Plain Talk: Rep. Beadle Once Voted to Put Eliminating the Treasurer’s Office on the Ballot, Now He’s Campaigning for It

With long-time Republican incumbent Kelly Schmidt opting not to run for another term, state Rep. Thomas Beadle (R-Fargo) would like to be North Dakota’s next Treasurer.

He has also, previously, voted to put the question of whether or not we should even have a Treasurer’s office on the ballot, though on this episode of Plain Talk, Beadle says that vote was more about allowing the debate over the office to happen.

“I generally vote in favor of putting things on the ballot,” he told me. At the time he felt if the Legislature put the constitutional amendment ending the office on the ballot for approval by voters, “we’d get 15 to 16 months to have that conversation.”

But he said those arguing for eliminating the office out of a sense of making state government more efficient don’t have much of a case. “The only job that would be eliminated in the Treasurer itself,” he said, noting that the office is already the smallest of the state’s executive branch offices and operates pretty efficiently.

State Rep. Daniel Johnston (R-Kathryn) has already announced a campaign for Treasure. Beadle largely demurred when asked to contrast his candidacy with Johnston’s, but did say it’s good for Republicans to have competition. “Any time we have an open seat it’s a shame if we don’t have a competition at the convention,” Beadle said.

For past episodes, and to subscribe to the Plain Talk podcast, click here.