Shawn Wooden, Connecticut's Democratic treasurer, announced Thursday he won't seek a second term in November.
The former president of the Hartford City Council said he wants to spend more time with his family. He first took office in January 2018.
“As every public servant knows, service often comes with a price,” Wooden said in a written statement. As a father, I’ve sacrificed countless hours, missing everything from basketball games and track meets to family dinners."
With one of his two sons going to college soon, the investment attorney said he decided not to run again in November.
“Like other working families, mine too faces the day-to-day pressures of family life. Things like juggling financial resources to pay for college or making the time needed to teach children life’s most important lessons aren’t always easy in public life,” he said. The state's constitutional officeholders earn $110,000 annually.
Among other things, the treasurer oversees about $37 billion in public pension funds. Wooden cited the 2019 decision to divest from civilian gun manufacturers as one of his major accomplishments. It marked the first time Connecticut had taken the step of divesting shares in firearm-related companies since the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown.
Other accomplishments Wooden cited included the restructuring of the teachers' pension fund; paying down pension liabilities; and creating the new Baby Bonds program which invests up to $3,200 for every baby in the state whose birth was covered by the HUSKY health insurance program. At age 18, the funds can be used to invest in a business, buy a home in Connecticut, pay for higher education or save for retirement.
