Janet Cowell

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Janet Cowell
State Senator Janet Cowell.jpg
27th Treasurer of North Carolina
In office
January 10, 2009 – January 1, 2017
GovernorBev Perdue
Pat McCrory
Preceded byRichard Moore
Succeeded byDale Folwell
Member of the North Carolina Senate
from the 16th district
In office
January 1, 2005 – January 1, 2009
Preceded byEric Miller Reeves[1]
Succeeded byJosh Stein[2]
Personal details
Born (1968-07-19) July 19, 1968 (age 53)
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationUniversity of Pennsylvania (BA,
MIS, MBA)
Cowell with family in 2009

Janet Cowell (born July 19, 1968) is the former North Carolina State Treasurer, serving from 2009 to 2017, and is the first woman to hold that position in North Carolina. She was previously a two-term member of the Raleigh City Council and a two-term Democratic member of the North Carolina Senate, representing Wake County.

Early life and education[]

Cowell was born in Memphis, Tennessee.[3] She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania (BA), Penn's Wharton School of Business (MBA), and the Lauder Institute (Master's in International Studies).

Career[]

Cowell previously worked as an analyst with HSBC and Lehman Brothers, coming to Raleigh, North Carolina in 1997.[4] While in Raleigh she was also a consultant with SJF Ventures[5] as well as Sibson & Co. and, in 2000, went to work for the Common Sense Foundation.[6]

Political career[]

In 2001 Cowell decided to run for Raleigh City Council. She was elected to one of the At-large seats along with Neal Hunt.[7] She was re-elected with Hunt to the At-large seats in 2003.[8]

In 2004, Cowell ran for the District 16 State Senate seat held by the retiring Eric Miller Reeves. Cowell won the Democratic party primary with 49% of the vote over Jack Nichols, Carter Worthy and Mike Shea.[9] She went on to face Republican nominee Mark Bradrick, an insurance appraiser and Desert Storm veteran, and Libertarian Jason Mara in the general election.[10] Cowell won the seat with 59% to 38% for Bradrick and 3% for Mara.[11] She was completely unopposed in her 2006 re-election campaign.[12]

As State Treasurer[]

Cowell announced that she would seek the Democratic nomination for North Carolina State Treasurer in July 2007.[5] She faced Michael Weisel, a Raleigh attorney, and David Young, a Buncombe County Commissioner, in the primary election,[13] winning the nomination with 46.43% of the vote.[14] In the 2008 general election, Cowell defeated the Republican nominee, businessman and former State House member Bill Daughtridge, 53.62% to 46.38%.[15] She was re-elected in 2012 over Republican Steve Royal, 53.83% to 46.17%.[16]

On October 13, 2015, Cowell announced that she would not seek reelection or election to any other office in 2016.[17]

Awards and honors[]

In 2012, Cowell was recognized as a "rising state and local leader" by The NewDEAL.[18]

In July 2013, Cowell was ranked #21 globally on the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute's Public Investor 100.[19]

Electoral history[]

North Carolina State Senate 16th District Democratic Primary Election, 2004
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Janet Cowell 5,367 49.03
Democratic Jack Nichols 2,641 24.13
Democratic Carter Worthy 2,136 19.51
Democratic Mike Shea 802 7.33
North Carolina State Senate 16th District Election, 2004
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Janet Cowell 45,396 59.44
Republican Mark Bradrick 28,995 37.97
Libertarian Jason Mara 1,979 2.59
North Carolina State Senate 16th District Election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Janet Cowell (inc.) 30,330 100.00
North Carolina Treasurer Democratic Primary Election, 2008
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Janet Cowell 585,012 46.43
Democratic David Young 456,272 36.21
Democratic Michael Weisel 218,713 17.36
North Carolina Treasurer Election, 2008
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Janet Cowell 2,179,665 53.62
Republican Bill Daughtridge 1,885,724 46.38
North Carolina Treasurer Democratic Primary Election, 2012
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Janet Cowell (inc.) 630,151 76.63
Democratic Ron Elmer 192,134 23.37
North Carolina Treasurer Election, 2012
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Janet Cowell (inc.) 2,313,877 53.83
Republican Steve Royal 1,984,827 46.17

References[]

  1. ^ "Our Campaigns - NC State Senate 16 Race - Nov 02, 2004".
  2. ^ "Our Campaigns - NC State Senate 16 Race - Nov 07, 2006".
  3. ^ Beckwith, Ryan Teague (August 13, 2007). "Janet Cowell". Raleigh News & Observer. Archived from the original on February 12, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
  4. ^ "Biography - Janet Cowell". Information Management Network. Archived from the original on September 5, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
  5. ^ a b Beckwith, Ryan Teague (July 5, 2007). "Cowell for Treasurer". Raleigh News & Observer. Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
  6. ^ Geary, Bob (June 27, 2001). "Fresh Start". IndyWeek. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
  7. ^ "Municipal and Run-off Election". Wake County, North Carolina. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
  8. ^ "Official Summary". Wake County Board of Elections. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
  9. ^ "2004 Primary Election Results" (PDF). North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved December 19, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ Hood, John (October 29, 2004). "A NC Senate Election Checklist". Carolina Journal. The John Locke Foundation. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
  11. ^ "2004 General Election Results" (PDF). North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved December 19, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ "2006 General Election Results" (PDF). North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved December 19, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  13. ^ Beckwith, Ryan Teague (October 26, 2007). "Young raises $180,000". Raleigh News & Observer. Archived from the original on December 22, 2013. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
  14. ^ "2008 Primary Elections". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
  15. ^ "2008 General Election". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
  16. ^ State Board of Elections - November 6, 2012 General Election
  17. ^ "NC treasurer Janet Cowell won't seek re-election in 2016". Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  18. ^ Christensen, Rob (June 12, 2012). "Cowell gets national recognition". Raleigh News & Observer. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
  19. ^ http://www.swfinstitute.org/public-investor-100/janet-cowell/ Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute

External links[]

North Carolina Senate
Preceded by Member of the North Carolina Senate
from the 16th district
2005-2009 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Treasurer of North Carolina
2009–2017 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from ""