Several Of Region’s Office Holders Own Diverse Array Of Investments

Regular election cycles can mean little long-term financial security for political officeholders, and many part-time city council and board positions don’t offer significant compensation. However, a review of the statements of economic interests filed by local public officials across the Mountain Empire reveals that many have done a nice job tending to their nest eggs.

The Bristol Herald Courier and News Channel 11 Connects spent the past four months reviewing the financial interest disclosure forms required of all public officials in Virginia and Tennessee.

401ks and IRAs

Of more than 250 state and local Virginia officials included in a database created for this project, 102 – or 39.8 percent – reported ownership of some type of securities – stocks, bonds, mutual funds, partnerships and commodity futures contracts.

Almost two-thirds of those reported more than one fund.

Twenty-three filers who claimed securities listed a value of more than $250,000 on forms filed by the deadline, Jan. 15, 2009.

While 401k savings plans have been popular for some time, only nine respondents applied that specific description to their securities. Another nine listed their holdings as individual retirement accounts.
Of the forms reviewed, one of the most prominent investors was Steve Davis, a member of the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors. Davis reported 20 different securities investments, including 13 mutual funds with four different firms and stock holdings that include Exxon-Mobil, Ingersoll-Rand, Chevron, Norfolk Southern and 3M.

Dean Hymes, another Tazewell supervisor, reported 18 securities investments, including 16 in mutual funds. Of those, six were valued between $50,000 and $250,000 each, with the remainder between $10,000 and $50,000. Besides mutual funds, Hymes owns stock in James River Coal.

Both Davis and Hymes reported investment values between $10,000 and $250,000 for each account.

Value categories

The most recent Virginia forms break down the value of investments into three categories – less than $50,000, from $50,000 to $250,000 and greater than $250,000.

State Delegate H. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, added the greater-than-$250,000 category to the securities form in 2006. He got the idea from looking at his own investments, realizing that it was becoming more and more common for people to have that much and more in their accounts.

Soon, Griffith said, the range amount might need to be changed when it becomes common for investments to become even more valuable.

“I think the public needs to know and we may need to take another look at it [the form] in a few years to bump it up again,” Griffith said.

Griffith also is chairman of the House Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council.

Another prominent investor was Jon Bowerbank, an at-large member of the Russell County Board of Supervisors and former candidate for lieutenant governor.

Bowerbank listed a combination of 11 different mutual funds, 401k plans, stocks and individual retirement accounts. The securities were issued by 11 entities, including Fidelity, Janus, Vanguard, T. Rowe Price, Conoco Phillips and Duke Energy. Each fund has a listed value of between $10,000 and $50,000.

Others with significant investments include Elizabeth Lowe, a member of the Washington County, Va., School Board and wife of Judge C. Randall Lowe. The couple reported investments in 13 separate mutual funds with a combination of Hartford, Franklin & Templeton, Van Kampen, Active Global Equity and Standard and Poor 500 Index funds.

Ten of the 13 funds listed were valued between $10,000 and $50,000, while the other three were valued between $50,000 and $250,000.

The portfolio of state Delegate Joe Johnson, D-Abingdon, includes a blend of real estate stock valued at more than $250,000, four mutual funds all valued between $50,000 and $250,000 and stock holdings in BB&T, Wachovia and Highlands Union Bank, along with Exxon.

Bank stocks

Johnson isn’t the only area elected official investing in Highlands Union, an Abingdon-based chain with 14 locations in Southwest Virginia, East Tennessee and Western North Carolina.Others include Dulcie Mumpower, Tom Taylor and Odell Owens, all members of the Washington County, Va., Board of Supervisors; Washington County Treasurer Fred Parker; Abingdon Town Council member Cathy Lowe and Jim Rector, mayor of Bristol, Va.

Roy Evans Jr., commonwealth’s attorney for Smyth County, reported 12 different mutual funds. Two of them were valued between $10,000 and $50,000, while the balance were valued between $10,000 and $50,000.

Dennis Godfrey, Washington County’s commonwealth’s attorney, reported stock holdings in Chevron-Texaco Corp. and Highlands Bankshare. He also reported mutual funds with Nationwide Retirement Solutions and Prudential Retirement Services. Each was valued at between $10,000 and $50,000.

The abundance of heavy investments stood in sharp contrast to some areas in the region – especially Lee County. Of the 17 disclosure forms reviewed from Lee, only two claimed ownership of any securities – including mutual funds, partnerships and trusts – valued at more than $10,000.

Across the region, other officials with significant investments include:

* Wise County Clerk of the Circuit Court Jack Kennedy Jr., who reported utility stocks with Dominion Resources and Southern Co., valued between $50,000 and $250,000. He also reported a mutual fund valued between $50,000 and $250,000 through Mainstay Funds, stock in New Bridge Bancorp and stock in Turkey Gap Coal, each worth between $10,000 and $50,000. He also claims stock and real estate through Jack Kennedy Ltd., valued between $10,000 and $50,000.

* Katherine McClelland, a member of the Scott County School Board, reported mutual funds with Bank of America, John Hancock, Vanguard and Virginia Deferred Compensation. Three have listed values between $50,000 and $250,000 each, and one was valued between $10,000 and $50,000.

* Charlie Collins, a member of the Russell County School Board, reported investments in Equitable, Tru-Point Bank and New People’s Bank. The latter is listed as between $10,000 and $50,000 and the other two are listed between $50,000 and $250,000 each.

* Ronald McCall, a member of the Norton School Board, lists a mutual fund 401k plan with Wachovia valued at more than $250,000, stock, bond and mutual fund investments with Charles Schwab worth between $50,000 and $250,000, and two retirement investments with Verizon and Wachovia – each valued at $10,000-$50,000.

* Dana Kilgore, a member of the Wise County Board of Supervisors, reported six separate investments, including four mutual fund 401k plans with Fidelity and individual retirement accounts through Smith-Barney and Vanguard. All had listed values between $10,000 and $50,000.

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