User:Dunceton/Curtis M. Loftis, Jr.

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Curtis M. Loftis, Jr. is an American politician, businessman, philanthropist and the Treasurer-elect of South Carolina. Unopposed in the general election on 2 November, 2010, he nevertheless received more than 903,000 votes, a total exceeding that of any other candidate. He had previously won the Republican primary election on 8 June, 2010, thus becoming the party's nominee for treasurer, garnering 62% of the vote and carrying all forty-six of the state's counties. Loftis was the first Republican to unseat an incumbent in the history of the state's GOP primary. The campaign was a contentious one with Loftis characteriing himself as a conservative reform candidate. He was endorsed by former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee , former US Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, several major state newspapers and the Club for Growth.

The Treasurer of South Carolina is the state's banker. He manages and invests the state's revenues. He is a member of the state's Budget and Control Board. He is chairman of the Board of Financial Institutions and he sits as a member of the SC Retirement System Investment Commission.

Loftis is a life-long resident of South Carolina; he was born on 8 September, 2010, in Columbia. He graduated from Brookland-Cayce High School, later graduated from The University of South Carolina, an alumnus of the class of 1981. While at USC, he was twice elected president of the Student Senate and was a member, and president, of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.

Loftis is the owner of several central South Carolina businesses and is involved in real estate investments. He has been active in local and national politics. In 1999, Loftis established Saluda Charitable Foundation and is its principal benefactor. The philanthropy's activities are faith-based and provide nutritional and housing services to orphans and to the elderly. Saluda-Ternopil Charitable Organiation and SCF have built and operated an orphanage in Ukraine. SCF has also provided 170,000 meals to the needy, supported medical missions ,and operates on three continents.

Background in Government:

1. In 2008, for the South Carolina Comptroller General, Curtis Loftis served as Director of Transparency and as Chair of the South Carolina Enterprise Information Oversight Committee (SCEIS), established to facilitate the streamlining and standardization of the operating practices of state agencies, melding them into a single system based on SAP software.

2. In 2007, at the request of the state's Lieutenant-Governor, Loftis became Director of the state's Office on Aging, the department of state government that administers federal funds received through the Older Americans Act. He reduced this agency's operating budget by 23%, permitting the savings accrued to be invested in improved access to services for seniors. He was instrumental in creating the nation's first Senior Center for citizens with developmental disabilities. As Director of the LGOA, Loftis served on the SC Council on Aging, the Adult Protection Coordinating Council, the Developmental Disabilities Council and the Medicaid Transportation Advisory Committee.

Curtis Loftis announced his candidacy for the office of State Treasurer in March, 2010. He will succeed the current State Treasurer, Converse Chellis in January, 2011. He is currently engaged in transition activities, with temporary offices in the Statehouse complex. In connection with these activities, Loftis has been interviewed frequently by national media.