With mixed emotions, Wheeler takes over as State Treasurer

Carla Axtman

This morning at the PDX Airport Conference Center, Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski announced that he is appointing Multnomah County Commission Chair Ted Wheeler to fill the State Treasurer's job vacated by the death of Ben Westlund.

Kari has already posted the official statements from Kulongoski and Wheeler. However, the early morning press conference was a somber affair with both men seeming to feel the weight of grief for the passing of Westlund. Kulongoski noted that nobody really wants to think about politics right now, but that there was little choice given the time constraints.

Governor Kulongoski said that he had first spoken with Wheeler about the position on Sunday afternoon. He also said that his short list really only included Wheeler and one other person: former State Representative Greg Macpherson. The decision was made to go with Wheeler late last night. Kulongoski noted that he chose Wheeler in part because he knew that labor support would be tough to secure for Macpherson in the upcoming election.

Kulongoski introduced Wheeler as an individual with a good deal of public and private expertise in the integrity of fiscal responsibility. Before taking the helm as Multnomah County Chair, Wheeler, age 47, worked in the financial industry with Bank of America and with Copper Mountain Trust. He's a graduate of Lincoln High School in Portland and earned a BA in Economics from Stanford University. He also has an MBA from Columbia and a Masters in Public Policy from the JFK School of Government at Harvard.

Wheeler said that he takes the job with conflicting emotions but says he is well prepared for the challenges ahead. He's looking for a seamless transition and is withdrawing from the County Chair election and will run for the State Treasurer seat as an incumbent.

So what happens for Multnomah County? Wheeler says he will step down as Multnomah County Chair on Thursday. Chief Operating Officer Jana McLellen will become Acting Chair and the Board will elect a new Chair to serve until December 31, 2010. In the meantime, those wishing to run for the position must file by 5:00PM today. "I am confident that some highly qualified candidates may step forward," Wheeler said. Wheeler also said that he gave advanced notice of his resignation and appointment to his fellow Board members and high level staff. "I'm very confident that the county is in good hands," he said.

Wheeler's duties as Treasurer will include serving as the state's chief financial officer, managing billions in taxpayer funds. He will also be the state's chief investment officer--which includes the investment of the Public Employees Retirement Fund, the State Accident Insurance Fund and the Common School Fund, among others.

As Treasurer, Wheeler will also serve on the State Land Board where he will work to manage state trust lands for the Common School Fund.

By Carla Axtman March 09, 2010