Treasurer Denise L. Nappier

Official Web Site

Present term: January 2007 to January 2011

Election history: Nappier was elected treasurer in 1998, unseating Republican Paul J. Silvester in a tight race, 436,573 to 433,889. She was re-elected in 2002 and 2006.

Background: Nappier is the first African-American woman in the country to be a state treasurer and the first in Connecticut elected to statewide office. She is a former city treasurer in Hartford and a former executive director of Riverfront Recapture.

As treasurer, Nappier is the sole fiduciary responsible for overseeing the investment of state funds, including $26 billion in state retirement accounts. In 2005, she backed the creation of a $100 million Housing Trust Fund to help finance affordable housing.

Her willingness to use her influence as a major institutional investor to shape a range of corporate policies, including executive compensation, has prompted criticism from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and praise from the Social Investment Forum. In 2004, she was one of eight state treasurers who called on the SEC to require better disclosure of global-warming risks in corporate filings.

Nappier said she acts first and foremost as a fiduciary interested in maximizing investment returns, not as an activist pushing social investing. But she said that responsible corporate practices make for good business.

In 2003, she outlined her philosophy in a keynote address to the annual meeting of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility.

She said she expects to seek re-election in 2010.

Education: B.A., Virginia State University; M.A., University of Cincinnatti

2008 Financial Disclosure: Nappier reported income from her state salary and from the city of Hartford, where she was city treasurer. She owns a home in Hartford's West End.

Nappier reported owing "stocks" held by Webster Bank, but she did not disclose specific holdings. She also reported owning mutual funds held by Phoenix Investment Partners and Ameriprise Financial, but again did not name the specific funds. She also had an IRA with Merrill Lynch.

She filed a confidential addendum listing any debts exceeding $10,000. She declined to release the addendum, as is her choice under the law.

A note on financial disclosure: Every spring, officials are required to disclose the ownership of real estate, the source of any income exceeding $1,000 in the previous calendar year and securities worth more than $5,000. They also are required to file an addendum in which they report any debt of more than $10,000; this may by law be kept confidential.