Young Boozer

Young Jacob Boozer III[1] (born November 23, 1948),[2] served as the 39th State Treasurer of Alabama from 2011 to 2019. He was elected to his first four-year term on November 2, 2010 and was unopposed and reelected for a second term on November 4, 2014. He left office on January 14, 2019. As State Treasurer, Boozer was responsible for the cash management duties of receiving, depositing and investing all state funds, bond management, unclaimed property, two college savings programs, the Enable Savings Plan Alabama and management of the state's collateral pool for public funds deposits. He played an essential role in managing the Alabama Trust Fund (ATF), Alabama's $3 billion investment fund built from the proceeds of the sale of the state's offshore oil and gas reserves. Boozer led the successful effort to restructure and save the Alabama Prepaid Affordable College Tuition Program (PACT).

Young Boozer
39th Treasurer of Alabama
In office January 17, 2011 – January 14, 2019
Governor	Robert Bentley Kay Ivey
Preceded by	Kay Ivey
Succeeded by	John McMillan
Personal details
Born	Young Jacob Boozer III November 23, 1948 Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Education	Stanford University (BA) University of Pennsylvania (MBA)

Boozer speaks on behalf of Alabama Governor Kay Ivey's gambling study group, accompanied by former Montgomery mayor Todd Strange and attorney Liz Huntley.

Boozer also served on various state-related boards including Alabama's Teacher Retirement System and Employee Retirement System Boards, the State Board of Adjustment, the Alabama Housing Finance Authority, the Community Service Grants Executive Commission, the Industrial Access Road and Bridge Corporation Board and the 457 Advisory Board. He currently serves on the Board of the Alabama Transportation Infrastructure Bank.

Boozer presently serves as Assistant Superintendent of the Alabama State Banking Department and as a member of Governor Ivey's Study Group on Gambling Policy.

Early life

Boozer was born in Birmingham and raised in Tuscaloosa. He became an Eagle Scout in 1962. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics in 1971 from Stanford University and a master's degree in finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1973. Boozer is married to the former Sally Jackson McLendon of Clayton, Alabama.

Boozer was named after his father, who first made the name Young Boozer famous as a football star for the University of Alabama. Young Jacob Boozer, Jr. is a member of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and the Alabama Business Hall of Fame. His father was named after his father, the mayor of Samson, Alabama from 1916 to 1919.

Career

During the past four decades, Boozer's career in banking, finance and investments has taken him from Citibank in New York and Crocker National Bank in Los Angeles, to Coral Petroleum in Houston and Colonial Bank in Montgomery. From 2003 to 2017, Boozer was an owner in the Montgomery Biscuits minor league baseball affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Boozer began his public service career duties as Deputy State Finance Director for Alabama Governor Bob Riley after retiring from banking in 2007. During his tenure in the Alabama Department of Finance, he played a key role in saving millions of taxpayer dollars through the restructuring of state bond debt and derivatives. Boozer left the Riley administration in early 2010 to run for State Treasurer in his first race for elected office.

He is a member of and has held leadership roles in several organizations, including the Church of the Ascension in Montgomery, where he served as a member of the vestry; the Montgomery Rotary Club, of which he is a past president; the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, where he served as chair of the board of directors; and the Montgomery Academy, where he served as past board president. He is a member of the Montgomery Committee of 100, and a member of the Class of XXIV of Leadership Alabama. Boozer has served in many capacities at his alma mater, Stanford University; he has been on the board of trustees, chairman of the alumni association, and a recipient of the Stanford Medal which honors volunteer leaders with decades of distinguished volunteer service to the university.[3]

Young and Sally Boozer

In 2002, Boozer was recognized with the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award by the Boy Scouts of America.[4]

Treasurer of Alabama

Under Boozer, the State Treasurer's office had many accomplishments, including working with the Alabama legislature to pass several bills to improve treasury functions and overall state government. These bills expanded the types of investments in which the state treasurer could invest state funds (prior to this legislation, Alabama had the nation's most restrictive investment guidelines), freeing up $2 million of the state's general fund budget by moving the treasury's budget out of the general fund. Changes were made to the management of Alabama Trust Fund's investments, which provide a stable source of revenue to its distribution recipients and provide for long-term, prudent management of its assets for higher total returns. Boozer's actions further provided consumer protection and improvements to Alabama's unclaimed property process.

In addition, treasury staff was streamlined from 46 positions to 31 while not only meeting, but exceeding established performance levels. A needs-based college scholarship program was established to help first time college enrollees in Alabama. In February 2017, the office launched the Enable Savings Plan Alabama for individuals with disabilities. The treasury staff now meets with some 20 state agencies annually to review the performance of their investments, which are managed by the treasury.

Boozer was a member of the National Association of State Treasurers, and served on the NAST Banking Committee. He was a member of the College Savings Plans Network's Executive Board and served as its chair. CSPN is an affiliate of the National Association of State Treasurers that works to promote and enhance 529 Plans. The CSPN Executive Board is composed of state officials elected by their peers to serve as a leadership team. Boozer served as the National Spokesperson and Chair of the College Savings 529 Awareness Campaign.

Term-limited, Boozer could not run for re-election in 2018. No Democrats qualified to run, and of three Republicans who did, John McMillan won the primary election in June and the general election in November to succeed Boozer.[5] In 2019, Boozer received the Lucille Maurer Award given to a former treasurer for outstanding service to the National Association of State Treasurers.

Electoral history

Alabama Treasurer Republican Primary Election, 2010
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Young Boozer	305,467	64.76
Republican	George Wallace, Jr.	166,206	35.23

Alabama Treasurer Election, 2010
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Young Boozer	875,965	60.04
Democratic	Charley Grimsley	581,930	39.89
Write-ins	Write-ins	1,030	0.07

Alabama Treasurer Election, 2014
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Young Boozer (inc.)	748,876	98.01
Write-ins	Write-ins	15,224	1.99

References

1. "Tuscaloosa graduate named to Stanford board". Tuscaloosa News. February 5, 2003.
2. Who's who in finance and industry. Marquis Who's Who. 1987.
3. "Stanford Medal | Stanford Associates". associates.alumni.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2020-12-23.
4. "Distinguished Eagle Scout Award Fact Sheet" (PDF). scouting.org. Boy Scouts of America. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
5. Parker, Collins (June 6, 2018). "Alabama Primary Election Results". WDEF-TV. Retrieved October 26, 2018.