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May 23rd , 2023 Political Note #562 Dustin Granger Louisiana Treasurer
2023 Election
Think of Dustin Granger as Shawn Wilson’s running mate. Shawn Wilson is running for Louisiana’s Governor/Dustin Granger is running for Louisiana’s Treasurer. They are the only Democrats running for statewide office in Louisiana in 2023. Democrats do not have a candidate for Lt. Governor, for Attorney General, for Secretary of State or for either of the elected commissioners – Agriculture or Insurance.
I usually limit myself to urging readers to donate to candidates where donations could make a difference between winning and losing. I will not make that claim for Dustin Granger. The goal in his case is to finish respectably, to help build a Democratic bench. And maybe. Just maybe, to win.
Donations to the liked and respected former State Secretary of Transportation Shawn Wilson could make the difference between winning and losing. He is Black man running to replace an incumbent white Democrat whose views on cultural issues are almost as conservative as the views of Republicans. Some prognosticators project the Governor’s race as Lean Republican. A Republican lean is not a bad place to begin a race that could turn out to be a Democratic win.
Dustin Granger is originally from Sulphur, Louisiana. In 2014, the southwest Louisiana town of Sulphur was named the best place in the state to raise a family. Accept that claim, but be cautious. The town of 22,000 people is also known for alligators that wander into areas populated by humans. Sulphur is also known for…. uh, sulfur. Useful in the manufacture of explosives and fertilizer, cement and glass, the discovery of sulfur shortly after the end of the Civil War promised prosperity. Unfortunately, the sulfur was below a mixture of muck and quicksand infused with deadly gas — hydrogen sulfide. Mining the sulfur using conventional mining shafts killed too many miners to make the project feasible. A process invented and introduced by a German immigrant at the end of the 19th century made mining possible. The Frasch Elementary School is named after the man who finally made the town prosperous.
The Sulphur Dustin Granger grew up in is known, not only for its mining and its oil refinery and its alligators, but also for its Brimstone Museum that highlights Sulphur’s history and the Frasch process for mining sulfur. Dustin Granger ventured as far away as Baton Rouge to get his Bachelor’s degree in business administration from Louisiana State University in 2002. In 2002, Nick Saban was LSU’s head football coach, on his way to making his team the national champion, which he achieved in 2003.
Dustin Granger worked for almost 13 years as a financial advisor for Wells Fargo Advisors in the Lake Charles area. The City of Lake Charles is a gritty manufacturing town dominating by chemical plants and an oil refinery. In 2018, this city of 85,000 people – roughly evenly divided between white and black Louisianans — was identified as having the highest violent crime rate in the country.
Dustin Granger left Wells Fargo in 2017, a year after the company was fined almost $200 million for creating phony accounts for customers and charging them for those accounts. The Wall Street Journal commented on the number of brokers leaving Wells Fargo. The Advisor Hub analyzed why nearly 1,000 brokers left Wells Fargo during 2017 and 2018. Wells Fargo claimed that their new hires were more productive at a time when accounts were declining. The stories made me wonder whether those who left were more likely to conform to the rules set by regulators.
There are those who love the oil and chemical industry of southeastern Louisiana. John Schroder, the outgoing Republican Treasurer, is one. He is running for governor on the strength of his experience as Treasurer. His tenure was marked by the withdrawal of Louisiana’s $794 million from the BlackRock Inc investment firm because, he claimed, they put social goals ahead of better investment returns. BlackRock is the world’s largest investment manager. They argue that taking into account environmental, social, and corporate governance issues is wise investment management and leads to higher long-term returns. I know a little about BlackRock. These are not flighty people. These are people whose fiduciary responsibility is the financial interests of their clients. I don’t know if Dustin Granger would return to BlackRock. I am confident that he would invest differently than John Schroder has.
Dustin Granger argues that taking account of environmental, social and corporate governance, as BlackRock does, is a wise investment strategy. Furthermore, he says Louisiana has wasted billions of its money by investing in an oil and gas economy that is in decline. He adds that even if the oil and gas economy were not in decline, a state that is heavily dependent on the oil and gas industry, should diversify its investments. Just as employees are advised to invest their money in firms other than where they work, Louisiana should be investing its funds in fields that are different from what the state is dependent on. Failure to diversity means that a problem in a single sector could create enormous state-wide financial problems.
Dustin Granger’s advice is consistent with the financial advice of others who also make their living in the field. Could he break through politically? His political situation is different from Shawn Wilson’s. Shawn Wilson could have a politically battered opponent; that is less likely to be the case for Dustin Granger.
Louisiana’s filing deadline is August 10, 2023. We won’t know for sure who the candidates will be until then. The non-partisan primary (called a Jungle Primary by Louisianans.) is scheduled for October 14. Five Republicans, one independent, and one Democrat have announced for governor. The likelihood that one candidate will get more than 50% of the vote and the win in October is slim. Shawn Wilson will probably be one of the two highest vote getters. In the runoff, he will oppose a Republican who has been battered by fellow Republicans in the primary. The run off is November 18. Shawn Wilson could defeat a battered Republican.
Only two Republicans have announced they are running for Treasurer. Ex Congressman John Fleming and State Rep Scott McKnight. Fleming, who spent some time in the Trump administration, says: “…there is a new issue that we have never dealt with – the issue of bringing Environmental, Social, Governance…..to the idea of where our money is invested.” If Fleming is going to take a position, he’s not telling.
McKnight is a wealthy insurance executive who may self-finance. He says he will be a conservative “watchman over our state finances” in the mold of John Schroder and former Treasurer and current US Senator John Kennedy. McKnight is on his way to taking the wrong position. If David Granger emerges from the non-partisan primary, he will probably be opposed by Scott McKnight. They will confront each other regarding whether investments that consider how a company deals with the environment, with social issues, and with governance are made at the expense of profits or are made to generate profits.
Help David Granger. He’s going to have to do well enough so that he is at least second in a three person race in which no one gets 50% of the vote. If he can do that on October 14th, he will have a chance to win on November 18th – just because his approach to investing is clearer than Fleming’s and wiser than McKnight’s. See what you can do.
Other 2023 Elections
Democrats for Governor:
Incumbent Andy Beshear Kentucky, Formerly, the Attorney General. Len’s Political Note #533
Shawn Wilson Louisiana, Formerly the State Secretary of Transportation. Len’s Political Note #549
Brandon Presley Mississippi, Formerly one of three elected public service commissioners. Len’s Political Note #535
Democrats for Attorney General
Colonel Pamela Stevenson Kentucky, former Senior Official in the Air Force Judge Advocate system and state rep. Len’s Political Note #561
Greta Martin Mississippi, litigation director for the non-profit Disability Rights in Mississippi. Len’s Political Note coming.
Virginia State Legislature – Republicans have a 51-46 majority with 3 vacancies in the House of Delegates and Democrats have a 22-17 majority in the State Senate with 1 Republican who does not caucus with the other Republicans.
The seats below are competitive. See Len’s Political Note #540 and Len’s Political Note #541
Expect additional Notes after the June primary.
House of Delegates
Incumbent Mike Mullin House District 69
Leonard Lacey, House District 64, ex state cop, pastor
Max Sawicky House District 30, economist
State Senate
Incumbent Danica Roem Senate District 30
Incumbent Monty Mason Senate District 24
Incumbent Clint Jenkins Senate District 17
