Roby Smith plans ‘deep dive’ into state Treasurer’s programs

Republican Roby Smith, a Davenport lawmaker who unseated Democrat Mike Fitzgerald to become the first new state banker in 40 years, plans to do a “deep dive” into the office’s programs and investments before committing to any changes.

In November’s elections, Smith ousted Fitzgerald, the longest-serving state treasurer in U.S. history, and took office this week. The treasurer is responsible for maintaining the state’s investments, including its pension funds, and serves as its elected banker.

The office also runs programs, such as College Savings Iowa; IAble, a program for Iowans with disabilities to save tax-free; and the Great Iowa Treasure Hunt, which returns unclaimed funds to its owners.

"We're going to take a look at the whole office. It's been 40 years since there's been a change, and I think we need to modernize the office," Smith said.

He would like to advocate for a savings program under the umbrella of the Treasurer's Office to allow Iowans to save money tax-free for a down payment on their first home.

"But it's basically what I also campaigned on," Smith said. "If there's a time we need to stand up to the federal government, I'll be the megaphone. I will look to advocate to return money back to the taxpayer. But the No. 1 thing is protecting people's money and get the best return on the investment."

This fall, several Republican state treasurers made moves to divest state funds from firms they said focused too much on environmental and social issues.

West Virginia's treasurer this fall announced that several banks, including Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Wells Fargo, would be barred from government contracts with his state because they were reducing their investments in coal.

More recently, in December, Florida's state treasurer announced a plan over time to pull $2 billion out of BlackRock, one of the country's largest investment firms, over the company's focus on issues like climate change and workforce diversity.

Smith said he'd talked with several lawmakers who might introduce legislation related to the Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System — which manages a retirement fund for former government employees — investment in BlackRock, but he'd leave investment policy like that to lawmakers.

"I think when it comes to investing, the No. 1 thing is return on the money. And then No. 2 is to make sure that we're protecting Iowa's business and industry," Smith said. "We don't want to invest with someone that wants to harm agriculture … so I think the answer is we're going to wait for the Legislature to give us a directive on that."

Smith pointed to Iowa code that prohibits the state from investing in companies that boycott Israel.

Fitzgerald and his staff sat down with Smith and his future chief of staff a few weeks after the election, Smith said.

"I can tell you they've been nothing but gracious as far as helping us get up to speed, knowing what we need to know to take over Jan. 1," Smith said, adding that he commended Fitzgerald for his service and for his help during the transition.

As far as staffing changes he plans to make, Smith said he'd bring in, for example, a new chief of staff, but "for the vast majority, we're going to keep a lot of people in place."

Brenna Bird, who unseated longtime Democratic incumbent Tom Miller for the state Attorney General's Office, requested 19 staff resignations, less than 10 percent of the office, the Iowa Capitol Dispatch reported.

Smith was a lawmaker from Davenport who first was elected in 2010. As a lawmaker, he was most known for shepherding changes to voting laws that, among other changes, shortened the window for early voting.

Smith is a part owner of the Quad-Cities River Bandits baseball team, worked 10 years as a banker for U.S. Bank and is an unpaid member of the Quad-Cities area U.S. Bank Board.