State Treasurer rejects calls to resign over corporate board decisions

North Carolina State Treasurer Janet Cowell on Monday issued a statement saying she would not resign despite calls for her to do so by the State Employees Association of North Carolina.

The Charlotte Observer also has called for Cowell to quit after she agreed to serve on two corporate boards before her term as treasurer ends.

One of those boards is at ecommerce services firm ChannelAdvisor.

“I have worked hard during the last seven and a half years as treasurer to enhance accountability in the office. In that spirit, I vetted any opportunities with the State Ethics Commission and voluntarily recused myself from any potential decision-making that involved these companies, neither of which are in the state pension funds,” Cowell said in a statement.

Her term ends in January. She is not seeking reelection.

On Monday, SEANC issued a statement calling for Cowell to step down or to resign from her board posts. The group said its board voted unanimously that she “either resign from the two corporate boards she recently joined or step down from her position as Treasurer and allow someone else to serve North Carolina’s interests free from conflicts.”

“Janet Cowell has a choice to make,” said SEANC President Ross Hailey. “Either she can finish out the last eight months of the job the state’s voters elected her to do free from outside influence, or she can resign and focus on making millions in the private sector. She can’t do both.”

Cowell serves on the board of ChannelAdvisor as well as the James River Group, an investment firm. Her decision to join the boards was announced earlier this year.

“Her position as the sole fiduciary of the $90 billion Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System and as chairwoman of the State Banking Commission are in direct conflict with her position on these boards. Her influence on these state regulatory boards should not be afforded to a corporate board member,” SEANC said.

“Cowell and the State Ethics Commission apparently see nothing wrong with the decision. But state employees, retirees and taxpayers need someone who is looking out for them, not the for-profit interests of two corporations.”

Cowell will receive $50,000 as a retainer and $150,000 in stock from ChannelAdvisor and another $75,000 a year plus $25,000 in stock from James River.

Earlier this month, The Charlotte Observer called for Cowell to “pick her boss.”

“Janet Cowell, pick your boss: The public or shareholders,” it said in an editorial.