Democratic Arizona treasurer candidate Nick Mansour said he believes the state treasurer's office can help ensure the state budget is serving the people.
Mansour was in Yuma last week and he stopped by the KAWC studios. He is running against Republican Elijah Norton in the November election. (KAWC spoke with Norton when he was in town recently for a dinner with Yuma Republicans.)
Mansour told KAWC the economy and higher prices on gas, groceries and more are top of mind for Arizona voters.
"The main thing the treasurer's office can do is make sure we're using our resources in a fiscally responsible way," he said. "(Also) to keep taxes as low as possible so people can keep more money in their pockets and provide people more opportunities for better jobs."
Mansour previously served as chief operating officer at the Arizona College of Nursing. That's a multistate private school that offers nursing degrees as well as allied health programs including medical assistant, pharmacy technician and healthcare administration. On the day Mansour stopped by the KAWC studios he had visited earlier with officials at the Regional Center for Border Health. He noted RCBH's College of Health Careers in Somerton, which he said is similar to the ACN.
Mansour said what made him decide to run for treasurer is a tumor diagnosis.
"It's one of the best things that ever happened to me," Mansour said. "It gave me a chance to reevaluate my life. Helping people is really important to me. I think it's time for me to serve Arizonans another way."
Mansour said, if elected, he would focus on issues including Arizona's $11 billion fund for public education.
"We're not investing that money very well," he said.
Mansour said he wants to attract more businesses to Arizona, especially in rural areas like Yuma and La Paz counties. He wants to eliminate spending waste, citing the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) or voucher program where it's been reported some people have spent money not on their children's education but on trips, watches and lingerie, among other items.
Mansour said he also wants to keep the state treasurer's office as non-partisan as possible.
"I want to keep partisan political issues out of how we're using our funds in Arizona," he said.
