Pull of the public purse strings; The last time North Carolina legislators decided to borrow money with voter-approved general-obligation bonds, the late Harlan Boyles was state treasurer. These days, the honorables issue more-expensive certificates of participation.

• Author: Mooneyham, Scott
• Position: CAPITALGOODS

-- $554 million just last year. In fact, since that last bond referendum in 2000, they have borrowed $2.7 billion using the certificates to get around state constitutional requirements that voters approve most debt.

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Perhaps it's just coincidence that the tenure of the cautious Boyles came to an end right when voters last gave their blessing to state borrowing. Certainly, the man who followed him bristles at suggestions that he has been any less responsible as steward of the state's finances. Over the last several years, Richard Moore has issued a debt-affordability study with a suggested cap on borrowing. And he let legislators know he wasn't pleased when they approved a budget last year that included a half-billion in new debt. "I am deeply concerned about the trend of issuing debt without a vote of the people," he said at the time. Still, it's hard to believe that Boyles wouldn't be giving state leaders a stern lecture if he held the office today. And complain as Moore might that he has been held to some untenable WWHD (What Would Harlan Do) standard, he has changed the job. The state treasurer is no longer a staid, behind-the-scenes banker who quietly manages North Carolina's $70 billion pension fund while advising or privately chiding the political leadership on its financial choices.

While Boyles and his predecessor, Edwin Gill, each remained in the job more than two decades, Moore clearly saw his two terms as a launching pad to higher office.

He appeared on national television shows, pushing for reform of Wall Street brokerage firms. He used his investing authority to bully wayward companies, whether mortgage lender Countrywide or those doing business with the unpopular regime in the Sudan. He liberalized and modernized the state's investing, spreading pension money among more managers and pumping more into venture-capital and hedge funds. And, of course, he sought that higher office.

The result wasn't pretty. Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue thumped Moore in May's contentious Democratic primary for governor. In part, he was undone by publicity about his tendency to rely on campaign donations from those investment managers and venture capitalists. But bad publicity about his donor pool isn't a complete explanation. His loss raises broader questions about whether the treasurer's post is such a great springboard after all. For better or worse, though, the shiny new stamp he has put on the office may well last.

Unless...