February 19, 2024 • 32 mins
Get ready to unlock the intricacies of the North Carolina Treasurer Seat's Republican primary race between candidates AJ Daoud, Rachel Johnson, and Brad Briner. Step into the fray where the financial future of North Carolina hangs in the balance, with a keen focus on what each candidate's unique history and strategy mean for your wallet and our state's economic health.
This episode isn't just about the who, but also the how – how the North Carolina Retirement Systems (NCRS) might undergo transformative reforms with a new Treasurer at the helm. Don't miss out on this comprehensive political chess game where the moves made today dictate the fiscal future of North Carolina. Stay informed on the candidates, their platforms, and what it all really means as you prepare to cast your vote.
A.J. Daoud, Rachel Johnson, & Brad Briner
NC Deep Dive’s Voters’ Guide for the 2024 Primary Election
Raleigh News & Observer Voters’ Guide
INDY Week’s Candidate Questionnaire
Campaign Finance Reports for All Candidate Committees
Voter Information
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Closest Early Voting Locations
February 15th-March 2nd
W.E. Hunt Recreation Center in Holly Springs
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Now, let's dive in!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Amanda Benbow Lunn (00:10):
Hello friends, thanks for joining me
and the NC Deep Dive.
I am your host, AmandaBenbow-Lunn, and we are delving
into the 2024 primary election.
Each episode will cover adifferent race that will be on
your primary ballot thiselection.
When you go to vote, you willbe handed a ballot based on your
address and party affiliation.
(00:31):
If you are unaffiliatedsometimes also referred here as
independent then you will haveyour choice of which party's
ballot you would like to vote.
Please note that you are onlyable to cast one ballot and that
there are no primary ballotsfor the Green Party or the no
Labels Party.
Moreover, candidates for thegeneral election in November who
(00:52):
do not have a primarychallenger will not appear on
your primary ballot.
They get a pass directly to thegeneral election.
Due to time constraints and theplethora of candidates, and my
belief that having as muchinformation as possible is of
vast importance, our primaryelection segment will consist of
me covering one race at a time,as time allows, and going over
(01:15):
each candidate's website andwhat I can find on a simple
Google search, in case it iseasier for you to take in
information this way.
If you are short on time, youcan check out our NC Deep Dives
Voters Guide for the 2024primary election, found pinned
to our Facebook page or on thisepisode's show notes at www.
ncdeepdive.
com.
(01:38):
It will be an easy way toaccess each candidate's website
and research the candidates onyour own.
If that's a better use of yourtime.
Without further ado, my friends, let's dive in.
For this episode we arecovering the North Carolina
Treasurer Seat for theRepublican primary.
There are three candidates forthis race AJ Daoud, Rachel
(02:03):
Johnson and Brad Briner.
We are going to start with AJ.
His website is ajdaud.
com.
It says AJ Daoud for NCTreasurer.
Thanks for stopping by andwelcome to my campaign website.
I'm AJ Daoud and I'm running tobe your next treasurer in our
(02:24):
state of North Carolina.
I've met many of you over theyears as I've traveled tens of
thousands of miles across ourstate to support the Republican
Party and conservative causes.
For those who do not know me,please take a minute to browse
this page.
As always.
If you have any questions orwant to get in touch, please
don't hesitate to contact mebelow and I'll respond promptly.
(02:45):
He lists a Facebook and an Xaccount.
His website says searching outand ending public corruption.
North Carolina native andlifelong businessman with an MBA
, owner of a multi-milliondollar business with locations
throughout North Carolina,virginia and Ohio.
Former NC Lottery Commissionerwho oversaw a $4 billion annual
(03:06):
budget.
Being a fiscal conservative, hewas responsible for exposing
wasteful spending, returningmillions back towards education.
Former sworn law enforcementofficer.
There are some pictures of himwith some others and it says
Republican, with a familyhistory of serving North
Carolina in various leadershiproles in NC GOP and plays on
(03:26):
with political office of WhiteHouse and prior Republican
administration.
Extensive experience withbusiness and public auditing
practices when executive withDowd Jones Public Company.
Passion to root out publiccorruption and protect taxpayer
dollars.
Easily accessible Reach out tome directly with questions or
concerns.
(03:46):
There's an area where you candonate and that is the extent to
his website.
He did not respond to my emailand so he did not participate in
the NC Deep Dive Voters Guide.
Looking him up on ballotpedia,it says Daoud earned an
associate degree from Miami DadeCollege in 1979, a bachelor's
(04:08):
degree from Berry University in1995 and an MBA from the
University of Phoenix.
He began his career in publicservice working as a police
officer and used his lawenforcement credentials to
become executive director of anonprofit organization aimed at
gang prevention called the localpolice athletic league.
He eventually segued into theprivate sector as a small
(04:30):
funeral home business owner inpilot mountain.
He earned his MBA and consultedprofessionally with other
funeral home business owners tohelp guide their expansion
efforts.
While pursuing his funeral homebusiness and consulting career,
Daoud also helped create astate organization connecting
PALs in various cities, servedas vice president at the
(04:51):
national level and lobbied formissing and exploited children
act.
Dowd lends his time andenergies as a member and or
leader of several communityservice organizations, such as
Habitat for Humanity in UnitedWay.
He serves as the chairman ofthe pilot mountain planning and
zoning board and has worked onthe mayor's downtown task force.
In regards to his campaignfinance for the 2024 election,
(05:15):
starting January 1st of 2023through December 31st of this
year, he's had a total of $4,884in contributions made by six
unique contributors, one ofwhich was himself.
His total expenditures is$45,094 with six unique payees.
He did loan the campaign$100,000 and it looks like he's
(05:39):
paid himself back $40,000 ofthat, actually $42,000 of that.
He did not complete the 2024candidate connection survey on
ballot pedia.
He did answer the survey backin 2018.
He was in 2018, he ran forNorth Carolina state senate but
(05:59):
lost in the primary election toVicki Sawyer.
Some of those questions may berelevant to get to allow you to
get to know him a little bitbetter, but they might not be
quite as relevant.
Moving on to Rachel Johnson, herwebsite is rachel4nc.
com and that's for spelled outf-o-r.
Rachel4nc.
com about Rachel putting herexperience to work for North
(06:27):
Carolina.
Rachel is running for NorthCarolina Treasurer because
Rachel wants the people of NorthCarolina to know their money is
being wisely invested tosafeguard our future.
Rachel is a mother, abusinesswoman and a taxpayer.
Rachel ran a small family-ownedbusiness in Davy County in
recent years.
Earlier in her career Rachelworked in retirement services
(06:47):
and has seen the peace of mindthat comes from smart planning.
She also spent time in theregulatory side of financial
services and understands theimportance of taking that extra
step and working those extrahours to ensure your money is
protected.
And most recently, as a smallfamily business owner, she
signed the fronts of checks andknows how to promote our state
investments, because a stabletreasury promotes a growing
(07:09):
economy and a growing economymeans more and better
opportunities for NorthCarolinians.
There is a button to donate andthat looks to be the extent of
her website.
Looking Rachel up on ballotpedia, her campaign finance
information was unavailable asof January 30th.
I did not see campaign financeinformation for Rachel on
(07:31):
ballotpedia, so I went to theNorth Carolina State Board of
Elections campaign documentsearch and it looks like she's
had a total contributions.
Her total contributions hasequaled $1,683.84, which is
(07:53):
actually what she contributedfor her filing fee to run for
office.
Other than that, it doesn'tlook like there's been any
expenses or contributions thathave been recorded, and this was
for the 2023 year end form, sonothing has been reported for
(08:14):
this year.
Rachel did not complete thecandidate connection survey for
ballotpedia.
Rachel did not respond to myemail regarding the NC Deep Dive
Voters Guide, and that bringsus to Brad Briner for Treasurer.
His website is bradbriner.
com.
(08:35):
It says Brad Briner Treasurer,conservative Republican
investment professional profits,not woke politics.
There is a YouTube or a videothat you can watch and it's a
picture of alphabet soup and itsays profits, not politics, in
the soup.
Why is Brad the most qualifiedcandidate?
About Brad?
(08:56):
I was born in Dallas, texas, andgrew up there as the youngest
of four boys.
The constants in our lives wereour family, our church and
being outdoors.
All four of us were EagleScouts, and the Boy Scouts had
an important influence on mylife.
I still believe in living bythe Scout Law being trustworthy,
loyal, helpful, friendly,courteous, kind, obedient,
cheerful, thrifty, brave, leanand reverent.
(09:17):
When I was five, my father losthis job in the recession in the
early 1980s, so my mom went towork at a private school in
Dallas.
I was lucky enough to be ableto attend there and that is
where I first realized that Ihad a head for numbers.
My dad began a career as aninvestor after that and we got
to watch Wall Street Week withLewis Ruckeser over dinner every
week.
Not exactly what the kids hopedto see, but it does explain how
(09:39):
we all ended up in finance.
One day in September 1989, mymom picked my brother and me up
from school and we did not gohome as usual.
Mom's explanation was thatsomething bad happened in the
stock market and that my dad wasvery upset.
So we went bowling, had somedinner, then got home late.
That is when I realized howimportant financial markets
could be in people's lives.
So from about the age of 12, Ihave always known that I wanted
(10:02):
to be an investor.
From there, I was fortunateenough to get scholarships to
attend boarding school in NewHampshire, Exeter, and then the
University of North Carolina atChapel Hill.
On the Moorhead Scholarship Istudied economics as I knew I
wanted to attend business schoolfor a master's degree.
Eventually, during college, Iwas active in my fraternity,
sigma Chi, and became a Die HardTarheel fan.
(10:22):
Through the Moorhead program Iwas able to have some
unforgettable summer experiences.
I taught math in Boston todisadvantaged students one
summer and interned at GoldmanSachs in New York the following
one.
I also was lucky enough to beable to take a semester off to
travel in South America courtesyof the scholarship.
When it came time to find a job, I thought I would go back to
(10:43):
work at Goldman, but I had met agirl who was going back to get
another degree at UNC.
So when the opportunity came upto help invest the endowment
for the university, it seemedtoo good to be true.
Both personally andprofessionally, I spent five
years there before heading offto business school at Harvard.
Along the way, that girl becamemy wife, almost 22 years and
four kids ago now.
(11:04):
During my time in businessschool, my former colleagues
from UNC decided to start a newbusiness, and I joined them in
doing that.
The business was essentiallythe same thing as we had done
for UNC, building billion dollarportfolios.
Only this time our clients werelarge families.
We were fortunate enough tohave good success and I stayed
there for seven years as one ofthe senior leaders of the firm.
In late 2011, I got a phonecall from a recruiter about
(11:27):
helping to build Willettadvisors.
The scale of the asset base andthe autonomy were incomparable,
so I joined the firm with acondition that I could remain in
North Carolina.
I rose to become one of theheads of the firm and we
experienced very stronginvestment results.
During my time there, I wasable to get involved with the
Department of State Treasurer asa member of the Debt
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Affordability Advisory Committeewith UNC and the Rams Club
Global Education and recently,as a member of the Board of
Trustees, helped my kids schoolthe Durham Academy Finance
Committee and my high schoolExeter Investment Committee and
then the Board of Trustees andjoined the Board of a public
company and the investmentbusiness Boston Omaha Core.
(12:07):
All this added to my interestin using my investment and
financial skills in service ofthe state of North Carolina,
which ultimately led me toleaving my position at Willett
to pursue this campaign forstate treasurer.
What Brad will do to fix thetreasurer's office.
This is a bit lengthy.
Recent performance of the NorthCarolina recruitment system,
the also known as NCRS.
(12:29):
The state treasurer has threemain jobs invest the state's
retirement fund for our stateemployees and retirees,
administer the state health planand protect the state's AAA
credit reading.
Of those three coreresponsibilities, the state
health plan tends to generatethe most headlines, but it's the
North Carolina retirementsystem that poses the greatest
challenge for our next statetreasurer.
(12:49):
The single most important taskfor the winner in November will
be to remedy the chronicunderperformance of the
retirement system.
The retirement system hasunderperformed for decades and
costs our taxpayers billions ofdollars each year.
Some quick math to prove mypoint.
Ncrs has averaged a 6.2% annualreturn over the past 20 years.
Similar sized but bettermanaged plans in other states
(13:12):
like Florida, texas, virginiaand Wisconsin, to name a few,
have averaged annual returns of7.6%.
Relative to those states, northCarolina has underperformed at
a rate of 1.4% per year.
In the past five years we haveunderperformed even worse than
that 2.3% per year.
Since NCRS currently managesabout $112 billion.
(13:33):
Underperforming by 2.3% peryear translates to the foregone
returns of about 2.8 billionevery single year.
That's roughly what NorthCarolina spends on highways and
roads, and that's just comparedto the average states.
Had NCRS achieved the sameresults over the last five years
as a leading peer such as theVirginia retirement system,
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there would be over $19 billionmore in our pension plan today.
That is enough to fully refundevery income tax payment North
Carolinians made in 2022 withalmost 2 billion left over.
We simply cannot afford tounderperform.
Why does NCRS underperform?
So what's the problem?
The retirement system hasunderperformed its target return
(14:15):
since the 1990s.
This is not a short-termproblem or a result that may
correct with the next upswing inthe market.
Rather, this underperformanceover three decades reflects
fundamental shortcomings in NCRSstrategy.
The central reason forunderperforming the target is an
irrational love for risk-freefixed income investments.
Ncrs owns far more US Treasurybonds and bills than any of its
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peers.
Part of this is a long shadowthat Harlan Boyles, the state
treasurer of North Carolina from1977 to 2001, cast over his
successors.
He delivered consistentlystrong returns for NCRS during
this time.
However, as market conditionsevolved and mostly as interest
rates fell, the strategy ofowning high-quality fixed income
(14:59):
became less and less likely tosucceed.
Yet NCRS did not modify itsstrategy in the face of new
facts.
Another reason forunderperformance is the
fundamental misunderstanding ofrisk.
While the risk of short-termloss is certainly one to
consider, and is the only onecurrently being considered, it
appears the risk of long-termunderperformance of the target
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is the central risk we mustmanage.
This concentration intreasuries is also why NCRS has
so underperformed its peers.
Ncrs is supposed to be managedto meet long-term pension
liabilities running well intothe next century.
A fundamental principle ofinvesting is that assets should
be matched to liabilities.
Money for a home purchase nextmonth should not be gambled in
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the stock market.
Conversely, a 20-somethingsretirement funds should not be
invested in cash and bonds.
But NCRS has failed to matchits long-term liabilities with
investments that offer thehighest risk adjusted return
over the relevant time horizon.
In recent years, this policyhas meant that the NCRS was
buying bonds that will pay ourstate as little as 1% per year
(16:02):
until they are redeemed decadesfrom now, for a system that
historically relied on returnsof 7%.
Such as strategy dooms NCRS tofailure.
Indeed, the state recentlyreduced its expected return to
6.5%, a partial, ultimatelyinsufficient, acknowledgement
that NCRS cannot achieve thereturns we need on our current
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course.
Rather than lower the bar asyour treasurer, I intend to
improve performance as discussed.
That begins with assetallocation, better match to
pension obligations, reducingthe risk of underperformance and
increasing return.
Improving performance alsomeans maximizing net risk
adjusted returns on each assetclass in which NCRS invests.
(16:43):
Historically, ncrs has fixatedon fees paid rather than on
investment results produced.
I detest unnecessary fees and Ihave a long record in the
private sector of working toachieve the lowest fees
available from each provider,but what matters most are the
returns NCRS achieves after allcosts.
Selecting managers solely basedon low cost rather than on the
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net returns they deliver is adefinition of a penny wise and a
pound foolish.
What can be done?
One better governance.
Ncrs is one of only three statepension plans that still have a
sole trustee governance model.
This essentially means that thestate treasurer can make
investment decisions withoutconsulting with anyone else.
As a general matter, smallgroups make better investment
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decisions than solo actors.
That is why successful privatesector investment firms have
investment committees and whystate pension plans have almost
all followed suit.
Of even more concern is thatthe sole trustee model is ripe
for abuse.
Of the three states New York,connecticut and North Carolina
that still follow the soletrustee model, north Carolina is
the only one not to have aformer pension official serve
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time in jail for the corruptionsuch power enables.
In 2014, north Carolinacommissioned a study on how to
improve pension governance,which is linked.
The central recommendation wasclear, including a move to a
fiduciary board model wheremultiple appointed professionals
serve alongside electedofficials to direct the pension.
As the study explained, thisprovides continuity across
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administrations, involves thosewith specific professional
expertise in pension governanceand dramatically reduces the
probability of bad acts.
Moreover, each of the pensionsshown above are governed in this
manner, demonstrating thelong-term performance
characteristics related tobetter governance.
Two of what can be done Changeof investment strategy.
There are two key ways we cangenerate better returns for
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North Carolina taxpayers, stateemployees and retirees.
The first is better assetallocation.
Today, 37% of the NCRSportfolio is invested in cash,
united States treasuries andother investment-grade bonds.
This makes no sense.
As discussed, the NCRSportfolio is intended to fund
liabilities that span manydecades.
(18:55):
Other asset classes will almostcertainly provide higher
returns over that time horizon.
By contrast, low single-digityields on cash treasuries and
the like make it a certaintythat, on its current course, the
retirement system will fail toachieve its already reduced 6.5%
required rate of return.
In fact, in the last actuarialstudy of the plan, the
(19:17):
consultant clearly stated thatthe current asset allocation
strategy was highly likely tofail to meet the 6.5 return
threshold.
By contrast, other assetclasses offer prospective
returns that should enable NCRSto meet and exceed its target
return.
The inflation the Bidenadministration unleashed on
America made it possible to buyassets such as real estate at
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prices that provide prospectivereturns higher than has been
possible for many years.
In a different vein, the ESGcrowd has driven a lemming-like
abandonment of sectors liketraditional energy sector that,
like tobacco a generation ago,creates compelling returns for
the non-politicized investorswho remain.
Beyond these cyclicalopportunities, we need to
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resuscitate the privateinvestment program.
While such investments entailhigher fees to managers, they
have historically deliveredreturns after fees that are
substantially higher than thoseof any other asset class.
This conclusion is inescapablewhether one considers the last
three years of returns, fiveyears, ten years, fifteen years
or twenty years.
Despite these compellingreturns shown at the right,
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alongside other asset classes,ncrs has substantially reduced
its allocation to investments inrecent years.
I will reverse that.
The second way to generatebetter returns is through better
investment selection.
Ncrs would benefit fromadopting a few best practices
from its peers Co investmentOften an investment manager will
identify an attractive privatetransaction that requires more
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capital than the manager ispermitted to invest out of its
funds.
Fund participants are given theopportunity to co-invest with
the manager at fees that areeither substantially reduced or
waived altogether.
Other state funds regularly doso, lowering the effective fees
they pay and achieving a moreopportunistic deployment of
capital.
Historically, the retirementsystem has not Economies of
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scale.
Our retirement system hashistorically allocated
relatively small amounts ofcapital to many managers.
Best practice is to identifythose managers who are best and
to allocate more to them.
In addition to the higherpre-fee performance that results
, this provides economies ofscale, as it is easier to
extract fee concessions whenmaking larger commitments.
Reduce constraints NCRS hasimposed constraints on its
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managers that, while intended toreduce risk, have in fact
increased risk while decreasingreturn.
For example, while bonds ratedbelow investment grade are
individually risky, adiversified basket will
typically outperform higherrated bonds over a full economic
cycle.
Moreover, because the factorsthat cause such bonds to rise
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and fall in price are differentthan those which drive pricing
of investment grade bonds, aportfolio comprised of both
investment grade and belowinvestment grade bonds is less
volatile.
Current NCRS guidelines limitinvestments in bonds rated below
investment grade and, in somecases, require rapid exit at
fire sales prices.
In conclusion, north Carolina'sretirement system has
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substantially underperformed itspeers, costing North Carolina
taxpayers billions of dollarseach year.
We can and need to do better forour state employees, retirees
and their families.
Fortunately, the solutions areclear.
North Carolina should adopt thestructural reforms that were
recommended 10 years ago, which47 other states have already
adopted.
We must adopt an assetallocation that reflects the
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long-term nature of retirementsystem obligations and best
practices and risk management.
We should achieve superiorreturns within each class by
focusing investments on topmanagers rather than spreading
it around, and by using scaleeconomies to abstract fee
concessions.
While the path forward is clear, much work will be required to
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implement it.
While the path forward is clear, much work will be required to
implement it.
I believe that my background infinance, a deep interest in
these topics which I recognizemany find mind-numbing and a
stubbornness in pursuing theright answers all make me the
best candidate to fix ourretirement system's problems.
I hope you will agree and thatI can earn your vote.
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I would be pleased to hear fromanyone with constructive
thoughts on how to make NorthCarolina's retirement system the
best performing large pensionplan in the country.
For us to follow short of thatobjective is to cost the state
future billions that couldinstead be devoted to services
and tax cuts.
Thank you, brad Piner.
And that is the totality of hiswebsite.
(23:37):
Looking him up on ballotpedia.
It talks about him earning hisbachelor's degree from UNC in
Chapel Hill in 1999.
Brynner has been affiliatedwith the University of North
Carolina Board of Trustees, thePhillips Exeter Academy Board of
Trustees and the Boston OmahaCorporation Board of Directors.
For his campaign financeinformation for the 2024
(24:00):
election, which again startedJanuary 1st of 2023 and runs
through the end of this year.
He's had a total of $36,434 incontributions from 14 unique
contributors.
He's had a total of $1,354 inexpenditures and four unique
(24:20):
payees.
He did loan his campaignpersonally $500,000.
Brad did answer the candidateconnection survey for ballot
pedia, so there are a number ofquestions there if you would
like more information.
Brad did not respond to myemail regarding the NC Deep Dive
Voters Guide, so I don't havehis responses there.
(24:41):
I did find an article.
Just doing a Google search ofthe candidates, I didn't find
anything that seemed to be outof the ordinary for any of these
candidates, but I did find thisarticle from businessnccom
that's entitled GOP TreasurerCandidates Differ on Investing
State Money, and it talks abouthow the current state treasurer,
(25:02):
dale Folwell, is stepping downas he seeks the Republican
nomination for governor.
His tenure has been marked bywell-publicized campaigns to
reduce fees paid by the statefor investment management
services, to force NorthCarolina hospitals to provide
more transparency in theirpricing and to stop the
healthcare industry's rapidconsolidation.
Both Brad Briner and RachelJohnson praised Folwell's
(25:25):
efforts on healthcare.
They had a questionnaireJohnson answered via email,
Briner did a phone interview andAJ Daoud did not answer or
respond to their questions.
Johnson says she'll work withlawmakers to find common
solutions that bring down thecost of healthcare.
Briner praises Folwell'sefforts to make hospital pricing
(25:45):
more available to consumers,noting that he didn't understand
the industry's antipathy to theconcept.
He says there seem to becurrent incentives for hospitals
to get fined rather thanpublish their prices as required
by law.
He also said that Folwell hasquote unquote done a great job
running the Senate health plan,which represents more than
750,000 state employees,retirees and dependents.
(26:09):
But the issue of the retirementsystem investing clearly divides
Briner and Johnson.
Brynner was a key overseer ofbillionaire Michael Bloomberg's
personal investments for a dozenyears before leaving his post
in December.
He notes the founder ofBloomberg LP has a net worth
somewhat comparable to the assetsize of the North Carolina
pension funds.
He contends Folwell'sconservative investing approach
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is costing North Carolina'sretirement system about $3
billion a year when compared tothe performance of Virginia and
other top performing statepension funds, which equates to
about 10% of the annual budget.
He's quoted saying I'm notadvocating gambling.
I'm talking about taking smart,sensible steps to achieve the
6.5% to 7% annual returns thatthe system requires.
(26:54):
In her email Johnson says I willcontinue Treasurer Folwell's
good work of protecting andimproving the NC retirement
system.
She adds there's always atemptation in this role to flex
and try to make a risky play.
It's gotten a few folks introuble over the years.
The people of North Carolinadeserve an experienced candidate
who will enter the jobcompletely independent of
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previous ties to Wall Street andthe elites of New York finance.
She pledged to answer quoteonly to the people of North
Carolina.
End quote Johnson's campaignwebsite notes quote early in her
career Rachel worked inretirement services.
End quote it notes she has alsoquote spent time on the
regulatory board of finances.
Ran a small family ownedbusiness in Davy County end
(27:36):
quote.
She does not have a LinkedInaccount, with little name
recognition.
Brynner says he expects to relyon digital media to get his
message out before the Marchprimary.
Johnson says she's beentraveling across the state for
campaign events, noting sheattended many GOP meetings in
support of her husband'scampaign, which he was a state
superintendent of publicinstruction from 2017 through 21
(27:58):
.
He did not seek re-election andhe lost a Republican primary
for lieutenant governor in Marchof 2020.
She endowed a small businessowner and veteran GOP activist
quote are not strangers tograssroots voters and we're not
hoping to win this race by beinga faceless keyboard cowboy.
End quote, she said via email.
So those are the only things ofnote that I really found doing
(28:22):
the Google search Again.
This is on the Republicanballot for NC treasurer and the
three candidates are AJ Daoud,Rachel Johnson and Brad Briner,
and you are eligible to vote forone of them.
Democracy is the foundation ofall we hold dear.
We are better as a community,state and nation when we all
(28:44):
take part in our civic duty bybeing informed and casting our
vote.
The candidates and offices onyour ballot can have a major
impact on our everyday lives andcan have real consequences.
They create and enforce ourlaws, invest in our future
well-being, fund all the thingslike our schools and roads,
ensure we have safe drinkingwater and food to put on our
(29:07):
tables and advocate on behalf ofthose they represent, hopefully
keeping in mind both the littleand the big picture of it all.
Early voting is now going on andwill continue through Saturday
March 2nd.
Our closest early votinglocations will be the WE Hunt
Center in Holly Springs and theHilltop Needmore Town Park and
(29:27):
Preserve in Fuquay Varina.
The main primary election willbe held on Tuesday March 5th.
If you vote that day, it's bestfor you to go to your
designated polling place or elsesome of the races you are
eligible to vote for may notshow up on the ballot they have
available to give you Duringearly voting.
Each area in Wake County hasall the possible ballots for
(29:48):
Wake County Election day.
They will only have the ballotthat corresponds directly to
that particular precinct.
Please remember you now need tobring your photo ID If you
happen to forget or have hadsome extraordinary circumstance
happen, you will have a fewdifferent options provided to
you, but it will be best andeasiest and most efficient to
bring it with you If, for somereason, you haven't registered
(30:11):
to vote yet, you may registerand vote at the same time during
early voting at any one of thesites.
March 2nd will be the last dayto register to vote for this
primary election, and thatbrings this episode of the NC
Deep Dive to a close.
Make sure you check out all theother relevant episodes for the
2024 primary election at www.
(30:32):
ncdeepdive.
com, apple Podcasts, Spotify,audible or wherever you
currently listen to yourpodcasts.
I will be including helpfullinks for each candidate and
voting in general on ourwebsite's show notes, including
our NC Deep Dives Voters Guidefor the 2024 primary election.
(30:52):
We were blessed to have manycandidates take the time to
share their thoughts and speakto voters within Southern Wake
County.
The Voters Guide is arranged byparty affiliation and organized
in such a way to make itrelatively easy to find the
races or candidates you might beinterested in.
All candidates' websites arelinked.
If I was able to find one, Ialso consciously chose to
(31:13):
arrange the Voters Guidestarting at the end of the
ballot.
So often we are aware of thelarger races, yet don't hear
much about, or take the time tolearn about the smaller races.
As always, if you have anyquestions, concerns or topics
you'd like to share.
You may contact us via socialmedia or our email at
ncdeepdive@gmail.
com.
Thank you for engaging withthis episode and becoming a more
(31:35):
informed citizen.
Democracy is a team sport.
Together, we make democracywork and our communities a
better place to work, play andlive.
Your vote matters, your voicematters.
You matter.
Until next time, my friends.
Namaste the love and light inme sees and honors the love and
(31:55):
light in you.
Hello friends, thanks for joining me
and the NC Deep Dive.
I am your host, AmandaBenbow-Lunn, and we are delving
into the 2024 primary election.
Each episode will cover adifferent race that will be on
your primary ballot thiselection.
When you go to vote, you willbe handed a ballot based on your
address and party affiliation.
(00:31):
If you are unaffiliatedsometimes also referred here as
independent then you will haveyour choice of which party's
ballot you would like to vote.
Please note that you are onlyable to cast one ballot and that
there are no primary ballotsfor the Green Party or the no
Labels Party.
Moreover, candidates for thegeneral election in November who
(00:52):
do not have a primarychallenger will not appear on
your primary ballot.
They get a pass directly to thegeneral election.
Due to time constraints and theplethora of candidates, and my
belief that having as muchinformation as possible is of
vast importance, our primaryelection segment will consist of
me covering one race at a time,as time allows, and going over
(01:15):
each candidate's website andwhat I can find on a simple
Google search, in case it iseasier for you to take in
information this way.
If you are short on time, youcan check out our NC Deep Dives
Voters Guide for the 2024primary election, found pinned
to our Facebook page or on thisepisode's show notes at www.
ncdeepdive.
com.
(01:38):
It will be an easy way toaccess each candidate's website
and research the candidates onyour own.
If that's a better use of yourtime.
Without further ado, my friends, let's dive in.
For this episode we arecovering the North Carolina
Treasurer Seat for theRepublican primary.
There are three candidates forthis race AJ Daoud, Rachel
(02:03):
Johnson and Brad Briner.
We are going to start with AJ.
His website is ajdaud.
com.
It says AJ Daoud for NCTreasurer.
Thanks for stopping by andwelcome to my campaign website.
I'm AJ Daoud and I'm running tobe your next treasurer in our
(02:24):
state of North Carolina.
I've met many of you over theyears as I've traveled tens of
thousands of miles across ourstate to support the Republican
Party and conservative causes.
For those who do not know me,please take a minute to browse
this page.
As always.
If you have any questions orwant to get in touch, please
don't hesitate to contact mebelow and I'll respond promptly.
(02:45):
He lists a Facebook and an Xaccount.
His website says searching outand ending public corruption.
North Carolina native andlifelong businessman with an MBA
, owner of a multi-milliondollar business with locations
throughout North Carolina,virginia and Ohio.
Former NC Lottery Commissionerwho oversaw a $4 billion annual
(03:06):
budget.
Being a fiscal conservative, hewas responsible for exposing
wasteful spending, returningmillions back towards education.
Former sworn law enforcementofficer.
There are some pictures of himwith some others and it says
Republican, with a familyhistory of serving North
Carolina in various leadershiproles in NC GOP and plays on
(03:26):
with political office of WhiteHouse and prior Republican
administration.
Extensive experience withbusiness and public auditing
practices when executive withDowd Jones Public Company.
Passion to root out publiccorruption and protect taxpayer
dollars.
Easily accessible Reach out tome directly with questions or
concerns.
(03:46):
There's an area where you candonate and that is the extent to
his website.
He did not respond to my emailand so he did not participate in
the NC Deep Dive Voters Guide.
Looking him up on ballotpedia,it says Daoud earned an
associate degree from Miami DadeCollege in 1979, a bachelor's
(04:08):
degree from Berry University in1995 and an MBA from the
University of Phoenix.
He began his career in publicservice working as a police
officer and used his lawenforcement credentials to
become executive director of anonprofit organization aimed at
gang prevention called the localpolice athletic league.
He eventually segued into theprivate sector as a small
(04:30):
funeral home business owner inpilot mountain.
He earned his MBA and consultedprofessionally with other
funeral home business owners tohelp guide their expansion
efforts.
While pursuing his funeral homebusiness and consulting career,
Daoud also helped create astate organization connecting
PALs in various cities, servedas vice president at the
(04:51):
national level and lobbied formissing and exploited children
act.
Dowd lends his time andenergies as a member and or
leader of several communityservice organizations, such as
Habitat for Humanity in UnitedWay.
He serves as the chairman ofthe pilot mountain planning and
zoning board and has worked onthe mayor's downtown task force.
In regards to his campaignfinance for the 2024 election,
(05:15):
starting January 1st of 2023through December 31st of this
year, he's had a total of $4,884in contributions made by six
unique contributors, one ofwhich was himself.
His total expenditures is$45,094 with six unique payees.
He did loan the campaign$100,000 and it looks like he's
(05:39):
paid himself back $40,000 ofthat, actually $42,000 of that.
He did not complete the 2024candidate connection survey on
ballot pedia.
He did answer the survey backin 2018.
He was in 2018, he ran forNorth Carolina state senate but
(05:59):
lost in the primary election toVicki Sawyer.
Some of those questions may berelevant to get to allow you to
get to know him a little bitbetter, but they might not be
quite as relevant.
Moving on to Rachel Johnson, herwebsite is rachel4nc.
com and that's for spelled outf-o-r.
Rachel4nc.
com about Rachel putting herexperience to work for North
(06:27):
Carolina.
Rachel is running for NorthCarolina Treasurer because
Rachel wants the people of NorthCarolina to know their money is
being wisely invested tosafeguard our future.
Rachel is a mother, abusinesswoman and a taxpayer.
Rachel ran a small family-ownedbusiness in Davy County in
recent years.
Earlier in her career Rachelworked in retirement services
(06:47):
and has seen the peace of mindthat comes from smart planning.
She also spent time in theregulatory side of financial
services and understands theimportance of taking that extra
step and working those extrahours to ensure your money is
protected.
And most recently, as a smallfamily business owner, she
signed the fronts of checks andknows how to promote our state
investments, because a stabletreasury promotes a growing
(07:09):
economy and a growing economymeans more and better
opportunities for NorthCarolinians.
There is a button to donate andthat looks to be the extent of
her website.
Looking Rachel up on ballotpedia, her campaign finance
information was unavailable asof January 30th.
I did not see campaign financeinformation for Rachel on
(07:31):
ballotpedia, so I went to theNorth Carolina State Board of
Elections campaign documentsearch and it looks like she's
had a total contributions.
Her total contributions hasequaled $1,683.84, which is
(07:53):
actually what she contributedfor her filing fee to run for
office.
Other than that, it doesn'tlook like there's been any
expenses or contributions thathave been recorded, and this was
for the 2023 year end form, sonothing has been reported for
(08:14):
this year.
Rachel did not complete thecandidate connection survey for
ballotpedia.
Rachel did not respond to myemail regarding the NC Deep Dive
Voters Guide, and that bringsus to Brad Briner for Treasurer.
His website is bradbriner.
com.
(08:35):
It says Brad Briner Treasurer,conservative Republican
investment professional profits,not woke politics.
There is a YouTube or a videothat you can watch and it's a
picture of alphabet soup and itsays profits, not politics, in
the soup.
Why is Brad the most qualifiedcandidate?
About Brad?
(08:56):
I was born in Dallas, texas, andgrew up there as the youngest
of four boys.
The constants in our lives wereour family, our church and
being outdoors.
All four of us were EagleScouts, and the Boy Scouts had
an important influence on mylife.
I still believe in living bythe Scout Law being trustworthy,
loyal, helpful, friendly,courteous, kind, obedient,
cheerful, thrifty, brave, leanand reverent.
(09:17):
When I was five, my father losthis job in the recession in the
early 1980s, so my mom went towork at a private school in
Dallas.
I was lucky enough to be ableto attend there and that is
where I first realized that Ihad a head for numbers.
My dad began a career as aninvestor after that and we got
to watch Wall Street Week withLewis Ruckeser over dinner every
week.
Not exactly what the kids hopedto see, but it does explain how
(09:39):
we all ended up in finance.
One day in September 1989, mymom picked my brother and me up
from school and we did not gohome as usual.
Mom's explanation was thatsomething bad happened in the
stock market and that my dad wasvery upset.
So we went bowling, had somedinner, then got home late.
That is when I realized howimportant financial markets
could be in people's lives.
So from about the age of 12, Ihave always known that I wanted
(10:02):
to be an investor.
From there, I was fortunateenough to get scholarships to
attend boarding school in NewHampshire, Exeter, and then the
University of North Carolina atChapel Hill.
On the Moorhead Scholarship Istudied economics as I knew I
wanted to attend business schoolfor a master's degree.
Eventually, during college, Iwas active in my fraternity,
sigma Chi, and became a Die HardTarheel fan.
(10:22):
Through the Moorhead program Iwas able to have some
unforgettable summer experiences.
I taught math in Boston todisadvantaged students one
summer and interned at GoldmanSachs in New York the following
one.
I also was lucky enough to beable to take a semester off to
travel in South America courtesyof the scholarship.
When it came time to find a job, I thought I would go back to
(10:43):
work at Goldman, but I had met agirl who was going back to get
another degree at UNC.
So when the opportunity came upto help invest the endowment
for the university, it seemedtoo good to be true.
Both personally andprofessionally, I spent five
years there before heading offto business school at Harvard.
Along the way, that girl becamemy wife, almost 22 years and
four kids ago now.
(11:04):
During my time in businessschool, my former colleagues
from UNC decided to start a newbusiness, and I joined them in
doing that.
The business was essentiallythe same thing as we had done
for UNC, building billion dollarportfolios.
Only this time our clients werelarge families.
We were fortunate enough tohave good success and I stayed
there for seven years as one ofthe senior leaders of the firm.
In late 2011, I got a phonecall from a recruiter about
(11:27):
helping to build Willettadvisors.
The scale of the asset base andthe autonomy were incomparable,
so I joined the firm with acondition that I could remain in
North Carolina.
I rose to become one of theheads of the firm and we
experienced very stronginvestment results.
During my time there, I wasable to get involved with the
Department of State Treasurer asa member of the Debt
(11:47):
Affordability Advisory Committeewith UNC and the Rams Club
Global Education and recently,as a member of the Board of
Trustees, helped my kids schoolthe Durham Academy Finance
Committee and my high schoolExeter Investment Committee and
then the Board of Trustees andjoined the Board of a public
company and the investmentbusiness Boston Omaha Core.
(12:07):
All this added to my interestin using my investment and
financial skills in service ofthe state of North Carolina,
which ultimately led me toleaving my position at Willett
to pursue this campaign forstate treasurer.
What Brad will do to fix thetreasurer's office.
This is a bit lengthy.
Recent performance of the NorthCarolina recruitment system,
the also known as NCRS.
(12:29):
The state treasurer has threemain jobs invest the state's
retirement fund for our stateemployees and retirees,
administer the state health planand protect the state's AAA
credit reading.
Of those three coreresponsibilities, the state
health plan tends to generatethe most headlines, but it's the
North Carolina retirementsystem that poses the greatest
challenge for our next statetreasurer.
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The single most important taskfor the winner in November will
be to remedy the chronicunderperformance of the
retirement system.
The retirement system hasunderperformed for decades and
costs our taxpayers billions ofdollars each year.
Some quick math to prove mypoint.
Ncrs has averaged a 6.2% annualreturn over the past 20 years.
Similar sized but bettermanaged plans in other states
(13:12):
like Florida, texas, virginiaand Wisconsin, to name a few,
have averaged annual returns of7.6%.
Relative to those states, northCarolina has underperformed at
a rate of 1.4% per year.
In the past five years we haveunderperformed even worse than
that 2.3% per year.
Since NCRS currently managesabout $112 billion.
(13:33):
Underperforming by 2.3% peryear translates to the foregone
returns of about 2.8 billionevery single year.
That's roughly what NorthCarolina spends on highways and
roads, and that's just comparedto the average states.
Had NCRS achieved the sameresults over the last five years
as a leading peer such as theVirginia retirement system,
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there would be over $19 billionmore in our pension plan today.
That is enough to fully refundevery income tax payment North
Carolinians made in 2022 withalmost 2 billion left over.
We simply cannot afford tounderperform.
Why does NCRS underperform?
So what's the problem?
The retirement system hasunderperformed its target return
(14:15):
since the 1990s.
This is not a short-termproblem or a result that may
correct with the next upswing inthe market.
Rather, this underperformanceover three decades reflects
fundamental shortcomings in NCRSstrategy.
The central reason forunderperforming the target is an
irrational love for risk-freefixed income investments.
Ncrs owns far more US Treasurybonds and bills than any of its
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peers.
Part of this is a long shadowthat Harlan Boyles, the state
treasurer of North Carolina from1977 to 2001, cast over his
successors.
He delivered consistentlystrong returns for NCRS during
this time.
However, as market conditionsevolved and mostly as interest
rates fell, the strategy ofowning high-quality fixed income
(14:59):
became less and less likely tosucceed.
Yet NCRS did not modify itsstrategy in the face of new
facts.
Another reason forunderperformance is the
fundamental misunderstanding ofrisk.
While the risk of short-termloss is certainly one to
consider, and is the only onecurrently being considered, it
appears the risk of long-termunderperformance of the target
(15:19):
is the central risk we mustmanage.
This concentration intreasuries is also why NCRS has
so underperformed its peers.
Ncrs is supposed to be managedto meet long-term pension
liabilities running well intothe next century.
A fundamental principle ofinvesting is that assets should
be matched to liabilities.
Money for a home purchase nextmonth should not be gambled in
(15:41):
the stock market.
Conversely, a 20-somethingsretirement funds should not be
invested in cash and bonds.
But NCRS has failed to matchits long-term liabilities with
investments that offer thehighest risk adjusted return
over the relevant time horizon.
In recent years, this policyhas meant that the NCRS was
buying bonds that will pay ourstate as little as 1% per year
(16:02):
until they are redeemed decadesfrom now, for a system that
historically relied on returnsof 7%.
Such as strategy dooms NCRS tofailure.
Indeed, the state recentlyreduced its expected return to
6.5%, a partial, ultimatelyinsufficient, acknowledgement
that NCRS cannot achieve thereturns we need on our current
(16:22):
course.
Rather than lower the bar asyour treasurer, I intend to
improve performance as discussed.
That begins with assetallocation, better match to
pension obligations, reducingthe risk of underperformance and
increasing return.
Improving performance alsomeans maximizing net risk
adjusted returns on each assetclass in which NCRS invests.
(16:43):
Historically, ncrs has fixatedon fees paid rather than on
investment results produced.
I detest unnecessary fees and Ihave a long record in the
private sector of working toachieve the lowest fees
available from each provider,but what matters most are the
returns NCRS achieves after allcosts.
Selecting managers solely basedon low cost rather than on the
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net returns they deliver is adefinition of a penny wise and a
pound foolish.
What can be done?
One better governance.
Ncrs is one of only three statepension plans that still have a
sole trustee governance model.
This essentially means that thestate treasurer can make
investment decisions withoutconsulting with anyone else.
As a general matter, smallgroups make better investment
(17:25):
decisions than solo actors.
That is why successful privatesector investment firms have
investment committees and whystate pension plans have almost
all followed suit.
Of even more concern is thatthe sole trustee model is ripe
for abuse.
Of the three states New York,connecticut and North Carolina
that still follow the soletrustee model, north Carolina is
the only one not to have aformer pension official serve
(17:49):
time in jail for the corruptionsuch power enables.
In 2014, north Carolinacommissioned a study on how to
improve pension governance,which is linked.
The central recommendation wasclear, including a move to a
fiduciary board model wheremultiple appointed professionals
serve alongside electedofficials to direct the pension.
As the study explained, thisprovides continuity across
(18:11):
administrations, involves thosewith specific professional
expertise in pension governanceand dramatically reduces the
probability of bad acts.
Moreover, each of the pensionsshown above are governed in this
manner, demonstrating thelong-term performance
characteristics related tobetter governance.
Two of what can be done Changeof investment strategy.
There are two key ways we cangenerate better returns for
(18:34):
North Carolina taxpayers, stateemployees and retirees.
The first is better assetallocation.
Today, 37% of the NCRSportfolio is invested in cash,
united States treasuries andother investment-grade bonds.
This makes no sense.
As discussed, the NCRSportfolio is intended to fund
liabilities that span manydecades.
(18:55):
Other asset classes will almostcertainly provide higher
returns over that time horizon.
By contrast, low single-digityields on cash treasuries and
the like make it a certaintythat, on its current course, the
retirement system will fail toachieve its already reduced 6.5%
required rate of return.
In fact, in the last actuarialstudy of the plan, the
(19:17):
consultant clearly stated thatthe current asset allocation
strategy was highly likely tofail to meet the 6.5 return
threshold.
By contrast, other assetclasses offer prospective
returns that should enable NCRSto meet and exceed its target
return.
The inflation the Bidenadministration unleashed on
America made it possible to buyassets such as real estate at
(19:39):
prices that provide prospectivereturns higher than has been
possible for many years.
In a different vein, the ESGcrowd has driven a lemming-like
abandonment of sectors liketraditional energy sector that,
like tobacco a generation ago,creates compelling returns for
the non-politicized investorswho remain.
Beyond these cyclicalopportunities, we need to
(19:59):
resuscitate the privateinvestment program.
While such investments entailhigher fees to managers, they
have historically deliveredreturns after fees that are
substantially higher than thoseof any other asset class.
This conclusion is inescapablewhether one considers the last
three years of returns, fiveyears, ten years, fifteen years
or twenty years.
Despite these compellingreturns shown at the right,
(20:20):
alongside other asset classes,ncrs has substantially reduced
its allocation to investments inrecent years.
I will reverse that.
The second way to generatebetter returns is through better
investment selection.
Ncrs would benefit fromadopting a few best practices
from its peers Co investmentOften an investment manager will
identify an attractive privatetransaction that requires more
(20:43):
capital than the manager ispermitted to invest out of its
funds.
Fund participants are given theopportunity to co-invest with
the manager at fees that areeither substantially reduced or
waived altogether.
Other state funds regularly doso, lowering the effective fees
they pay and achieving a moreopportunistic deployment of
capital.
Historically, the retirementsystem has not Economies of
(21:04):
scale.
Our retirement system hashistorically allocated
relatively small amounts ofcapital to many managers.
Best practice is to identifythose managers who are best and
to allocate more to them.
In addition to the higherpre-fee performance that results
, this provides economies ofscale, as it is easier to
extract fee concessions whenmaking larger commitments.
Reduce constraints NCRS hasimposed constraints on its
(21:27):
managers that, while intended toreduce risk, have in fact
increased risk while decreasingreturn.
For example, while bonds ratedbelow investment grade are
individually risky, adiversified basket will
typically outperform higherrated bonds over a full economic
cycle.
Moreover, because the factorsthat cause such bonds to rise
(21:47):
and fall in price are differentthan those which drive pricing
of investment grade bonds, aportfolio comprised of both
investment grade and belowinvestment grade bonds is less
volatile.
Current NCRS guidelines limitinvestments in bonds rated below
investment grade and, in somecases, require rapid exit at
fire sales prices.
In conclusion, north Carolina'sretirement system has
(22:12):
substantially underperformed itspeers, costing North Carolina
taxpayers billions of dollarseach year.
We can and need to do better forour state employees, retirees
and their families.
Fortunately, the solutions areclear.
North Carolina should adopt thestructural reforms that were
recommended 10 years ago, which47 other states have already
adopted.
We must adopt an assetallocation that reflects the
(22:34):
long-term nature of retirementsystem obligations and best
practices and risk management.
We should achieve superiorreturns within each class by
focusing investments on topmanagers rather than spreading
it around, and by using scaleeconomies to abstract fee
concessions.
While the path forward is clear, much work will be required to
(22:55):
implement it.
While the path forward is clear, much work will be required to
implement it.
I believe that my background infinance, a deep interest in
these topics which I recognizemany find mind-numbing and a
stubbornness in pursuing theright answers all make me the
best candidate to fix ourretirement system's problems.
I hope you will agree and thatI can earn your vote.
(23:17):
I would be pleased to hear fromanyone with constructive
thoughts on how to make NorthCarolina's retirement system the
best performing large pensionplan in the country.
For us to follow short of thatobjective is to cost the state
future billions that couldinstead be devoted to services
and tax cuts.
Thank you, brad Piner.
And that is the totality of hiswebsite.
(23:37):
Looking him up on ballotpedia.
It talks about him earning hisbachelor's degree from UNC in
Chapel Hill in 1999.
Brynner has been affiliatedwith the University of North
Carolina Board of Trustees, thePhillips Exeter Academy Board of
Trustees and the Boston OmahaCorporation Board of Directors.
For his campaign financeinformation for the 2024
(24:00):
election, which again startedJanuary 1st of 2023 and runs
through the end of this year.
He's had a total of $36,434 incontributions from 14 unique
contributors.
He's had a total of $1,354 inexpenditures and four unique
(24:20):
payees.
He did loan his campaignpersonally $500,000.
Brad did answer the candidateconnection survey for ballot
pedia, so there are a number ofquestions there if you would
like more information.
Brad did not respond to myemail regarding the NC Deep Dive
Voters Guide, so I don't havehis responses there.
(24:41):
I did find an article.
Just doing a Google search ofthe candidates, I didn't find
anything that seemed to be outof the ordinary for any of these
candidates, but I did find thisarticle from businessnccom
that's entitled GOP TreasurerCandidates Differ on Investing
State Money, and it talks abouthow the current state treasurer,
(25:02):
dale Folwell, is stepping downas he seeks the Republican
nomination for governor.
His tenure has been marked bywell-publicized campaigns to
reduce fees paid by the statefor investment management
services, to force NorthCarolina hospitals to provide
more transparency in theirpricing and to stop the
healthcare industry's rapidconsolidation.
Both Brad Briner and RachelJohnson praised Folwell's
(25:25):
efforts on healthcare.
They had a questionnaireJohnson answered via email,
Briner did a phone interview andAJ Daoud did not answer or
respond to their questions.
Johnson says she'll work withlawmakers to find common
solutions that bring down thecost of healthcare.
Briner praises Folwell'sefforts to make hospital pricing
(25:45):
more available to consumers,noting that he didn't understand
the industry's antipathy to theconcept.
He says there seem to becurrent incentives for hospitals
to get fined rather thanpublish their prices as required
by law.
He also said that Folwell hasquote unquote done a great job
running the Senate health plan,which represents more than
750,000 state employees,retirees and dependents.
(26:09):
But the issue of the retirementsystem investing clearly divides
Briner and Johnson.
Brynner was a key overseer ofbillionaire Michael Bloomberg's
personal investments for a dozenyears before leaving his post
in December.
He notes the founder ofBloomberg LP has a net worth
somewhat comparable to the assetsize of the North Carolina
pension funds.
He contends Folwell'sconservative investing approach
(26:32):
is costing North Carolina'sretirement system about $3
billion a year when compared tothe performance of Virginia and
other top performing statepension funds, which equates to
about 10% of the annual budget.
He's quoted saying I'm notadvocating gambling.
I'm talking about taking smart,sensible steps to achieve the
6.5% to 7% annual returns thatthe system requires.
(26:54):
In her email Johnson says I willcontinue Treasurer Folwell's
good work of protecting andimproving the NC retirement
system.
She adds there's always atemptation in this role to flex
and try to make a risky play.
It's gotten a few folks introuble over the years.
The people of North Carolinadeserve an experienced candidate
who will enter the jobcompletely independent of
(27:15):
previous ties to Wall Street andthe elites of New York finance.
She pledged to answer quoteonly to the people of North
Carolina.
End quote Johnson's campaignwebsite notes quote early in her
career Rachel worked inretirement services.
End quote it notes she has alsoquote spent time on the
regulatory board of finances.
Ran a small family ownedbusiness in Davy County end
(27:36):
quote.
She does not have a LinkedInaccount, with little name
recognition.
Brynner says he expects to relyon digital media to get his
message out before the Marchprimary.
Johnson says she's beentraveling across the state for
campaign events, noting sheattended many GOP meetings in
support of her husband'scampaign, which he was a state
superintendent of publicinstruction from 2017 through 21
(27:58):
.
He did not seek re-election andhe lost a Republican primary
for lieutenant governor in Marchof 2020.
She endowed a small businessowner and veteran GOP activist
quote are not strangers tograssroots voters and we're not
hoping to win this race by beinga faceless keyboard cowboy.
End quote, she said via email.
So those are the only things ofnote that I really found doing
(28:22):
the Google search Again.
This is on the Republicanballot for NC treasurer and the
three candidates are AJ Daoud,Rachel Johnson and Brad Briner,
and you are eligible to vote forone of them.
Democracy is the foundation ofall we hold dear.
We are better as a community,state and nation when we all
(28:44):
take part in our civic duty bybeing informed and casting our
vote.
The candidates and offices onyour ballot can have a major
impact on our everyday lives andcan have real consequences.
They create and enforce ourlaws, invest in our future
well-being, fund all the thingslike our schools and roads,
ensure we have safe drinkingwater and food to put on our
(29:07):
tables and advocate on behalf ofthose they represent, hopefully
keeping in mind both the littleand the big picture of it all.
Early voting is now going on andwill continue through Saturday
March 2nd.
Our closest early votinglocations will be the WE Hunt
Center in Holly Springs and theHilltop Needmore Town Park and
(29:27):
Preserve in Fuquay Varina.
The main primary election willbe held on Tuesday March 5th.
If you vote that day, it's bestfor you to go to your
designated polling place or elsesome of the races you are
eligible to vote for may notshow up on the ballot they have
available to give you Duringearly voting.
Each area in Wake County hasall the possible ballots for
(29:48):
Wake County Election day.
They will only have the ballotthat corresponds directly to
that particular precinct.
Please remember you now need tobring your photo ID If you
happen to forget or have hadsome extraordinary circumstance
happen, you will have a fewdifferent options provided to
you, but it will be best andeasiest and most efficient to
bring it with you If, for somereason, you haven't registered
(30:11):
to vote yet, you may registerand vote at the same time during
early voting at any one of thesites.
March 2nd will be the last dayto register to vote for this
primary election, and thatbrings this episode of the NC
Deep Dive to a close.
Make sure you check out all theother relevant episodes for the
2024 primary election at www.
(30:32):
ncdeepdive.
com, apple Podcasts, Spotify,audible or wherever you
currently listen to yourpodcasts.
I will be including helpfullinks for each candidate and
voting in general on ourwebsite's show notes, including
our NC Deep Dives Voters Guidefor the 2024 primary election.
(30:52):
We were blessed to have manycandidates take the time to
share their thoughts and speakto voters within Southern Wake
County.
The Voters Guide is arranged byparty affiliation and organized
in such a way to make itrelatively easy to find the
races or candidates you might beinterested in.
All candidates' websites arelinked.
If I was able to find one, Ialso consciously chose to
(31:13):
arrange the Voters Guidestarting at the end of the
ballot.
So often we are aware of thelarger races, yet don't hear
much about, or take the time tolearn about the smaller races.
As always, if you have anyquestions, concerns or topics
you'd like to share.
You may contact us via socialmedia or our email at
ncdeepdive@gmail.
com.
Thank you for engaging withthis episode and becoming a more
(31:35):
informed citizen.
Democracy is a team sport.
Together, we make democracywork and our communities a
better place to work, play andlive.
Your vote matters, your voicematters.
You matter.
Until next time, my friends.
Namaste the love and light inme sees and honors the love and
(31:55):
light in you.
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