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Pennsylvania Treasurer Resigns

State Treasurer Rob McCord steps down amid signs of federal probe.

By Angela Couloumbis, Jeremy Roebuck, and Craig R. McCoy

 

State Treasurer Rob McCord said Thursday that he was stepping down after six years in office, as signs emerged that he is under scrutiny by federal authorities.

Investigators have been asking about McCord's campaign fund-raising in recent months, according to several sources close to the examination. The focus and extent of the inquiry are unclear.

McCord, who submitted his resignation to Gov. Wolf on Thursday morning, did not respond to requests for comment. His spokesman, Gary Tuma, said in a statement that "this is not a matter on which the Treasury Department can comment."

Tuma added: "Treasury routinely receives investigatory subpoenas or requests for documents from local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. It has been the department's policy to cooperate with and fully respond to all law enforcement inquiries, and to honor the confidentiality of any such inquiry."

He did not elaborate.

McCord's resignation, halfway into his second term, was an unexpected and abrupt departure for a Montgomery County Democrat who twice won statewide elections and barely a year ago was seen as a viable contender for the governor's office.

But the former venture capitalist from Bryn Mawr came in a distant third in last year's Democratic primary. And by all accounts, he took the loss hard.

Although he kicked in roughly $2 million of his own to propel his campaign, it paled in comparison with the $10 million in personal funds that Wolf, a York businessman, spent on his campaign -- which McCord had said gave Wolf an unfair advantage.

During the primary campaign, McCord was one of the few candidates who aggressively attacked Wolf. At one point, he raised the issue of race by connecting Wolf to a former York mayor who was charged with murder after allegedly inciting white gang members to kill a black woman during York's 1969 race riots. The former mayor was acquitted.

In his resignation letter, McCord told Wolf he felt he had accomplished as treasurer what he set out to do -- modernizing the agency, making it more efficient, and expanding its role as a fiscal watchdog.

Among the accomplishments McCord cited were eliminating a $400 million unfunded liability within the state's College Tuition Account Guaranteed Savings Program; expanding the abandoned-property program within the agency, returning more property to its rightful owners; creating a short-term lending initiative within the capital fund, saving millions; and improving transparency within the tax appeals process.

He said he would resign effective Feb. 12 to return to the private sector, without offering details.

"It has been the privilege of a lifetime to serve the citizens of Pennsylvania as their elected state treasurer for the past six years," he wrote.

McCord named the agency's chief counsel, Christopher Craig, to serve as acting state treasurer.

Wolf will nominate a successor, who must be confirmed by the Senate. The governor's spokesman, Jeff Sheridan, said no decision on a successor had been made.

Early in the day, Wolf was among a number of top Democrats who issued statements praising McCord's service.

"In the past six years, Treasurer McCord has saved our commonwealth over a billion dollars by modernizing the Treasury Department, expanding innovative programs for our citizens, and protecting Pennsylvania's best interests," Wolf said. "I thank him for his tremendous service, commitment and dedication, and wish him well in his new endeavors."

Later in the day, Wolf's spokesman clarified that the governor had not been aware of any federal investigation when he issued his statement.

(c)2015 The Philadelphia Inquirer

 

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