Ohio Treasurer Bradley earns GOP nomination

It's easy to forget that Jennette B. Bradley has been Ohio's treasurer for only a year and three months. Her knowledge of every aspect of the office and the confidence she exudes as the state's banker belie her relatively short tenure. Ohioans can rest assured that the $11 billion-plus in investments she oversees will be safe.
Bradley was appointed state treasurer by Gov. Bob Taft in January 2005 when the position became vacant with the departure of Joe Deters. She had been serving as lieutenant governor and the director of the Commerce Department when Taft tapped her for one of the most important positions in state government. One wrong move and hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds could be lost.
The governor's trust in the former Huntington National Bank senior vice president and former Columbus City Council member has not been misplaced.
Bradley is seeking the Republican Party nomination in the May 2 primary for a full four-year term and is being challenged by Sandra O'Brien, who is in her 12th year as Ashtabula County auditor. The winner will face Democrat Richard Cordray, Franklin County treasurer.
O'Brien did not attend a Vindicator editorial board interview, a requirement to be considered for the newspaper's endorsement, but even if she had, the bar set by the treasurer would have been difficult to clear.
Unlike other statewide officeholders, the treasurer has the weight of Ohio's financial well-being on her shoulders. That's because her office collects, managers and invests $11 billion in public funds, including the State Regular Account, STAR Ohio, the Ohio Lottery Commission's Deferred Prizes Trust Fund and the two tobacco prevention foundations' portfolios.
Custodian
The treasurer is also the chief statutory custodian for more than $169 billion within the state's five public pension funds, the Bureau of Workers' Compensation and the Ohio Tuition Trust Authority. But unlike the $11 billion, Bradley has no control over the $169 billion. Nonetheless, the investment decisions her office makes can serve as a guide for other state agencies.
"Safety is the single most important objective of public funds management," said wrote in her response to a question about the major issues in the race. "We make preservation of our principal our highest priority. Each portfolio we manage must be structured to meet projected operating requirements."
Careful cash flow analysis allows the treasurer's office to maintain required levels of liquidity. Once the goals of safety and liquidity are met, the treasurer's focus turns to safely maximizing interest earnings and meeting industry standard performance benchmarks.
For the first 30 days after she took office, Bradley mandated ethics training for every employee. That decision speaks volumes about her commitment to establishing a standard of behavior for the treasurer's office that will serve to reassure Ohioans in the midst of the BWC investment scandal that has cast a pall over Republican Party, which controls state government.
Bradley has earned the GOP nomination.