A new poll by Carolina Journal shows Republican candidate for state treasurer Brad Briner with a slight lead over his Democratic opponent, State Rep. Wesley Harris, which may indicate voters’ confidence in which candidate is the most qualified for the position.
The poll of likely voters, conducted statewide by Cygnal on Sept. 15 and 16, shows Briner, of Orange County, leading by 42% compared to Harris, of Mecklenburg County, with 40%.
Briner, a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill and Harvard Business School, has worked for UNC Management, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Creek Capital Management, and Willett Advisors, which manages the assets of the Bloomberg family, from which he retired last year after 12 years as its chief investment officer. He was appointed to the UNC-Chapel Hill board of trustees in 2023.
According to his campaign website, Briner states that during his time with Willett Advisors, he was able to get involved with the Department of State Treasurer as a member of the Debt Affordability Advisory Committee, UNC; help with his child’s school Durham Academy, by serving on its finance committee; serving on his New Hampshire high school’s investment committee and board of trustees; and joined the board of Boston Omaha Corp, a public company in the investment business.
Briner said all of that experience led him to retire from Willett and run for state treasurer.
In addition to managing healthcare plans, investments, and unclaimed property and providing financial support to local governments, the office currently gives the state treasurer the sole authority to oversee the state pension fund, which has an estimated market value of $123 billion.
Harris, also a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, has a graduate degree and Ph.D. from Clemson University. He has served in the General Assembly since 2019, has worked for Ernst & Young and Dixon Hughes, and as an adjunct professor at UNC-Charlotte. He is running on his experience as a state legislator, economist, and consultant.
Business North Carolina, recently published an article on Sept. 12 raising questions over Harris’s lack of ownership of stocks and any real estate over $10,000. They looked at his Statement of Economic Interest, which every candidate running for office files with the state.
While there are no state laws requiring candidates for the treasurer to own stock or real estate, such experience is viewed as directly relevant to the treasurer’s role in managing the state’s investments. The article points out that Harris currently doesn’t hold shares in any public or private companies, nor does he own any real estate in North Carolina that exceeds $10,000 in value.
The state does require elected officials and board appointees to file an annual report listing their investments and debts generally, using $10,000 as a benchmark. It doesn’t distinguish whether the filer holds $10,001 or $10 million; it also does not require filers to include holdings like mutual funds or deferred compensation plans.
Harris’s filing indicated his income as a legislator, which is under $14,000 a year, plus a per diem of $104 during a legislative session, income from Beacon Consulting, and that he received over $10,000 from “Economic Consulting Broadband Analysis for California.”
Business NC also reports that he has separate debts exceeding $10,000 to a bank and a credit card company.
Briner’s SEI showed holdings of a home and other real estate in Chapel Hill, more than $10,000 in 10 publicly owned companies, and more than $10,000 in 12 “private interests” such as Florida Real Estate Value Fund II, and two funds affiliated with Atlanta-based private equity firm Battle Investment Group.
Harris’s campaign manager, Grayson Barnette, told Business NC that voters, business owners, and entrepreneurs understand that Harris’ experience sets him apart from Briner, adding that he is a PhD economist with a specialty in public finance, which allowed him to develop a career crafting and building laws to help businesses and consumers in the marketplace.
“Wesley was an economic consultant for one of the world’s largest accounting firms, providing his clients with complex asset and company valuations,” Barnette said in a statement published by Business NC. “He is also a three-term member of the North Carolina House of Representatives; and the only PhD Economist in the legislature. In the House, he has been the lead member for his party on economic and financial matters and is one of the most qualified voices in North Carolina politics on the impact of the state budget, especially as it applies to the pension plan and State Health Plan.”
Both Briner and Harris are critical of current Republican State Treasurer Dale Folwell’s handling of the pension plan, which they say is underperforming.
Folwell decided to leave the office and run for the Republican nomination for governor, which he lost to Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson in the March primary.
Harris told News & Observer earlier this year he plans to invest more of the pension plan to boost returns instead of holding cash, negotiate with health care providers for lower costs by promoting more preventative care, and focus on the financial aspects of a local government’s investments instead of his political leanings.
Briner touts his own experience as that which sets him apart. He told Ballotpedia, “With my deep experience in managing large pools of capital, I can and will improve performance of the pension plans, which will free up billions for the State Legislature to return to taxpayers or to spend on essential services like education or infrastructure. Currently, we are funding ~$2.8 billion per year into the pension plans, or one in every 6 income tax dollars our state collects. Properly managed, we could reduce that to zero over time.”
North Carolina is just one of three states with a state treasurer who is the sole fiduciary of the state’s pension fund. Harris would like to keep it that way, saying that eliminating it would give the legislature more power, which he opposes.
Briner, on the other hand, would like to move away from the sole fiduciary model, saying he believes small groups make better investment decisions than individuals and that the model enables potential for corruption.