Today, Nov. 5 is election day and the window of time to vote will officially close at 8pm. The treasurer position for Carlsbad City Council has been in contention between candidates Christian Peacox, Gregorio Kahn, Michael Williams and Thomas Krouse, Jr.

Gregorio Kahn was contacted multiple times about an interview but never responded. The remainder of the article will not mention him or have any quotes from him.

The Carlsbad City Council Treasurer position is unlike the treasurer position in other cities and counties.

“The role of Carlsbad treasurer is to be the chief investment officer for the approximately 900 million dollars in cumulative city reserve funds,” Krouse said.

Most other cities and counties outsource this work, and the role of the treasurer becomes a financial advisor.

Peacox believes that a change in the treasurer’s responsibilities could elevate the position and improve the local government.

“I believe that the treasurer can be more,” Peacox said. “When you have a mentality of cooperation, there’s a lot more that can be done and a lot more that the treasurer can contribute.”

Williams’ main concern about the treasurer position is the lack of investment equipment available.

“The city lacks technology in order for the treasurer to do a good job,” Williams said. “We need to find out what the prices of the different investments are in relation to each other so that the treasurer can pick the right investment.”

Krouse wants the treasurer position to operate with more transparency. He referred to an incident during the pandemic where official reports concealed certain information to make the Carlsbad Fund to make it seem healthier than it was.

“The fund lost 30 million dollars, but got between 32 and 47 million dollars in federal subsidies,” Krouse said. “But all the official reports that came out of the city said for the year that the fund balance was up about 12 million dollars.”

Williams believes his current position as a municipal advisor will help him manage Carlsbad’s funds proficiently.

“In my current job which I’ve been doing for 32 years, I only have government clients,” Williams said. “The city of Riverside is a client of mine, and their budget is several billion dollars a year. I’m very familiar with government accounting and finance.”

When it comes to background experience, Peacox highlights his finance experience.

“I have an extensive background in investing for corporate finances and my own finances,” Peacox said. “I have worked for Disney, Buena Vista Home Video and Nortel Network.”

Krouse has an extensive academic background in economics.

“I got my undergraduate degree in economics from Stanford,” Krouse said. “I took courses from people like Michael J. Boskin who was the former chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors to President George H.W. Bush.”

Krouse has worked in the investment field for most of his life and has held multiple notable positions.

“I have 30 years in the field with 27 of them directly in investment management,” Krouse said. “I was the director of hedge fund operations for Wall Street West. I later became COO and then CEO of that fund. I became co-manager of Palomar Capital Management, here in Carlsbad. I’ve also been in other C-level roles as a member of the Investment Policy Committee.”

Williams has been in the treasurer position before and has experience with the role.

“I was a treasurer of a small city with a population of about 50 thousand in San Bernardino County called Colton,” Williams said. “I did that for 18 years.”

Peacox plans to form a committee to have multiple inputs on where to invest the city’s money.

“I want to create an investment advisory committee and get input from them and use their advice to responsibly manage the city’s investments,” said Peacox.

Williams also has endorsements from numerous notable figures that are in or previously were in the Carlsbad City Council.

“I’m endorsed by the retired mayor of Carlsbad, Matt Hall, and current city council member, Melanie Burkholder,” Williams said. “I’m also endorsed by the treasurer that just retired, Craig Lindholma.”

In order to increase the stability of the fund, Peacox wants to look into increasing the limit for the size of investments that the Treasurer position can make.

“The length of the longest investment is five years, but the entire portfolio has to mature within three years,” Peacox said. “With the yield curve the way it is, you can get a better return on your money by investing in longer term securities.”

Every vote counts. Voters should make sure that they are registered and cast their vote by Nov. 5. For information on how to vote, click here. To register to vote, click here.

The Sage contacted Gregorio Kahn multiple times about conducting an interview but did not receive a response.