Submitted by John M. W. Moorlach, C.P.A., CFP(R), Jan 16, 2007 14:46

As the candidate that opposed Robert Citron in 1994 and succeeded him as the County's Treasurer-Tax Collector after the County filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection, I beg to defer with Professor Marlin's assessment of Orange County's pension fund.

It was the County's Treasurer that caused the bankruptcy filing through the investment of the County's surplus funds. It was not an investment of the pension plan.

Ironically, Mr. Citron ran the County's portfolio like a hedge fund.

To compare Harvard's endowment investment strategy to that of a public defined benefit pension plan is also a bit ignorant, but that's another topic for another day.

John M. W. Moorlach, C.P.A., CFP(R)

Orange County Supervisor, Second District

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