Casey to run for treasurer, seek governor’s office again
Pennsylvania Auditor General Robert P. Casey Jr. said he plans to run on his record of cracking down on fraud and waste when he begins his campaign for state treasurer in the 2004 election. He discussed his campaign plans and his intentions to run for governor again, during a recent interview with Herald-Standard Publisher Val J. Laub and Editor Michael C. Ellis for the “Editor’s Notebook” television program.
The interview will air on HSTV.
State law limits auditor generals to serve two terms, and Casey, 43, of Scranton, is serving his second term in that position.
Auditor generals may run for treasurer, but treasurers are not permitted to become auditor generals because the auditor general audits the treasurer’s office. Republican Treasurer Barbara Hafer is serving her final term.
But Casey said he already has plans to run again for governor.
“I don’t think there’s any question that I’ll run again in the future,” Casey said, noting that he has formed a committee to begin raising money for a run at governor, possibly in 2010.
He attributed his loss of the Democratic Party nomination to Gov. Ed Rendell in the 2002 primary election to Rendell’s strong showing in Philadelphia and the southeastern Pennsylvania region, and he said he was pleased with winning more than 75 percent of the vote in Fayette County.
His father, former Gov. Robert P. Casey, lost three primaries before winning in his fourth attempt.
While Casey said he hopes he doesn’t have to run that many times, he learned from last year’s loss. He said he did not spend enough time talking directly to voters and about his track record as auditor general.
“I have a tremendous record,” cracking down on waste and fraud in government, government agencies, school districts, personal care homes and nursing homes, Casey said.
As auditor general, he said, he is the “watchdog” of state finances, and the treasurer is the “custodian of tens of billions of dollars” in state money and a watchdog.
In his current watchdog role, Casey said, he has been forced into a legal battle to gain authorization to audit the Pennsylvania School Employee Retirement System (PSERS) and the State Employee Retirement System (SERS) pension plans.
He said the auditor general has the authority to audit the pensions, because public employees, whose salaries come from tax dollars, pay into the funds, but a lawsuit filed on behalf of those enrolled in the plans seeks to block the audit.
Private firms administer the pension plans, which had $80 billion in assets and lost $20 billion over the last two years, he said, noting that the plans are larger than the state’s $21 billion general fund budget.
About 7,400 Fayette County residents are in the PSERS, and “hundreds of thousands” of people are in both plans statewide, he said.
Casey said if he loses the court battle, other audits could be rendered illegal.
Other recent audits revealed wasteful credit card purchases made by Department of Transportation employees and questioned the actuarial soundness of the Tuition Account Program, in which residents can pre-pay college tuition, Casey said.
He said an audit “lights a fire” under state agencies and forces them to improve oversight.