Democrat Martín Quezada says Treasurer's Office shouldn't be steppingstone for other positions

Democrat Martín Quezada is running for state treasurer because he sees an opportunity to improve a statewide office that, in his words, is too often used as a "steppingstone" for politicians.

The Phoenix lawyer has served in the Arizona Legislature for the past decade and is running for statewide office for the first time. He had no primary opponent.

“I don’t think this office has really been used to serve as a true treasurer. I believe this office has been used as a parking place or a steppingstone for something else," he said, "whether it was running for governor or whether it was serving in a presidential administration or setting something else up politically."

Gov. Doug Ducey served as treasurer before running for higher office. Former Treasurer Jeff DeWit took a job with the Trump administration. And current Treasurer Kimberly Yee was running for governor but dropped out of that race to seek reelection. She won the Republican nomination for treasurer against two competitors in the August primary.

"You are the chief banker of the state. You are the chief investment officer of the state. And you are the chief financial officer of the state," he said of the job. "I think the big thing is using that office to focus on being a full-time state treasurer and engulf myself in those three roles … and make the most out of it and use that opportunity to proactively serve the people of Arizona and make life better for Arizonans.”

1st-generation college grad studied law

Quezada was born in Maryvale and graduated from Centennial High School in 1995.

His mother immigrated from Mexico and he was the first person in his family besides an uncle to graduate from college when he got his associate’s degree from Glendale Community College and bachelor’s in administration of justice from the West campus of Arizona State University in Glendale.

He took an internship at the state Legislature, thanks to a professor’s recommendation. That lead to a full-time job there after graduating.

He left to go into law school at ASU and after earning his degree he clerked one year at the Arizona Court of Appeals for Judge Patricia Orozco, who is now retired.

He said that experience would help him as treasurer because it required him to put politics aside, something he advocates for the statewide office.

“Safety is going to be the priority," he said of a Democrat taking over the Treasurer's Office. "We are going to keep money safe rather than making some political decisions.”

After earning his law degree he opened his own firm. He has worked on criminal defense, family issues, commercial civil cases and local candidate signature challenges.

In 2012 the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors appointed him to the Arizona House of Representatives to fill a vacancy. He said he now turns away cases so that he can keep involved in the Legislature, and essentially runs a part-time law practice.

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He said that while he is passionate about legislation during debates, that's what he believes constituents want in a representative, and that his intense exchanges with Republicans over the years should not affect his role as treasurer.

"They respect that I debate with passion, but I debate the issues. I don't attack personalities. I think I've earned my Republican members' respect for that," he said.

He said he decided to run for treasurer when working with county treasurers as part of the Appropriations and Finance committees at the Legislature. Those interactions sparked his interest.

“The more I learned about it the more excited I got,” he said. “I enjoy taking on big challenges but also taking an opportunity to do something good."

Quezada's take on 'woke' investing

Republicans in the primary have sparred over whether the Treasurer's Office should take politics into consideration when making investments. They also have debated a law in Arizona that required the state to end investments with companies that boycott Israel. That bill forced the Treasurer's Office to divest $143 million from Unilever, the parent company of Ben & Jerry's ice cream last year.

Ben & Jerry's had announced that it would stop sales of ice cream in the West Bank and east Jerusalem by the end of 2022. The company has said its actions are not a boycott. Unilever recently announced it sold the piece of its business in the region to a local company that would sell the ice cream there under its Hebrew and Arabic name.

“This whole Unilever situation, the woke investments, that is doing exactly the opposite of what a good treasurer should do," Quezada said. "It is politicizing the investment of money. That is exactly the kind of politics that any good investment adviser would tell you not to do. What they are doing is limiting the options of what we can invest in, and when you limit your options, that limits the return you can get on those investments.”

He said it's too much focus on politics and not enough on financial principles.

“The woke investments, I think it is kind of silly on its face,” he said. “Putting the bad grammar aside, it is a silly platform to run on. What that says to me is both the incumbent and the other candidates don’t have a lot they can campaign on.”

He did not support the law regarding divesting from companies that boycott Israel.

The Republican candidates also debated so-called "ESG scores," which are used to evaluate investments based on their risks from environmental, social and governance issues. They are used by investors and corporations, according to a February article in U.S. News.

Quezada said ESG scores “absolutely” have a role in investing.

“It is being painted as a progressive thing but there are conservative investors that use those as well," he said. "There are well-known, well-recognized national banks that use ESG scores. It is a wise thing to do to evaluate all avenues of risk in an investment. A score gives you that evaluation. It is not a determining factor, but it is something you certainly want to consider when handling the state’s money."

He said protecting state investments is key to the job.

“It’s not my personal investments. This is the people's money," he said. "I want to look at every single score that I can and use that broad array of information and make the best decision for what is going to be the best investment for the people.”

Traveling to campaign, he said he hears voters' concerns about the bitterness in politics.

“People are frustrated. We are in a tough time politically in our country. It is a very divisive time," he said. "There’s a lot of kind of radicalization that is happening in politics right now. Obviously ... our past president really spurred a lot of that and encouraged that to this day, and people are really afraid of that.”

He also hears concerns about the economy.

“The inability of people to afford basic necessities right now, obviously," he said. "Rent, food, gasoline. Those are big issues and people are struggling right now.”

Reach reporter Ryan Randazzo at ryan.randazzo@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4331. Follow him on Twitter @UtilityReporter.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Democratic treasurer 2022 candidate: Martín Quezada