Young Boozer

Young Jacob Boozer III (born November 23, 1948) is an American politician who 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 played a role in managing the Alabama Trust Fund (ATF). Boozer led the effort to restructure and save the Alabama Prepaid Affordable College Tuition Program (PACT).

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.

After retiring from banking in 2007, Boozer began his public service career as Deputy State Finance Director for Alabama Governor Bob Riley. 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.

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

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. In 2019, Boozer received the Lucille Maurer Award given to a former treasurer for outstanding service to the National Association of State Treasurers.

Effective October 1, 2021, Boozer was appointed by Governor Kay Ivey to complete John McMillan's term as treasurer, following McMillan's resignation to serve as the executive director for the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission.

Electoral history

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Boozer, Young
1948 births
21st-century American politicians
Alabama Republicans
Living people
State treasurers of Alabama
Politicians from Birmingham, Alabama
Politicians from Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Stanford University alumni
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni