PoliticsPA recently interviewed candidates for Pennsylvania State Treasurer – the incumbent Republican Stacy Garrity and the democratic candidate Erin McClelland.
Garrity is a graduate of Sayre High School in Bradford County, earned a degree in finance and economics from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania and later received a certificate from the Cornell University Business Management Institute.
She served in the United States Army and completed three tours of duty before reaching mandatory retirement age in 2016.
Garrity ran for public office in 2020 and defeated a Democrat Joe Torsella – For the first time since 1994, a Republican candidate defeated an incumbent Democratic state official – despite outspending him 8 to 1.
In an interview with PoliticsPA, she spoke about her achievements over the past three and a half years.
Responses may be shortened for length and clarity.
One of the great unknowns for people in the Commonwealth is what exactly the State Treasurer does. What is the position responsible for?
Garrity: I agree that most people don’t know what the state treasurer does. I’m basically the custodian of the commonwealth’s finances, which are over $150 billion, and we invest about $50 billion of that directly. I serve on 17 boards and commissions, and the largest of them are SERS (Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System), PSERS (Public School Employees Retirement System), and PMERS (Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System). I also manage our consumer programs, and I always talk about the unclaimed wealth, the $4.5 billion that doesn’t belong to the state.
I have a PA 529 college and career savings plan that’s doing fantastically well and I just got promoted to Gold by Morningstar in November, which makes us one of only two Gold plans in the entire country. We’re incredibly proud of that. I also have PA ABLE, which stands for Achieving a Better Life Experience, and that’s for our disabled people, and our assets have tripled in the last three years.
You spent time in the military before joining the private sector. Tell me about your military experience..
I spent 30 years in the U.S. Army Reserve. I am an MP – military police – and I have served three deployments, all in the Middle East. The first was Operation Desert Storm in 1991, then Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 and finally Operation Enduring Freedom in 2008-2009. During my last deployment, I was a battalion commander at Camp Bucha in southern Iraq, with 1,200 soldiers under my command, managing approximately 7,000 detainees.
Our mission was to provide care and custody with dignity and respect. I must say that we were the first internment center in the theater where there were no allegations of abuse and no escape attempts. If I had not reached my mandatory retirement date in 2016, I would never have run for political office because serving our country has been and is the honor of my life.
What have been your greatest achievements during your term in office?
The first thing I would like to address is unclaimed property. Last fiscal year alone, we returned approximately $274 million, the largest amount ever returned in a single year from the Treasury. I returned 413 military medals, including 10 Purple Hearts and three Bronze Stars. We get them from a vault that is, interestingly enough, the largest lively vault in the country. We get them primarily from abandoned safety deposit boxes. And as a veteran, it is very significant to me to return these medals to the veterans who earned them or to their families so that we can show how much we appreciate their service to this nation and their sacrifice.
With PA 529, we hit a gold record and have about $7.5 billion in assets under management. We’ve had some fee reductions, and at the end of this fiscal year, we’ll be saving $11.5 million back into the pockets of hard-working parents or grandparents who have accounts with us.
PA ABLE is a relatively up-to-date program, about seven years elderly, and is part of the 19-state ABLE Alliance. Our state has 25% of assets under management and just passed a up-to-date milestone of $120 million.
We’re starting to see more women in public office. As the fifth woman to ever serve as state treasurer in Pennsylvania, why do you think it’s taken so long? Why is it happening now and why is it a good thing?
I don’t know why it took so long, but I do know that the number of women in the General Assembly is growing, and the number of women running for judicial office is growing. I think women are more results-oriented. I don’t mean to say that the men I work with aren’t results-oriented. I think the trend that we’re going to see is women running for office.
You have been criticised for your response to the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October and the Commonwealth’s increased investment in Israeli bonds. Can you tell me what the thought process was behind that?
After the horrific slaughter of 1,200 innocent Israelis on October 7, I was contacted by Israel Bonds and we immediately invested another $20 million. Let me be clear, we had been investing in Israel bonds since the 1990s, so treasurers from both sides saw that it was a great investment. They never went bankrupt and they made above-average returns. Simply put, I believe that a democracy should stand with other democracies and that we should support our greatest ally in the Middle East.
Hamas, their plan since 1948 is the total extermination of Israel and the Jewish people. Simply put, if Hamas stopped fighting, there would be no more war. If Israel stopped fighting, there would be no more Israel.
As the oversight body, is it your job to ensure that all General Assembly expenditures are constitutional and arranged?
If we see a payment and we’re not sure (about its legality), we always come forward and ask questions. I have a fiscal control department and we check every payment we make, which is a fun fact, it’s three payments per second.
What sets you apart from your general election opponent, Erin McClelland?
What sets me apart is that I have a real record. When I was elected, it was a huge sensation. In preparation for the swearing-in ceremony, I contacted the former Treasurer, Joe Torsellaand I asked him to speak. He said, “Oh, Stacy, we don’t do that in Harrisburg.” And I said, “Well, maybe we should.” And I explained that I wanted to do a change of command ceremony, and I wanted to give you an opportunity to thank your staff and tell them what you’re most proud of.
He said he’d think about it, but added, “You’re going to be under a lot of pressure to change your mind.” I said, Joe, you don’t know me very well. I’m not going to change my mind. Finally, he spoke, and it was great. Then I asked, Governor Wolf to put him back on the PSERS pension board because he was a robust advocate for reform on that board. And I kept his staff. I told the legislators that I commanded a battalion in a war zone with 1,200 soldiers under my command. I think I can pick my staff, so half of my senior staff is across the aisle. One of the reasons we were able to break all of those records is because I kept the highly qualified people who were there.
You were an unabashed supporter of former President Donald Trump. What do you think of the verdict in New York?
I think the real verdict will be announced on November 5, when people go to the polls.
You also criticized Roe v. Wade and supported the Dobbs decision. Do you think that creates any problems in the context of universal suffrage with women in the Commonwealth?
Abortion has nothing to do with the role of State Treasurer. I supported it in the States and I absolutely do not support a national ban. And I have to tell you, I am a passionate supporter of women’s reproductive rights. I have never, ever shared this story, but you know, I have not been fortunate enough to have children. I have tried in vitro fertilization with my husband several times, so I absolutely support reproductive rights.
Have you thought about your political future after taking over as state treasurer?
We know I shouldn’t be here right now. Every day I wake up and feel so blessed to be able to serve the people of Pennsylvania. I’m really focused on this election and continuing to be the best Treasurer I can be for all of our wonderful, hard-working people.
Wednesday; Conversation with Erin McClelland.
