North Carolina Treasurer Janet Cowell, sole trustee of the $90 billion North Carolina Retirement Systems, Raleigh, will not seek re-election in 2016, she announced Tuesday.
Ms. Cowell, who has been treasurer for seven years and will serve through 2016, said in an open letter to supporters that she made “one of the more difficult decisions in my life” after careful deliberation.
After taking office in January 2009, Ms. Cowell “had to announce that the state retirement fund had lost $17 billion and stood at $60 billion. I put a strong team together and we fought our way back. Now at nearly $90 billion, we have one of the most solid pension funds in the country,” she said in the letter.
Public service “will continue to be a part of my life,” she added. “I look forward to the next adventure.”
