I’m reposting this from JJ Ament’s website and Ali Hasan’s site because I think they’re both well written. I think people should read both sides and make up their own mind. And I think that people should read what’s going on in the Republican Primary for Colorado treasurer. Although I wish this race would not be a negative one, it appears it will be.

Ali Hasan started out with his plan for Colorado Treasurer

JJ’s Response from his website

Your Source for the Truth about the Campaign.

We sincerely hoped having to create a Fact Check page during the Republican primary would be unnecessary.  Unfortunately, Muhammad Ali Hasan, a film maker from Beaver Creek who is used to writing fiction, is filling the airwaves and mailboxes with irresponsible, reckless, and false information.  Furthermore, Hasan has now skipped the last two Treasurer forums where he would be forced to answer for his attacks.

As always, if you ever have any questions about our campaign, or where J. J. Ament stands on the issues, please don’t hesitate to contact the campaign at 303-495-3559, or emailfacts@jjament.com.

*** Need Acrobat 7 or Later to View ***Hasan’s latest attack packet, like some movie scripts, is “based on” actual events, but is largely fictional and also disseminates some very misleading and financially inaccurate information (nearly 90 errors in the text alone).  Click on the stop sign to see a corrected version of Hasan’s mailer. Additionally, here’s the reality behind several of his latest false charges:

False Claim: Colorado has $3.5 billion of taxpayer money invested in bailout companies.
Reality:  This claim is false and it demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of the state’s investment portfolio.  In fact, this claim has been refuted by financial professionals across Colorado including Dr. Dick Murphy, Deputy State Treasurer under both Republican Mike Coffman and Democrat Roy Romer.  Dr. Murphy is an independent expert in public finance and a former chairman of the Boulder County Republican Party.  (Click here to read Dr. Murphy’s response to Hasan.)

False Claim: Colorado doesn’t need a financial professional as Treasurer.
Reality:  Hasan uses this claim in an attempt to downplay his lack of financial experience.  The only truth Hasan reveals is admitting he doesn’t have any experience in finance.  It has been this lack of reasonable and professional financial management in the Treasurer’s office over the last three years that has exacerbated Colorado’s financial downturn.  None of the three senior managers in the Treasury Department today have any financial training whatsoever.

False Claim: The Deputy Treasurer is the only person who really needs to understand finance in the Treasury.
Reality:  The Deputy Treasurer is not accountable to the people of Colorado, only to the State Treasurer.  How can we trust what the State Treasurer tells us if he has to rely on the Deputy or the career staff to explain financial principles?  Colorado needs more direct accountability from government officials, not less.

False Claim: Muhammad Ali Hasan’s investment plan will not lose taxpayers’ capital.
Reality:  Colorado taxpayers would have lost over $100 million this year alone if Hasan could have invested just half of the state’s portfolio in the first bond on his “Colorado Winners” chart.

False Claim: Muhammad Ali Hasan will only invest in Colorado Winners.
Reality:  The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reports that Hasan is on record, and still supports, investing with the genocidal regime controlling Sudan.  Hasan is also on record supporting the removal of the economic sanctions that prohibit investment of Colorado state funds in Iran.

Dangerous Claim: “Do we really need to worry about an Iranian bomb? The answer is ‘no.’”-Muhammad Ali Hasan writing for Arabisto.com - News and Commentary on the Middle East.
Reality:  Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons is perhaps the greatest threat to real and lasting piece in the Middle East.  Economic sanctions should be strengthened and enforced – and Colorado taxpayer money should not be invested there.

False Claim: Ament will be disloyal to taxpayers because he currently receives an income from a bailout bank.
Reality:  Ament and his wife Nicole have received 93 cents in interest income from their joint checking account at Wells Fargo.  Ament publicly reported this “income source” on his Personal Disclosure Form, and it is what Hasan claims is corrupting. Once again, Hasan is taking an ounce of fact and turning it into a pound of fiction.

False Claim: Muhammad Ali Hasan opposes tax increases.
Reality:  Hasan proudly supports raising taxes statewide to pay for a multi-billion dollar monorail system to be built between Fort Collins and Pueblo, and Denver and Grand Junction.

False Claim: Ament has a conflict because his family has an investment account at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.
Reality: An independent financial advisor manages the Ament family’s savings, kids’ college savings, and retirement accounts which are held at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.  Neither Ament nor his wife direct any investment decisions or know of any actions taken in advance.  This third-party management (which was established well before the campaign) mitigates the very conflict now being charged.  Hasan’s own disclosure statement shows that he, himself, has accounts with those he criticizes as “bailout banks,” including Merrill Lynch, Chase Bank, Wells Fargo, and others.

False Claim: Muhammad Ali Hasan was unaware of the truth before sending letters statewide accusing J. J. Ament of corruption and false-dealing.
Reality:  Hasan is fully aware that his claims are false, but continues to assert them.  Ament discussed the ethical safeguards he has taken, in detail and in public, with Hasan at a Treasurer’s forum at the Koelbel Library long prior to Hasan’s false mailing.  Hasan continues to make these allegations in spite of the truth.

False Claim: Government creates jobs, so investing in Municipal spending (muni bonds) will create jobs in Colorado.
Reality:  Used by liberals, this old, antiquated big-government theory has failed time and time again.  We know that only the private sector creates the productive jobs needed to restore economic health in Colorado.

Strange Claim: Colorado should hire Bill Gross at PIMCO as an investment advisor and divest from any security with Fannie or Freddie in its name.
Reality:  Bill Gross is a large investor in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  He was one of the nation’s biggest proponents of the taxpayer bailout, and was a major donor to Barack Obama.  Gross’ firm, PIMCO, realized a $1.7 billion windfall after the government’s Fannie/Freddie rescue.

False Claim: Removing Mark-to-Market accounting rules would have solved the entire bailout crisis.
Reality:  Effective Mark-to-Market rules require financial institutions to be transparent with the value of their holdings – assuring stable markets.  Too much transparency didn’t cause the crisis, too little transparency did – especially as it relates to how many times politics overwhelmed fiscal policy in Washington and Wall Street.

False Claim: Low interest rates encourage investors to buy bonds.
Reality:  This is financially backwards.  In low interest rate environments, investors seek higher yielding investments, not bonds.  Also, as interest rates rise, bond values actually fall – which is why understanding duration and interest rate risk is so important for the State Treasurer, and why Hasan’s misapplication of these basic financial principles would be so damaging to taxpayers.

False Claim: Colorado bonds offer great returns that are guaranteed.
Reality:  If there has been anything this latest crisis has reinforced, it is that NO investment return is ever really guaranteed (even those rated AAA), and promises of payment are only as good as the entity making them.  This is why understanding risk and real credit analysis is so important in the Treasury.

False Claim: Very strong bonds are sold at premium values.
Reality:  This claim misstates basic financial arithmetic.  A bond sells at a ‘premium’ only because its coupon exceeds market rates at that moment in time.  As prevailing rates rise, the premium will disappear.  Hasan’s failure to understand basic bond pricing would subject taxpayers to unacceptable risks and potentially enormous investment losses.

False Claim: Muhammad Ali Hasan is a social conservative.
Reality:  ”I think the Republican party is deeply out of touch with the people right now, and I think they base their platform too much on xenophobic hatred issues…,” Muhammad Ali Hasan during a Vail Valley television interview.

False Claim: Muhammad Ali Hasan is a pro-life candidate.
Reality:  Reasonable people can disagree on the Treasurer’s role in this issue, but voters should be able to expect honesty from candidates about where they stand.  Here is Hasan’s position on this issue from his own website.

Ali Hasan’s Rebuttal

Ali Loves JJ Ament / Response To JJ Ament’s Attack