The City of La Mesa made news in September when it appointed Emmet Stewart, a 20-year-old college student with no relevant experience, as City Treasurer. He now seeks election to a full term with the support of the Democratic majority on the City Council.
We’ll soon see whether voters are willing to roll the dice on on-the-job training and a crash course in portfolio management.
Carlsbad faces a similar but more consequential choice. While La Mesa’s treasurer oversees a $90 million portfolio, Carlsbad’s treasurer invests nearly $1 billion in reserves held for several different purposes.
The incumbent, Christian Peacox, won a partial term in a 2024 special election following his predecessor’s resignation. He eked out a victory with just 28% of the vote in a four-way contest. This November he faces Thomas E. Krouse in a two-way race, in which a majority will be required.
Peacox’s pitch to voters seems another example of résumé inflation. His campaign website claims “decades of experience in corporate finance and entrepreneurship, managing multimillion-dollar budgets, investments, and strategic financial planning” [emphasis in original]. But a closer look at his work history raises questions about the substance behind those claims.
According to public documents, Peacox’s employment following his 1993 graduation from USC consisted, through 2005, of a succession of financial analyst positions in tech, leisure, and apparel. His résumé shows no progression into senior roles and no investment management experience. Perhaps his employers managed large enterprises, but the record does not establish that he personally did.
His entrepreneurial credentials are more substantial, though their relevance to managing public investments is questionable. Peacox founded Sundaes Novelty Inc., later an LLC, which sold nitrous oxide canisters online through Easy Whip.com under the “Xtra Whip” trademark. His association with the business reportedly ended in November 2022 in what he called a “strategic sale.”
The products, commonly used in whipped cream dispensers, have attracted increasing scrutiny because of recreational misuse, particularly among juveniles. Selling these products to minors has long been a crime. In September, Governor Newsom signed legislation intended to strengthen California’s enforcement efforts.
Despite Peacox’s reported sale, Allbiz.com still lists him as president and CEO of Sundaes Novelty, associates the company with massage-tools.com, and estimates annual revenue between $500,000 and $1 million. Whether that information is current is unclear.
Peacox also identifies himself as a co-founder and CFO of Restore Detox Centers LLC from 2018 to 2020. That business operates an inpatient addiction-treatment program at a private residence in Poway, although its website makes no mention of his former involvement.
His March 2026 Form 700, filed with Carlsbad, discloses no employment or business interests. The only income reported is a distribution from the Peacox Charitable Remainder Trust, described as “over $100,000.”
Peacox’s campaign website reports that he earned the Certified California Municipal Treasurer designation, a credential requiring 21 self-paced online lessons, an examination, and at least two years of qualifying treasury, finance, or investment experience. It’s difficult to determine from his published background how he satisfied that latter requirement. His record does not appear to reflect that sort of experience.
Nonetheless, after less than a year in office, Peacox thought he had enough time as treasurer to apply for appointment as San Diego County Treasurer-Tax Collector, succeeding the late Dan McAllister. That opportunity to advance his career did not work out, and he now seeks reelection in Carlsbad.
Peacox undoubtedly has business experience, but managing a business and managing an institutional investment portfolio are distinctly different undertakings. Nothing in his published background demonstrates substantial professional experience managing investments. Voters should be reluctant to entrust nearly $1 billion in public reserves to someone whose relevant qualifications remain uncertain.
Thomas Krouse presents a striking contrast.
A 1990 Stanford graduate with a degree in economics, Krouse became a Chartered Financial Analyst in 1997 and earned an MBA from USC in 2001. The CFA designation is among the premier credentials in investment management, earned through a demanding curriculum and rigorous examinations.
His résumé also lists securities and investment-advisory regulatory credentials from the NASD, FINRA, and SEC. More importantly, he has spent over 30 years working in investment banking, hedge funds, and asset-management companies.
His career includes work as an investment analyst and portfolio manager, as well as senior positions in operations, risk management, compliance, and executive leadership, including service as CEO. These are not merely impressive titles. They represent practical experience in evaluating securities, constructing portfolios, managing risk, and overseeing investment operations.
A reprint of Krouse’s résumé would make compelling campaign literature. Few candidates for municipal treasurer can offer such a directly relevant professional background.
Managing a liquid reserves portfolio is not an easy job to do well. It’s not like putting money in a money market fund and calling it quits. The treasurer must match asset and liability exposure, plan investments to anticipated cash requirements, understand credit and interest-rate exposure, and manage maturities, portfolio duration, and the effects of changing market conditions.
A portfolio can generate attractive income yet expose taxpayers to unnecessary risk. Longer maturities may offer higher yields but carry greater sensitivity to rising interest rates. Even securities of unquestioned credit quality can suffer substantial market-value declines when rates move against them. A competent portfolio manager understands these tradeoffs and knows how to balance safety, liquidity, and return.
Krouse contends that poor portfolio management has resulted in sizable mark-to-market losses for Carlsbad as interest-rate conditions changed. He wants the opportunity to do better, and his professional background suggests he has the knowledge and skill to do so.
That expertise matters especially now. For nearly 40 years, generally declining interest rates made many portfolio managers look smarter than they really were. Those days are gone. The federal government’s enormous borrowing requirements, coupled with record private-sector demand for capital, have changed the landscape. Interest rates and credit markets are likely to remain unsettled as those forces unfold.
Plenty of opportunities for missteps will remain, even in conservative, short-maturity reserve portfolios. The ability to manage those risks, rather than merely pursue higher yields, is what distinguishes a professional investment manager from someone with general financial experience.
Equally important, the treasurer must communicate effectively with the City Council and the public, explaining investment policies and results without getting lost in the weeds of portfolio construction. Krouse’s experience should equip him to provide that leadership.
The office of City Treasurer is neither an honorary position nor a training opportunity. It carries substantial fiduciary responsibility.
As voters in La Mesa should appreciate, yield alone is a poor measure of investment performance without considering risk. Carlsbad voters have an opportunity to bring genuine investment-management expertise to an office responsible for nearly $1 billion of public money.
A well-informed comparison of the candidates’ qualifications leads to a clear conclusion: Christian Peacox simply does not have the education or experience to hold a candle to Thomas Krouse.
Carlsbad voters should be grateful they have a chance to give Peacox a second thought.
Garvin Walsh, retired from a career on Wall Street, is a Cardiff-by-the-Sea resident. He is an elected member of the San Diego County Republican Central Committee. Read more From the Cheap Seats.
*The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the newspaper, its editors or staff.
