Jeremy Sherer for State Treasurer

The race for State Treasurer is not a sexy race. I mean, it doesn't get a lot of attention, there are no controversial racial issues or hateful ads to get the public's attention. Most of the interest is on the Republican side, because one of their candidates is a Boozer. That's his name, Young Boozer. I'm going to refrain from making any obvious jokes.

On the Democrat side, however, we have a young progressive candidate and an established party switching candidate. I need to go no further than this quote from Left in Alabama.

It appears that you get a well-connected pol like Democratic candidate for
Treasurer, Charley Grimsley, a guy adept at playing both sides of the political
game. He's boasted about his friendship with Lt. Governor Folsom while
donating $5,000 to Roy Moore in 2006. He contributed $2,000 to George W.
Bush in 2004 (the day before the election) and $2,300 to Barack Obama last
October.

Grimsley may have been a Democrat when he donated to Roy Moore, but that is an automatic lifetime disqualifier as far as I am concerned.

But even if Grimsley had not drifted to the dark side, I would still be in support of Jeremy Sherer.



Jeremy is an attorney whose career has focused on protecting the rights of consumers. He's involved with Alabama Citizens’ for Constitutional Reform, and serves on Governor Bob Riley’s Blackbelt Action Commission (as do I).

I've heard Jeremy speak and he has good ideas regarding PACT, which has to an extent been rescued anyway, so lets look at some other things. As far as cash management, Jeremy points out that a lot of Alabama is held in banks located outside of our state. About $270 million.

"As Treasurer, I will ensure that state taxpayer dollars are deposited in
Alabama based lending institutions that are good corporate citizens within their
lending communities, by utilizing state resources to grow their local economies
through principled lending practices."

Jeremy is also concerned about financial literacy and points out that about 20% of Alabama families are dependent on payday loan stores, pawn brokers and refund advance services to get by. These are predatory services. The public needs to be protected from such, and Alabamians need to be educated regarding the financial systems of the 21st century.

As far as openness and transparency goes, Jeremy wants to offer a detailed account of all state financial holdings, expenditures, and investments via an online database. In addition, "I will establish an anonymous whistle blower hot line so that misuse of state funds may be reported," he says.

Sherer has called for increased fees on our offshore drilling companies. “It is past time that reckless corporations operating off of Alabama’s coast pay their fair share to our state.”

Jeremy has been endorsed by the New Jefferson County Citizens Coalition, The Jefferson County Progressive Democratic Council, the Talladega Daily Home and the Anniston Star. The Mobile Building and Construction Trades Council (composed of 15 labor unions in the region) also endorsed him.

The Daily Home stated:

Sherer's ideas coalesce into a picture of a forward-thinking state treasurer
who will look for unconventional solutions to existing problems. He's part
of a new generation of politicians in Alabama, and it's about time.

Learn more about Jeremy at Sherer in 2010.