SEDONA AZ–“Arizona needs a State Treasurer who has experience in state finances and the state’s economy and also one who has a background in finance, investments and in managing employees,” incumbent candidate Republican State Treasurer Barbara Leff said.

“I have fourteen years of experience,” Republican Leff added.  “I was on the Commerce and Economic Development Committee and have done budgets for fourteen years, so I have knowledge and experience. In addition I have small business experience. You have to manage the employees in the department and the experience of owning and operating a small business is helpful. You need knowledge about financial markets. Investing is something that is familiar to me and that is what is needed for State Treasurer.”

Candidate Leff points out that the State Treasurer is the state banker, “Thirty-nine ($39) billion dollars with a ‘B’ flows through the office every year,” Arizonan Leff said, “The Treasurer needs to pay attention to detail and make sure that every penny is accounted for. The Treasurer also does investments. First, Arizona has state trust funds that are sold or leased, the money goes into an endowment fund and that endowment fund pays for education. That fund has $2.7 billion in it and the State Treasurer invests those dollars to get the maximum rate of return.”

Leff continued, “Second, many local governments entrust their money to the State Treasurers office to invest in short term investments. Many small communities cannot afford to hire an investment firm. There is $4.2 billion in local government investment pools. Attention to detail is important.  The Treasurer needs to have solid customer service for those communities. It must be a priority so that everyone is comfortable and always has the attention of the State Treasurer if there is any question at all regarding those funds.”

Thirdly, the candidate for State Treasurer Leff added, “The Treasurer invests short term money that state agencies aren’t using immediately at any specific time. There is $2.8 billion in these funds and this is in addition to the $39 billion.”

“So why is this all important?” Leff asked rhetorically, “I am the only Treasurer candidate who wants to do the job of State Treasurer. State Treasurer has no statutory authority to do job creation or fix State government, a Treasurer has no authority to do that. And if you are so busy doing everything else that is not your mandate, you may not be paying attention to detail. I don’t need to be a shadow governor or legislator, I want to do the job that I am running for.”

Republican candidate Leff added, “The State Comptroller does the auditing of the funds. The Treasurer is a steward. Since the Treasurer is independent, the Treasurer should constantly track and report on the cash flow for the state of Arizona. Instead of only announcing a problem during a crisis time, my Treasurer’s office would brief the legislature on the state of the economy and the cash flow on a routine basis, so that when they do the budget they have the big picture.”

Leff believes that the independence of the State Treasurer is important. She said, “The legislator has its own budget office, the governor has her own budget office, both agencies are filled with highly paid professionals and they never agree on the amount of money coming into the state. It is because they are political. With the State Treasurer being independent, you can have an independent opinion at any time that is independent and free of politics a non-political voice.”

Leff suggests some potential changes in the State’s investment portfolio. There is a Board of Investment that makes investing decisions and decides what kind of investments can be made. But Leff believes that small changes, like investing in higher yielding stocks within the S and P, rather than the entire index, could benefit Arizona. Republican candidate Leff went on to say, “The primary focus needs to be safety and I am disappointed that the state’s line of credit is gone, due to political infighting, and points out that it will need to be re-established.”

“I have a track record of working hard work and attention to detail, and my record proves it,” Barbara Leff, incumbent candidate Republican State Treasurer said. “I did SB 1403 and brought renewable energy factories to Goodyear and Surprise. They are high tech and highly paid jobs. The legislation that we did to make that happen, made sure that the incentives benefit Arizona. They have to pay well, have to offer health insurance, have to do a whole list of things to make sure that we in Arizona come out ahead. It has been exciting. We nailed all the little details down. There are three things that anyone will tell you about me, even said by my opponents across the isle, I’m a very hard worker, honest and trustworthy.”

For more information go to www.barbaraleff.com

Article written by Joni Dahlstrom, sedonaeye.com Staff Writer  JoniD@eSedona.net   Sedona Times Publishing Election Central  c2010