As a candidate for General Treasurer, I believe Rhode Islanders deserve no less. That is why I recently wrote a letter to the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Washington, D.C., urging the commission to quickly adopt proposed regulations designed to curtail pay to play practices with public pension funds. Essentially, these proposed regulations would enforce a two-year time out period, during which any investment advisor or their employees who made a political contribution of more than $250 to certain public officials (and candidates) such as treasurers would be ineligible to receive an investment from that public pension fund.
These proposed regulations are modeled on rules that have been effective in the municipal bond markets for the last 15 years. They are straightforward and narrowly-tailored and, most importantly, they could take the guesswork and the appearance of impropriety out of public pension fund investments. Citizens will know that public pension funds are being invested solely on the merits of the investment itself not on whether an investment advisor donated money to a political campaign.
Will the SEC adopt these rules? I certainly hope so. If it doesnt, however, Rhode Islanders can rest assured that I will adopt these proposed rules for contributions to my campaign for General Treasurer. If elected, I will also propose that the General Assembly adopt similar regulations for Rhode Island.
Its time that we held all public officials and candidates myself included to a higher standard to protect the interests of taxpayers and ensure performance in our state government.
Gina Raimondo
Democratic candidate for R.I. General Treasurer
Providence