Ted Wheeler

Ted Wheeler
Treasurer of Oregon
Incumbent
Assumed office March 11, 2010
Governor	Ted Kulongoski John Kitzhaber Kate Brown
Preceded by	Ben Westlund
Chairperson of the County Commission of Multnomah County
In office 2007–2010
Preceded by	Diane Linn
Succeeded by	Jeff Cogen
Personal details
Born	Edward Tevis Wheeler (1962-08-31) August 31, 1962 Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Katrina
Alma mater	Stanford University Columbia University Harvard University
Website	Government website

Edward Tevis "Ted" Wheeler (born August 31, 1962) is an American politician from Oregon. He was appointed Oregon State Treasurer on March 9, 2010, to replace Ben Westlund, who died in office, and was subsequently elected to a full term in 2012. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Wheeler is currently first in line to the governorship, due to the appointment of Jeanne Atkins as secretary of state. Under the Oregon Constitution, appointed officials are not included in the line of succession.

Early life and education

A fifth-generation Oregonian, Wheeler was born in Portland, Oregon, where he attended Portland Public Schools, including graduation from Lincoln High School. He received a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Stanford University in 1985. He also earned an MBA from Columbia University and a masters in public policy from Harvard University. Wheeler worked for several financial services companies, including the Bank of America and Copper Mountain Trust.

Political career

In 2006, Wheeler defeated incumbent Multnomah County chair Diane Linn to become chairman of the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners, taking office in January 2007.

Multnomah County Commissioner

Shortly after his election as Chair of the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners, Wheeler worked with his colleagues to balance a county budget that had called for $22.3 million in cuts in 2009. Wheeler also fought to preserve social safety net programs and to protect vulnerable Oregonians from predatory financial tactics by eliminating hidden fees from state-issued debit cards

Following the loss of nearly $16 million in Oregon Common School Fund and Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund investments, Wheeler co-filed a class-action lawsuit with Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum to recover the money after firms misled investors

Building, preserving and updating public space and infrastructure was also a critical focus during Wheeler's time as County Commissioner. Wheeler led efforts to construct new libraries in Kenton and Troutdale and also establish the new East County Courthouse construction project. In addition, Wheeler fought hard to fund the crumbling Sellwood Bridge.

State Treasurer

Wheeler in 2012

On March 7, 2010, incumbent Oregon State Treasurer Ben Westlund died of lung cancer. Two days later, Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski appointed Wheeler to fill Westlund's seat. Wheeler defeated fellow Democrat Rick Metsger in the Democratic primary election on May 18, 2010, and subsequently defeated Republican Chris Telfer, Progressive Walt Brown and Michael Marsh of the Constitution Party in a special election in November that determined that Wheeler would complete the rest of Westlund's term, which was set to expire in 2013. He won election to a second full term in 2012.

As Oregon Treasurer, Wheeler has practiced aggressive financial management, achieving more than $172 million in cash flow savings since 2013. In addition he has also pursued policy beyond savings to help all Oregonians, including:

• Proposing the Opportunity Initiative to help low- and middle-income families attain job training and education.
• Streamlining and simplifying state investment through the Oregon Investment Act, and creation of the Oregon Growth Board, which works to grow business in Oregon.
• Working to build Oregon's public employee retirement system (PERS) into one of the nation's healthiest.
• Advocating for the creation and eventual passage of a state-run retirement plan, offering Oregonians the choice of enrolling into a plan where they wouldn't have otherwise been able to.
• Revamping the Oregon 529 College Savings Network.
• Calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission to increase transparency of corporate political activity, expose the gap between CEO and worker pay, while himself voting to curb uncontrolled CEO pay.

Wheeler also promoted environmental stewardship as State Treasurer, committing to doubling Oregon’s investments in renewable energy resources by January 2020, and double them again by 2030, while also pledging not to pursue new investments in coal. In addition, Wheeler also promoted the use of ESG (Environmental Social Governance) for all state investments to improve long-term performance, while also urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to institute tougher reviews of carbon asset risk disclosures from 45 major corporations.

Campaign for Mayor of Portland

Wheeler launched a run for Mayor on October 14, 2015.

Wheeler has also campaigned on addressing income inequality, ensuring an affordable Portland for all ages and building an open, inclusive and honest government. During his announcement speech, Wheeler promised to build a government that worked "for every person."

"Taking care of those in need. Taking responsibility for protecting our environment. Taking action right now to close the gap between our wealthiest and poorest residents by providing economic opportunity for lower-income and middle-income families. Equal access to our government for every person. Understanding that every dollar we spend came from a taxpayer and we need show our respect for how hard that taxpayer worked to earn those dollars by spending them wisely. These are the authentic values of Portland. And these are my values."

— Ted Wheeler

In October 2015, former Mayors of Portland Vera Katz, Tom Potter, and Sam Adams endorsed Wheeler for the office. Gresham Mayor Shane Bemis endorsed Wheeler, as did State Representatives Lew Frederick and Tobias Read and former State Senators Ron Cease, Jane Cease, and Avel Gordly, as well as 2012 mayoral candidate Eileen Brady.

Political positions

Gun control

Wheeler supports gun control, and supports requiring rigorous background checks for people aspiring to own guns.

Personal life

Ted Wheeler is a sixth-generation Oregonian who was born in Portland. After graduating from Lincoln High School in Portland's Goose Hollow neighborhood, Wheeler volunteered at the Goose Hollow Shelter as an overnight host before moving on to earn degrees from Stanford University (Economics), Columbia University (Masters of Business Administration), and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University (Masters in Public Policy).

Wheeler has devoted his time and talents to numerous diverse organizations including Neighborhood House, Portland Mountain Rescue and the Oregon Sports Authority. He is also an Eagle Scout who has snowshoed to the North Pole, climbed Mount Everest and competed in Ironman triathlons.

Wheeler lives in Southwest Portland with his wife and daughter. An Eagle Scout and avid outdoorsman, he summited Mount Everest in 2002.

External links

• Campaign website