State Sen. Elizabeth Steiner, in an undated provided photo, a candidate for Oregon’s next state treasurer. Steiner is a family physician and professor at Oregon Health & Science University, and has served in the Legislature for 12 years, eventually rising to the role of a lead budget writer.
Courtesy of the campaign
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OPB asked candidates for Oregon’s state treasurer position the same questions. Candidates were given a 150-word limit. Anything beyond the 150-word total was not included in these responses. Read our coverage of this race here.
To start, please give us your name and basic biographical details, including your current position or job, any elected offices you have held and any key facts you would like voters to know about you.
Name: Elizabeth Steiner
Age: 61
Current position/job: State Senator, SD-17; Adjunct Associate Professor of Family Medicine, OHSU
Elected offices held: State Senate (2011-present); Co-Chair of Joint Ways and Means (2018-2024)
Key facts: Endorsed by Planned Parenthood PAC of Oregon, Oregon AFSCME, SEIU Oregon, Oregon League of Conservation Voters, Oregon State Fire Fighters Council, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, and many more.
What are the job duties of the state’s treasurer?
The State Treasurer has two primary responsibilities. First and foremost, the Treasurer is responsible for significant investments, including the Oregon Public Employee Retirement Fund and a range of other investments. In particular, the Treasurer is responsible for growing the pension fund, safeguarding the delivery of retirement benefits for state workers, and reducing our pension fund’s unfunded actuarial liability. The Treasurer is also responsible for growing Oregon families’ financial security through a variety of mechanisms, such as 529 plans or College Savings Plans, and Oregon Saves, which is a retirement plan for all workers whose employers don’t offer their own plan. The Treasurer’s primary responsibility is building a stronger and healthier Oregon by helping Oregonians improve their financial well-being.
Why should you be elected Oregon state treasurer?
I first ran for office because I believe Oregon can be the healthiest state in the nation. I still believe that’s true and that’s exactly why I’m running for State Treasurer. I’ve served in the Senate for 12 years, and served as Co-Chair of the Ways & Means Committee for the last 6 years. I’ve led the effort to invest in services we all depend on such as the Oregon Health Plan and public education, all while growing our reserves by not overspending. I have strong working relationships with the Governor, our current Treasurer, and stakeholders across the state. The Oregon Treasurer’s office manages $130 billion in assets – not a trivial sum of money. Serving as Oregon Treasurer would be a continuation of my legislative responsibilities and skills including managing large sums of money, holding state agencies accountable, and finding new ways to keep Oregonians healthier and more financially stable.
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What is the most pressing financial challenge facing the state? What is your proposed solution to that problem? Please be specific.
The biggest financial challenge facing our state is ensuring that we maintain and improve the delivery of critical services the state provides for Oregonians, including the Oregon Health Plan, state-funded daycare, K-12 funding, and other core services despite inflation and other pressures. We’ve built reserves, but we’re going to have to figure out long-term funding solutions that protect these services.
As Treasurer, I’ll work to lower our pension system’s unfunded actuarial liability, reducing public employer contributions to pension costs and freeing up more money for program related costs. I also commit to empowering Oregonians to achieve financial security by increasing the range of savings programs offered by the Treasury in order to help families save for education, retirement, and emergencies.
By addressing pension costs and giving Oregonians more ways to reach financial security, we can ensure our state continues to offer robust social services while improving our state’s economic resiliency.
How, or would you aim to differentiate yourself from Tobias Read and his leadership and policies?
As Treasurer, I am committed to implementing a child savings account program to help Oregon families save for their children’s future. I will also bring together the savings programs offered by Treasury into one platform, either on a website or via app, in order to increase uptake and accessibility of these programs. In addition, I intend to begin stakeholder outreach with communities of faith, labor unions, parent-teacher organizations, and other interested parties in order to create a robust adult financial literacy program. Finally, I’ll work in conjunction with the legislature to ensure that the Treasury has the staff capacity it needs to undertake the job of implementing the Net Zero Plan. The payoff for these programs is long-term, but the sooner we can get them up and running, the faster we can create a better future for our children and Grandchildren.
Should Oregon divest from Israeli-owned businesses? Why or why not? What role should divestment campaigns play in the treasurer’s office? Do you see this as a key function of the position?
In any consideration of divestment, our fiduciary responsibility to protect pension returns for retirees must come first. As a candidate, I’m not in a position to decide about any given industry or company in our portfolio, but as Treasurer I will increase transparency in Oregon’s shareholder voting, increase worker engagement in where we decide to invest their money, and set stronger guidelines on how our fund managers use our influence to push for environmental, social, and corporate governance reforms for the companies in our portfolio.
Oregonians who advocate for divestment will always be welcome to share their perspective to the Treasury team and the Oregon Investment Council. Throughout my career as an elected official my door has always been open to everyone. It’s important that the Treasurer is cognizant of different ideas and perspectives on every issue when considering how to grow the pension fund.
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True or false: Oregon’s personal income tax kicker rebate should remain unchanged? Please explain your answer.
False – the kicker should be reformed so that the maximum benefit goes to low-income Oregonians, rather than being weighted to give the greatest benefit to the wealthiest Oregonians. The presence of the kicker is one of the main factors adversely affecting Oregon’s credit rating. Reforming the kicker to both benefit low-income Oregonians and protect our credit rating is the right next step.
Name another Oregon leader, either current or in the past, whose approach to public policy you admire and why.
I admire the approach of Senator Ron Wyden, because of his track record of building bipartisan collaborative approaches to problem solving, and for his understanding the importance of access to health care. I also admire his commitment to serving the entire state and listening to the perspectives of all Oregonians by holding annual town halls in each of Oregon’s 36 counties.
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