The San Diego County treasurer-tax collector oversees an $18 billion investment portfolio and the collection of $9 billion-plus in annual property taxes and supervises a staff of 125. Incumbent Larry Cohen — appointed by his fellow Democrats on the county Board of Supervisors last November after the retirement of longtime Treasurer Dan McAllister — is facing challenger Shirley Nakawatase, a certified professional accountant who founded her own firm.
Cohen, whose previous job was serving for five years as chief of staff for Rep. Juan Vargas, D-San Diego, has repeatedly been criticized by Nakawatase as unfit for the job. In an Aug. 31 interview with editorial writers, she emphasized that she was “the only financial professional running for this office.”
But in his interview later that same day, it was Cohen who came across as much better prepared to talk about the nonpartisan post and the changes he hoped to make if elected to a full term. Before becoming a congressional aide, he spent 23 years in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. He also started businesses of his own. This diverse background is a plus, not a minus. Whether the topic was how to reduce the backlogs that have delayed processing property taxes paid with checks, the need to upgrade older financial systems or the urgent importance of maintaining the county’s strong credit ratings, Cohen offered cogent, well-thought-out responses. Nakawatase often detoured into lengthy anecdotes of questionable relevance.
The U-T Editorial Board endorses Larry Cohen for county treasurer-tax collector.