I am honored and humbled to read a message that was recently widely disseminated to FINRA member firms. The full body of the e-mail is an endorsement by Lieutenant Colonel Elton Johnson Jr. of Karen Fischer, a candidate for a position on the FINRA Board of Governors. Johnson writes:
My name is Elton Johnson, Jr. I am an Iraq-Afghanistan war vet having served two tours in Iraq and one tour in Afghanistan and a small broker-dealer owner who took FINRA to task to provide more meaningful transparency.
Much of my story is prominently detailed in the book “In Bed With Wall Street” written by Larry Doyle which I would strongly recommend to EVERY FINRA member (Mr. Doyle was introduced to me by Karen Fischer).
I am sure that many of you will remember that in 2010, with overwhelming membership support, I presented to the Board, seven (7) Initiatives calling for Truth, Transparency, and Accountability. ALL of these proxy proposals passed with overwhelming support from the membership. Unfortunately, the FINRA Board ignored the mandate of its members and did not grant even one of the reforms as proposed.
I am truly grateful to receive such a ringing endorsement of my book by one who is literally and figuratively ‘in the trenches.’ Dare I say, if I were in a foxhole I would want to be right next to Lt. Colonel Elton Johnson.
I thank him and all those who serve and protect our nation. Many in Washington, on Wall Street, and especially in the leadership positions of our respective financial regulators would do very well to embrace the virtues espoused by the lieutenant colonel.
I salute him.
Navigate accordingly.