July 13, 2011 06:16 AM UTC

Credit Where Credit is Due

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• by: Tyler Chafee

(Between this and Stapleton’s PERA concern trolling, he set the bar pretty high for his own performance–will they sing Stapleton’s praises come audit time like they did Cary Kennedy? – promoted by Colorado Pols)

Just sayin’…

From veteran political reporter Ed Sealover at the Denver Business Journal:

The audit that has set off a conversation about whether Colorado Treasurer Walker Stapleton should invest in foreign currency also had high praise for Stapleton’s predecessor, Cary Kennedy.

During Kennedy’s four years as treasurer from 2007 through 2010, her office’s return on its investments met or exceeded every benchmark against which it was compared in a difficult market, wrote Buck Global Investment Advisors, which performed the audit for the state.

While investment returns were below national benchmarks during the first few quarters that Kennedy was in office, they exceeded them, sometimes by eight times the percentage of return, at the end of her term, the audit showed.

Cary Kennedy said no to risky investments.  The kind of investments that landed countless government funds across the country in hot water.

After receiving the audit, the one-time real estate company executive was complimentary of his predecessor and the state’s investment officers, who he inherited in his administration.

“It’s a reflection of the admirable job that the staff of the treasurer’s office has done, which includes her,” Stapleton said. “I give her credit for doing a good job and maintaining state investments in a volatile market.”