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Letter: Dave Mandelkern for San Mateo County treasurer-tax collector

All of our local school districts have felt the devastating impact of our current county treasurer's loss of $155 million in the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy. As a school board member, I've had to make tough budget cuts, reduce services to our students, and lay off teachers, in part because of these losses.

I'm also a certified public accountant and an MBA. We need to elect someone as county treasurer who understands that managing the county's $2.4 billion Pooled Investment Fund requires professional expertise that goes beyond what one individual county employee can handle. We need an individual who has experience in evaluating and hiring professional investment managers who will ensure safety, liquidity and return for the investors in the fund at the lowest possible cost.

I believe that Dave Mandelkern's background in building companies in Silicon Valley and taking them public, dealing with investment bankers and managing hundreds of millions of dollars of shareholder's money, gives him the proper background and experience to provide the right leadership for the county treasurer's office. That's why on Nov. 2 I'm voting for Dave Mandelkern for San Mateo County treasurer-tax collector.

Dennis P. McBride, CPA; president, Redwood City School District