Alter treasures his years of service

"It's a great, great consumer service," he said of the program, which, much to his embarrassment, returned several hundred dollars to him after he lost and then forgot about an expense reimbursement check from the state.

His list of accomplishments also includes helping Wall Street make the switch from government bonds issued on paper to an entirely electronic process that saves the expense and trouble of having to physically transport pieces of paper across the country.

Such feats have largely escaped the notice of most Utahns but have helped make Alter a recognized figure in the financial world. That, he said, has been enough to keep his job interesting all these years.

"You've got to remember where I came from. Finance was my major," Alter says when asked about his seemingly endless enthusiasm. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1966 and an MBA degree a year later from the University of Utah.

About the only part of being state treasurer that he hasn't embraced is the necessary politics involved in holding onto a public office. Always a "good, solid Republican," he had little interest until friends talked him into filing for the statewide office at the last minute.

"I was living happily ever after," Alter said of the job he held at the time he decided to run — assistant treasurer at the U. after spending five years as an accountant in Los Angeles, where he became a CPA.

Thanks to the benefits of riding Ronald Reagan's coattails in 1980, he said, he won with some 70 percent of the vote. He said he enjoyed "living in the money world" for most of each term before having to run for re-election.

"I'm not much a political animal," Alter said. "The problem is, every fourth year you've got to go back to the public and tell them what you've done for them lately." Calling himself shy, he said he doesn't like to "crow about our latest efficiencies. Other politicians do, because they're ambitious."

But a state treasurer should be different, Alter said. The post requires a skilled professional focused on finances, not on using the post as a stepping-stone. His greatest fear in leaving office, Alter said, is if voters elect as his replacement someone who plans to learn on the job.

"My legacy will only be worth anything if they are able to build on it and make it better," he said. "It could go downhill." For that reason, Alter said, he has endorsed his longtime deputy, Richard Ellis, also a Republican. So far, Ellis is the only declared candidate for the 2008 race.

Not surprisingly, Alter said he has mixed feelings about not running again. "There's a great deal of satisfaction in working with good people," he said, noting his office has some of the longest-serving employees in state government. "At some point, though, you have to let go."

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