The statewide committee of EMPAC, the political arm of the State Employees Association of North Carolina, voted Saturday to endorse Ron Elmer for the Democratic party nomination in the State Treasurer election.

The endorsement came after a forum hosted by EMPAC at the SEANC Central Office in Raleigh featuring all three candidates for Treasurer – Elmer, along with his Democratic party challenger Dan Blue III and Republican Dale Folwell.

As a former Vice President of First Citizens Bank, Elmer managed more than $2 billion of the stock portfolio for the state retirement system. He was also a Vice President at BB&T and worked at a Durham firm that specializes in pension investments. He has authored four books on investing and has taught finance at N.C. State University. He is a Certified Public Accountant for more than 20 years.

EMPAC Chairman Tony Smith said while he thanks all three candidates for taking the time to meet with the committee Saturday, Elmer’s experience and depth of knowledge of state employee issues like the management of the retirement plan and state health plan stood out.

State employees are required to contribute six percent of their paychecks each month to the state retirement system. SEANC has long criticized the current management structure of those funds, which allows the Treasurer to make high-risk investments that have high management fees associated with them.

“It was clear that Ron Elmer had the knowledge and skills needed to fairly work with state employees as state Treasurer,” said Smith. “His pledge to save taxpayers more than $100 million annually in investment fees through better management of the retirement system is sorely needed. We look forward to working with him to cut cost and provide stability to the State Health Plan as well.”

SEANC, SEIU Local 2008, is the South’s leading state employee association 55,000 members strong. With 2.1 million members, SEIU is the fastest-growing union in North America. To keep up on SEANC’s daily news, follow us on Twitter @SEANC2008 and “like” us on Facebook at facebook.com/SEANC.Local2008.