TRANSCRIPT: Hey everybody.  I’m Adam Jennings and I’m running for State Auditor here in Minnesota.  A lot of you probably know that the Auditor sits on the Minnesota State Board of Investment where they help manage the various state pension and investment accounts.

It’s not the biggest part of the job, but there is one question about it that I get a lot.  So I figured I’d take a minute to address it here.  It comes in a lot of forms, from the more vague “How will you make sure our state investments are values-aligned?” to the very specific, “Will you divest Minnesota state funds from the nation of Israel?”

I want to be clear about this, as I have been from the start of the campaign.  I believe that Israel is committing genocide right now.  Until things change, we should not be investing Minnesotans’ money in Israeli assets.  We have to reflect our moral values in our investments.  Minnesota should not spend a single cent in a way that suggests we condone what is happening in Gaza and throughout the region.  

And we don’t have to.  The marketplace is a big place.  If there are assets that don’t align with our values, we can avoid them and still get the risk adjusted returns we need, by simply investing in different assets.  I know that managing these state investments is only a small portion of what the State Auditor does, but I have to stand firm on my principals and can’t be complicit in the genocide in Gaza or Israeli aggression throughout the region.

I am glad other DFL candidates running for this seat are following my lead and have come to the same conclusion as we approach the DFL state convention next month and I look forward to being a voice for ethical investing on the State Board of Investments if elected this fall.