State treasurer candidate Rep. Cole McNary plans for the office include extending the work of a committee he led in the Missouri House of Representatives, a focus on long-range planning for state government spending and an examination of the state's pension systems.

McNary, R-Chesterfield, has served as a state representative since 2008, and said although the treasurer's office is one that doesn't receive much attention because it is considered a "technical position," it is worth his time and effort to attain because the office now has to wrestle with more spending issues forced by a weakened economy.

He was introduced to the Cape Girardeau County Republican Women's Club during its monthly meeting Friday at Dexter Bar-B-Que by state Rep. Wayne Wallingford, who will become a member of the state Senate in January.

Wallingford was mentored by McNary in the state legislature following his election to the House in 2010. Friday, he credited McNary with helping him "get on a fast track" as a legislator.

McNary headed the Downsizing State Government committee, created in 2008, which he said has saved millions of dollars by taking laws off the books that are no longer needed and getting rid of many inefficient programs, commissions and boards. Interest in the committee by freshman legislators would keep that committee going if he does switch offices after November, he said, but he also wants to see the committee's effectiveness carry over to the treasurer's office.

"In a statewide office we do even more with that," he said. "We could put together plans for it in the treasurer's office and sell it to the legislature."

McNary said government pension systems, which have recently shown to pose major funding issues in neighboring states, need to be closely looked at in Missouri and that Democrat incumbent state Treasurer Clint Zweifel, his opponent, isn't looking.

Zweifel's campaign disputes McNary's claims and said Friday the only pension fund the treasurer has any official role in is that of the Missouri State Employees' Retirement System, which is, according to its calculations, 79.2 percent funded. McNary, according to the campaign, has been saying the pension fund is at 60 percent, but that is using outdated numbers.

"Clint is a strong advocate for increased transparency in government and his record has consistently backed that up," Zweifel's staff said in an email.

Examples, the campaign said, included a public disclosure by Zweifel's office that a state pension fund had been a victim of Bernie Madoff's fraud scheme, which staff wrote led to "stronger due diligence policies and more transparent disclosure of losses," the treasurer making pension benefits of elected officials and judges available online for the first time, and a catch by Zweifel and his staff of an undisclosed $45 million loss and subsequent questioning of Missouri State Employees' Retirement System staff on the loss, and why it wasn't disclosed. Zweifel, according to staff, pushed for action that would allow the state to pursue action to recover the loss.

eragan@semissourian.com

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236 S. Broadview St., Cape Girardeau, MO