Retired Missouri Debt Manager Kaiser Returns to Work at Governor's Request

CHICAGO - Missouri's former debt manager Mark Kaiser, who retired in 2006, has returned at the request of freshman Gov. Jay Nixon to lead the state's Division of Accounting, which oversees debt management.

Kaiser, 56, was named the director of the Division of Accounting, a position he reported to when he was assistant director before his retirement in late 2006 after a 30-year career with the state. The division oversees state payroll distribution, vendor payments, financial reporting issues, and debt management.

Stacy Neal took Kaiser's position when he retired.

During his previous tenure, Kaiser helped transform the state's offering statement from a few pages to an armload that included detailed economic information such as the amount of corn produced in the state.

Kaiser inherited Missouri's triple-A rating and helped keep it by conservatively managing the state's debt, the majority of which is issued competitively by law. The state has just under $1 billion of general obligation debt outstanding, as GO issuance must be approved by voters.

After his departure from state government, Kaiser did consulting work with the state gaming commission. He offered to return last year to work for the five months left in retiring Gov. Matt Blunt's administration as deputy commissioner of the Office of Administration, which includes the accounting division.

His appointment by Nixon surprised some. Nixon is a Democrat and Blunt a Republican. But over the course of 30 years, Kaiser worked under six governors from both parties and he had long-standing ties to Nixon and his senior staff. Nixon had previously held the office of attorney general and served on various debt boards and commissions.

Kaiser said he welcomed the opportunity to return. "I was asked to come back and I said, 'yes.' I missed the people and I missed the work," he said.

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