Curtis M. Loftis, Jr.

Curtis M. Loftis, Jr.
Curtis Loftis
State Treasurer
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 12, 2011
Preceded by Converse Chellis
Personal details
Born September 8, 1958 (1958-09-08) (age 53)
West Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
Political party Republican
Alma mater University of South Carolina
Profession Small Businessman
Religion Baptist[1]
Website treasurer.sc.gov/Pages/default.aspx

Curtis M. Loftis, Jr. (born September 8, 1958) is an American politician, businessman and philanthropist. He currently serves as the Treasurer of South Carolina. He was elected on November 2, 2010 and inaugurated January 12, 2011. In the Republican Primary, Loftis garnered 62% of the vote and carried all 46 of the state's counties. In the general election Loftis received more than 907,000 votes [2] because he had no opposition.[3]

He had previously won the Republican primary election on June 8, 2010, becoming the party's nominee for treasurer.[4] The primary campaign was contentious with Loftis characterizing himself as a conservative reform candidate.[5] He was endorsed by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney,[6] former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum,[7] former US Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and the Club for Growth. He received many state Tea Party movement endorsements, including Boiling Springs, Laurens County, Aiken County, Spartanburg, Hartsville and Myrtle Beach. Loftis was also supported by the business community and received several newspaper endorsements including the Spartanburg Herald-Journal.[8]

Contents

Accomplishments in Office

SC Treasurer Curtis Loftis Following a Congressional Hearing.jpg

Treasurer Loftis has championed transparency and accountability during his time serving in state government. He fulfilled a campaign promise by refusing a state-issued car [9] and instead drives his own car to and from work.[10] Loftis also backed up his campaign pledge by putting his entire work schedule on-line, making him the first state-wide elected official in the country to give taxpayers a detailed view of what he is doing on a minute-by-minute basis.[11]

Public aspects of the Office include Treasurer Loftis being the investor for South Carolina's Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan [12] in addition to overseeing the Palmetto Payback Unclaimed Property Program.[13]

Treasurer Loftis is an advocate of financial literacy.[14] He toured the state to raise awareness of financial literacy in school visits. [15]

Treasurer Loftis successfully pushed to have South Carolina Budget and Control Board meetings moved to a larger meeting room.[16] Prior to his request, meetings were held in a conference room with virtually no seating for the general public.

Mr. Loftis authorized the first GAS Audit of the department since 1988.[17]

In the first six months in office, Treasurer Loftis has made numerous national media appearances to discuss the economy and debt issues [18][19] in addition to topic involving transparency and accountability along with politics [20] in the Palmetto State.[21]

Description of the Office

Main article: State treasurer

The Treasurer of South Carolina is the investor of the Local Government Investment Pool (LGIP) and the Future Scholar 529 Fund. He is the Vice Chairman of the State Budget and Control Board. The Board is at the core of South Carolina’s State Government, handling functions such as: the SC Retirement System, State Procurement, State Insurance Programs, Budget Office, State Auditor’s Office, State Human Resources’ Office, General Services and the State Technology Office.

He is Chairman of the Board of Financial Institutions which supervises state chartered financial institutions and supervises mortgage originators and lenders, finance companies, pay day lenders, and title lenders. He is a member of the South Carolina Retirement System Investment Commission, which manages the $27 billion dollar fund and has a $13 billion unfunded liability[22]. He is also a member of the South Carolina Education Authority and the state Public Service Authority. [23]

Biography

Curtis Loftis in Ukraine

Loftis is a life-long resident of South Carolina; he was born on September 8, 1958 in Columbia. He graduated from Brookland-Cayce High School, later graduated from The University of South Carolina, an alumnus of the class of 1981. While at USC, he was twice elected president of the Student Senate and was a member, and president, of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.[6]

Business and Philanthropy

Treasurer Loftis with Mitt Romney in N. Charleston, SC

Loftis is the owner of several central South Carolina businesses and is involved in real estate investments.[24] He has been active in local and national politics. In 1999, Loftis established Saluda Charitable Foundation[25] and is its principal benefactor.[26]

The foundation's activities are faith-based and provide nutritional and housing services to orphans and to the elderly.[27] The Saluda-Ternopil Charitable Organization and SCF have been involved in remodeling hospitals, orphanages [28] and a senior home in Ukraine, built a church and financed medical missions in Bolivia. SCF has also provided over 300,000 meals to the needy, supported medical missions in Haiti, and operates on three continents.[29]

Background in Government

In 2007, at the request of the state's Lieutenant Governor, Loftis became Director of the state's Office on Aging, the department of state government that administers federal funds received through the Older Americans Act.[30]

He reduced this agency's operating budget by 20%, permitting the savings accrued to be invested in improved access to services for seniors.[31] As Director of the LGOA, Loftis served on the SC Council on Aging, the Adult Protection Coordinating Council, the Developmental Disabilities Council and the Medicaid Transportation Advisory Committee.

In 2008, for the South Carolina Comptroller General, Curtis Loftis served as Director of Transparency and as Chair of the South Carolina Enterprise Information Oversight Committee (SCEIS).

SC Treasurer General Election Map

Political Campaign

Curtis Loftis announced his candidacy for the Office of State Treasurer in March, 2010. He succeeded the previous State Treasurer, Converse Chellis in January, 2011. The spirited campaign featured several interviews with Loftis, including national media appearances.[32] The campaign also featured the first and only radio debate at Columbia's WVOC a News/Talk formatted radio station in Columbia, South Carolina AM on the Keven Cohen show.[33]

Loftis weighed in on the 2012 GOP Presidential nomination by endorsing Mitt Romney. [34] Loftis is the chairman of Romney's 2012 campaign in South Carolina.

References

  1. ^ "Meet Curtis Loftis | Curtis Loftis for South Carolina Treasurer". Curtisloftis.com. http://www.curtisloftis.com/meet-curtis%20. Retrieved 2011-09-01. 
  2. ^ "State Treasurer". 2010 Election Results. South Carolina State Election Commission. 2010. http://www.enr-scvotes.org/SC/16117/28318/en/summary.html. Retrieved November 7, 2010. 
  3. ^ "Loftis Facing No Opposition". The State. http://www.thestate.com/2010/11/02/1541978/loftis-facing-no-opposition-for.html. Retrieved 8 November 2011. 
  4. ^ "2010 Primary Individual Resutls". Post and Courier. June 9, 2010. http://www.postandcourier.com/politics/primary/2010/. 
  5. ^ "Loftis faces no opposition for SC treasurer". Associated Press. November 2, 2010. http://www.thestate.com/2010/11/02/1541978/loftis-facing-no-opposition-for.html. Retrieved November 7, 2010. 
  6. ^ a b Romney, Mitt (2010). "Curtis Loftis". Free and Strong America PAC, Inc.. http://freestrongamerica.com/candidate/curtis-loftis. Retrieved November 7, 2010. 
  7. ^ Huckabee, Mike (July 14, 2010). "Huck PAC Endorses Curtis Loftis For State Treasurer Of South Carolina". http://www.huckpac.com/?Fuseaction=Blogs.Comment&Blog_id=3153. Retrieved November 7, 2010. 
  8. ^ "Spartanburg Herald Journal". GoUpstate.com. http://www.goupstate.com/article/20100526/ARTICLES/5261000/1128/opinion?p=all&tc=pgall. Retrieved 2011-08-31. 
  9. ^ Collins, Jeffery (2010-06-09). "Newcomer Loftis Defeats Chellis". Associated Press. http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/jun/09/newcomer-loftis-ousts-chellis/.  -
  10. ^ "Treasurer Loftis, Gov. Nikki Haley butt heads - Local". TheSunNews.com. 2011-03-28. http://www.thesunnews.com/2011/03/28/2065578/loftis-haley-butt-heads.html. Retrieved 2011-09-01. 
  11. ^ "Blog Network - Release: Loftis Puts Daily Work Schedule Online". Voices.washingtonpost.com. 2011-01-20. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/politics/blog-network/2011/01/release_loftis_puts_daily_work.html. Retrieved 2011-09-01. 
  12. ^ "Many South Carolinians Signing Up For Future Scholar 529 Accounts". The Dillon Herald. 2011-08-05. http://www.dillonheraldonline.com/2011/08/05/many-south-carolinians-signing-up-for-future-scholar-529-college-savings-accounts/. 
  13. ^ "Palmetto Payback Gives Back Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars to SC Residents". Florence Morning News. 2011-02-25. http://www2.scnow.com/news/2011/feb/25/palmetto-payback-gives-hundreds-thousands-dollars--ar-1507200/. Retrieved 2011-09-01. 
  14. ^ "SC Treasurer talks financial literacy in schools". WMBF-TV. 2011-05-11. http://www.wmbfnews.com/story/14629628/copy-sc-treasurer-talks-financial-literacy-in-schools. Retrieved 2011-09-01. 
  15. ^ "Kids get gadgets, financial lessons from treasurer". Post and Courier. 2011-05-12. http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2011/may/12/kids-get-gadgets-financial-lessons-from-treasurer/. Retrieved 2011-09-01. 
  16. ^ "Post and Courier Brian Hicks: A Treasurer With Audacity". Post And Courier. http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2011/mar/07/a-treasurer-with-audacity/. Retrieved March 7, 2011. 
  17. ^ "Treasurer Authorizes Audit". Morris Newspapers. http://www.blufftontoday.com/bluffton-news/2011-07-29/outside-audit-coming-sc-treasurers-office-after-two-decades. Retrieved July 29, 2011. 
  18. ^ "How State Treasurers Are Battling The Downgrade". FOX Business Channel. 2011-08-10. http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/1102782399001/how-state-treasurers-are-battling-the-downgrade/. Retrieved 2011-09-01. 
  19. ^ "After Debt Fight, States Crave Stability". NPR. 2011-08-02. http://www.npr.org/2011/08/02/138925076/after-debt-fight-states-crave-stability. Retrieved 2011-09-01. 
  20. ^ "Anyone's Race in South Carolina". Roll Call. 2011-07-05. http://www.rollcall.com/issues/57_1/south-carolina-voters-willing-to-overlook-social-stances-206986-1.html. 
  21. ^ "7 Ways Government Cuts Could Affect You". ABC News. 2011-08-02. http://abcnews.go.com/Business/us-debt-deal-top-ways-cuts-affect/story?id=14205747#4. 
  22. ^ "Ryberg: Overextended retirement system costing teachers jobs url=http://www.scsenategop.com/2011/08/31/ryberg-overextended-retirement-system-costing-teachers-jobs/". 
  23. ^ "Public Service Authority". SCStatehouse.gov. http://www.scstatehouse.gov/cgi-bin/query.exe?first=DOC&querytext=58%2031%2020&category=Code&conid=6661051&result_pos=0&keyval=1156. Retrieved 2011-09-01. 
  24. ^ "Spartanburg Herald Journal Candidate Profile". Spartanburg Herald Journal. http://datacenter.goupstate.com/electionresults/candidate/47773250. Retrieved 2011-09-01. 
  25. ^ "The Saluda Charitable Foundation was started by Curtis Loftis Jr.". The Columbia Star. July 28, 2006. http://www.thecolumbiastar.com/news/2006-07-28/Society/031.html. Retrieved November 7, 2010. 
  26. ^ "Curtis M. Loftis, Jr.". Saluda Charitable Foundation. http://www.saludacharitable.com/contactabout.htm. Retrieved November 5, 2010. 
  27. ^ "Treasurer Invests In Life". The State. 2011-08-01. http://www.thestate.com/2011/08/01/1918318/treasurer-invests-in-life.html#storylink=misearch. Retrieved 2011-09-01. 
  28. ^ http://www.saluda.te.ua/orphan.html
  29. ^ http://www.saluda.te.ua/mercy01.html
  30. ^ "Accountability Report" (PDF). SC Lieutenant Governor’s Office on Aging. State of South Carolina. 2007. p. 2. http://aging.sc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/5560E73F-2EAC-4A12-910A-134C762CC9F7/0/OoAAccountabilityReportFY0607.pdf. Retrieved November 7, 2010. 
  31. ^ Sewell, Jeffrey (June 12, 2008). "Lt. Governor’s Office on Aging Director to Step Down". S.C. Hotline. http://schotlinepress.wordpress.com/2008/06/12/lt-governor%E2%80%99s-office-on-aging-director-to-step-down/. Retrieved November 7, 2010. 
  32. ^ Factor, Mallory (2010). "Curtis Loftis for Treasurer" (Video). Forbes Network. http://video.forbes.com/fvn/mallory-factor/curtis-loftis-for-treasurer. Retrieved November 7, 2010. 
  33. ^ "SC Treasurer's Race Heats Up". WACH-TV. 2010-06-01. http://www.midlandsconnect.com/news/story.aspx?id=464947#.Tl-wJ2oz-nA. 
  34. ^ "South Carolina Conservatives Warming to Mitt Romney". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/south-carolina-conservatives-warming-to-mitt-romney/2011/10/10/gIQAgjb3aL_story.html. Retrieved October 10, 2011. 

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