Author of 9-9-9 plan? -- Rich Lowrie, stockbroker NOT an economist (Plain Dealer coverage) - Cleveland, OH area

from PLAIN DEALER dot-com (Cleveland Daily Newspaper):

Overnight, Cleveland-area moneyman Richard Lowrie became America's most famous financial planner.

Tuesday evening, in a nationally televised debate, Republican presidential contender Herman Cain cited Lowrie as an architect of his "9-9-9" tax reform plan. The idea, with its straightforward name and concept, has helped propel Cain, a Georgia businessman and former chief executive of the Godfather's Pizza chain, to the top tier of a crowded primary field.

"One of my experts that helped me to develop this is a gentleman by the name of Rich Lowrie out of Cleveland, Ohio," Cain said in response to a question about his economic advisers. "He is an economist, and he has worked in the business of wealth creation most of his career."
So who is Rich Lowrie? The Gates Mills resident has a bachelor's degree in accountancy from Cleveland's Case Western Reserve University. He is a wealth-management consultant and a managing director at a Wells Fargo branch in Pepper Pike. He is a licensed stockbroker.
What he's not is an economist, at least according to his public profiles on LinkedIn and Twitter. For most of the national media hungry for more information about this mysterious member of Cain's inner circle, those two social networks have been the only sources of information.
Even in Cleveland, Lowrie's name rang few bells among industry insiders, one of whom thought Cain was name-checking Rich Lowry, editor of the conservative National Review.
Tuesday's debate was not Lowrie's first mention; Cain gave him a shout-out last month on "Fox News Sunday." But because Cain, buoyed by the buzz of 9-9-9, is the latest conservative to be hyped as an alternative to GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney, scrutiny of his plan has intensified.
The 9-9-9 plan would replace the existing tax system with a 9 percent national sales tax and 9 percent flat taxes on businesses and personal income. Some experts believe the approach would amount to a tax increase on low-income citizens, and Cain has been sparse with specifics.
Though Cain has said he has more familiar advisers, he has declined to identify them. And despite tapping out several Tweets during his prime-time introduction Tuesday, Lowrie, who was traveling with the campaign, was mostly quiet Wednesday. He offered some 9-9-9 figures to Bloomberg News, which hosted the debate, but did not return The Plain Dealer's calls or emails.
The relative silence leaves no shortage of curiosity surrounding Lowrie.
"When you're running for president," said Pepper Pike economist Ken Mayland of ClearView Economics, "you're going to have to have a serious talk about the economy and someone who is a heavyweight with good resources behind them to tell you what the plan is."
Does a financial planner fit that bill? "Probably not," Mayland said.
Lowrie's Wells Fargo branch sits on the second floor of a brick, three-story office building on Chagrin Boulevard, just inside suburban Pepper Pike and far from downtown Cleveland's financial institutions. On Wednesday, an inviting bowl of Halloween candy greeted visitors in the lobby, but Lowrie, who had been in New Hampshire for the debate, was nowhere to be found.
Nearly 50 financial advisers work out of the office, said Robert Marquardt, a senior vice president. One in particular was responsible for the deluge of requests office employees fielded from national media. But Wells Fargo, Marquardt stressed, is not involved with Cain's campaign. Reporters were referred to a Cain spokesman, who did not return The Plain Dealer's call.
"I've known Rich a while," Marquardt said. "He's a good guy."
Public reports collected on licensed stockbrokers show Lowrie has been with Wells Fargo since March 2008. He also has worked locally at UBS Financial Services and McDonald Investments. His record is clear of sanctions, according to the Ohio Department of Commerce.
According to his LinkedIn page, Lowrie is on the board at Ginn Academy, an all-boys public high school in Cleveland. The principal there did not return a telephone call Wednesday. Lowrie also has served on the advisory board for Americans for Prosperity, a conservative advocacy group.
It was the latter role that helped pave his entry to the Cain campaign.
http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2011/10/debate_shout-out_brings_nation.html