Endorsements, issue 2: Democratic Treasurer Primary
What does the Nevada Constitution have to say about the State Treasurer? Well, it makes two specific mentions that will clarify everything for everybody and put all this “What does the treasurer really do” mess behind us:
- Part 1 of Section 19 of Article 5: A Secretary of State, a Treasurer, a Controller, and an Attorney General, shall be elected at the same time and places, and in the same manner as the Governor. The term of office of each shall be the same as is prescribed for the Governor.
- Part 1 of section 22 of Article 5: The Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Controller, Attorney General, and Superintendent of public instruction shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law.
- Section 12 of Article 15: The Governor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Controller, and Clerk of the Supreme Court, shall keep their respective offices at the seat of Government.
Thank god the constitution clears that up. So, we know the treasurer is elected. That the legislature can prescribe more stuff for them to do. And that they keep an office in Carson City. And that second one… that wasn’t added until 1954. So far as we can tell, every Treasurer elected from 1864 until then was just elected and then sworn in and then sat around at their desk. Thank god so much has…
Sorry, we fell asleep there.
Really, the Treasurer for the state of Nevada does the same thing that the Treasurer of your rotary club, or maybe your HOA, or whatever random organization does. Sometimes, in these clubs, they combine the “Treasurer” and “Secretary” positions so they have more to do. And, much like your HOA treasurer, the office requires little more than just sitting around and looking important. They keep an eye on the money, they invest the money (sometimes… sorta), they… sit as a member of the National Association of State Treasurers. Oh, and they “administer the millennium scholarship.”
Administration of the millennium scholarship is the thing that the candidates will use to make us think the office is important. But it’s not. This isn’t that tough, and is methodology is prescribed rather articulately through NRS and the Board of Regents Handbook. If we were sophisticated enough here in Nevada, what with the technology and all, the internet could handle this part of the Treasurer’s job. Maybe we should look into that so the Treasuer can spend more time golfing and… sitting as a member of the National Association of State Treasurers. We can’t imagine what those meetings are like, but it seems like Nevada could lose its statehood if our designee was sub-par.
To perform this increasingly-important task, Democrats should cast their vote for Kate Marshall.
Marshall, a protege of former Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa, is an attorney in Reno. Originally, she was recruited to run for Secretary of State. Then the powers-that-anoint decided she should be Treasurer instead, and she switched races. Turns out that being Governor Miller’s son is a better credential for being Secretary of State than being a Deputy Attorney General.
Marshall has toured the state, impressing people with her insight and passion. She has a unique ability to link seemingly unrelated topics to the Treasurer’s office. Never before has a person talking about the state bonding process seemed so… interesting. She gets bonus points for that. She’s also picked up more than her share of endorsements — from the typically conservative Nevada Franchised Auto Dealers Association, to the labor unions, to the Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce.
This is significant because, well, nobody really cares who the State Treasurer is — and Marshall has managed to engage them. We’ve been critical of her in the past over the cadre of insiders that are pushing her candidacy — lobbyists and power brokers and attorneys. And we would still caution Marshall about getting too close to the insiders.
Geoffrey VanderPal — a financial consultant from Las Vegas — was originally a gadfly. Nobody took his candidacy seriously. But then he bought about 20 points of TV time on cable and started leafletting republican households, and boy did he teach those establishment-types a lesson. The crushing momentum of the VanderPal campaign can be felt all over the state. That’s what we would be saying if VanderPal were a credible candidate for public office. But he’s not. So we take it all back.
You can tell from the picture that this has been a neat experience for Geoffrey, this whole running for office gig. And here at MMP, we’re all about democracy. We’re glad he’s enjoying his ride. Sadly, his perennial candidacy is an embarrassment to democrats everywhere. His bankruptcy, his fake degrees, his poorly-made literature, rife with grammatical errors, his amateur mistakes — he’s exactly the kind of candidate Democrats would have run for office in 2002, when Bill Hamma — a reno senior widely regarded as a racist — was their candidate for Secretary of State. This election is too important to make sacrifice flys. For the good of everybody in Nevada, and most certainly the Democratic Party, VanderPal should do the right thing and drop out. And move to Arizona, or maybe New Mexico.
Invariably, there will be an anonymous poster in response to this endorsement, somebody who says “well, we saw Kate speak and thought she was high” or some BS that contrasts sharply with everyone else’s experience of hearing Marshall speak. This is the MO of the VanderPal’s supporters, who put up a web site to generate baseless rumors about Marshall. Maybe you’ve heard us mention it before.
This office isn’t about qualifications, it’s about leadership — and what Marshall has, VanderPal sure as hell doesn’t. His motivation is clearly not from a desire to serve the people, but from naked ambition. We’re glad it’s fun for him. But it’s time for Geoffrey’s race for state treasuer to come to an inauspicious end. And on August 15, it will.
Similar Posts:
- Endorsement #6: Does Catherine have an opponent?
- Lies, damned lies, and the internet.
- Web Site Post Mortem
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Genius! I laughed (a lot), I cried, it became a part of me. It makes me think I should run for State Treasurer–I can solve that whole millenium scholarship administration thing. Is it too late?
The single post hate-mongering blogs seem to be the new thing in state politics…..too bad. They’re stupid, and they make those who put them up look stupid at best.
If someone can explain why the state needs a State Controller and a State Treasurer, I’ll start caring who is doing those jobs.
Minx: We are agreed. The hate-filled, ugly posts that VanderPal’s people are pushing are really disgraceful. Why can’t they just be anonymously crabby while remaining generally polite?
Knox: Didn’t you see the part about the National Association of State Treasurers? That doesn’t drive you to the polls?
No offense, but you can’t say in one sentence that “we’re all about democracy”, and then tell Vanderpal he needs to step aside for the good of the party.
Whether he is a bumbling stooge or not is irrelevant. He paid his filing fee, is actually out there campaigning and running TV spots. So let the voters make the call.
Plus, it’s somewhat disingenuous to deride Vanderpal for “naked ambition” but not Marshall. At least he wanted to be Treasurer from the beginning, while Marshall just wanted to be elected to any office, which is the definition of “naked ambition”.
Fair enough — but should I be wondering at all how Marshall would handle the job despite a lack of financial management experience? And no I’m not a a VanderPal supporter, just wondering whether Treasurer should be a consolation prize?
Derek: Actually. We can, and did. If you re-read it, it’s still there. We will let the voters make the call — and we’re asking them to vote against him. Because he is a bumbling stooge; devoid of new ideas or even any sort of
We never claimed to be genuine — we are, after all, anonymous. Actually, Geoffrey wanted to be a city councilman in Illinois first. But he lost and came out here. Then he wanted to be Assemblyman from AD2. Now he wants to State Treasurer. Maybe he’ll run for county commission in ‘08. Who knows? He’s a perennial candidate, and that’s what he’ll always be.
Gus: The Treasurer doesn’t actually handle any financial management directly. They’ve got career folks inside for that. We’re certain that Kate has managed her own personal budget better than VanderPal — that is, she’s managed to make her bills on time which is more than Geoffrey has managed.
No, no political office should be a consolation prize. But, as a Democrat, we’d ask this: Would you rather it go to a Republican?
Less than 24 hours after “Dr.” Geoffrey Vanderpal was crushed in his ill fated attempt to hoodwink NV voters, he removed all the content from his website
http://www.nvstatetreasurer.com/
except for this quote from Albert Einstein: “The only thing more infinite than the universe is human stupidity.” Nice. I guess the “Dr.” considers Nevada voters stupid becuase they didnt vote for him. This should not bode well for the “Dr.s” inevitable next run at office. In the meantime, I wonder if he will be able to pay his RJ tab for the huge display ads he has been running for the past week. Bankruptcy is not an option for another 5 years. Keep an eye on this guy folks.
The blogger for this site is very uninformed. Dr. VanderPal received his Doctorate degree from an accredited program and flew to Florida to attend classes since NV does not have a PhD busines program.Dr. VanderPal also took the responsability and risk of starting several businesses and suffered from the events of 9/11. He dis not have a sae and cushy job with the government like Kate Marshall. At least he created jobs and employed people.
Actually, Dr VanderPal was elected and served as a Village Trustee (City Councilman) in Cary, Illinois at the age of 21. I have known Geoffrey for many years, he really does care and he did have a wonderful plan to save taxpayers money and make the office of Treasurer more efficient. But that is not what the insiders wanted. To bad for the taxpayers, they are the ones that lost.