler.
Barney countered he’d also address financial literacy in the First State, suggesting Simpler’s plan to focus solely on money management is off-base.
“If the job of state treasurer was to make sure that the check writing machine was working and that the policies of the cash management board were being followed, if that was all it was, this would not be an elected position.”
When asked about current Treasurer Chip Flowers, who’s clashed with the state’s cash management board and faced scrutiny about out of state travel expenses, both candidates said they’d do things differently, with Barney adding the current Treasurer’s activities were “an insult to taxpayers.”
