Nick Mansour Promises to Manage the State’s Investments Better as the Next Arizona Treasurer

Businessman and CEO Nick Mansour is working to earn an opportunity to better manage Arizona’s investment portfolio as the state’s next Treasurer. 

Hoping to steer the state’s investments to better support Arizonans, especially in their public schools, Mansour promises to be a unifying and problem-solving force if elected. 

Pledging to be fiscally responsible and bring an experienced, successful businessman’s perspective to the position, Mansour pledges to bring “steady leadership,” a “better return on the state’s investments,” and a “modernizing” mindset to the office. 

Mr. Mansour graciously interviewed with Blog for Arizona to discuss his candidacy to be the state’s next Treasurer. The questions and his responses are below. 

Please tell the readers two reasons why you would like to become the next Arizona State Treasurer. 

“I grew up in Arizona. I’m a lifelong Democrat and a successful entrepreneur. I grew up in Tucson. My family has roots in rural Arizona. My dad grew up in Superior, and my wife and I chose to raise our kids here in Phoenix. I grew up in a middle-class family, and my parents really stressed education, which has shaped my view of the world quite a bit.”

“I was most recently CEO of a school called Arizona College of Nursing, which we grew under my leadership to be one of Arizona’s largest nursing schools. When I was 40, I was diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening tumor, and it was the size of a golf ball right in between my ears.  I know other people have had a health scare like this, and it can have a profound impact. It’s one of the best things that happened to me. I was given a chance to re-evaluate my life at that point in time. Annemarie and I had four kids. They were aged 10 and under.”

“Helping people is really important to me, and I concluded that I had not done enough to help people at age 40, and I didn’t want to get to 80 to feel the same way. Luckily, I survived the surgery, and I joined Arizona College very shortly after that. I was there for 14 years. We helped thousands of people become nurses. Now, it’s my time to help Arizona in a different way.”

“I’ve decided to run for Treasurer for a few reasons. The main reason is that this office can do more to provide people with an opportunity to improve their lives. And I’m going to focus on three things. The first of those is to drive economic growth. One of the good things about Arizona is that we’re growing, and that means opportunity for everyone. As treasurer, it’s incumbent upon me to continue making Arizona a good place for businesses to come, stay, and create more high-paying jobs for Arizonans.”

“The second is that I want to focus on investing in education. I’m passionate about our education system. Arizona College helped thousands of people become nurses during my time, and nursing pays wages that literally change lives.  People are worried about the economy and their futures, and education is a key to getting to a better place in life.”

“Arizona’s education is just not where it should be. We are ranked 49th or 50^th out of the states. Our students are scoring below average on standardized tests, and our funding is literally dead last. Increasing funding isn’t the only solution to the problem, but it is a big part of the solution, and that is actually another area where the treasurer can have an immense impact if they just have the vision and political courage to act.”

“Finally, we are blessed to have an endowment fund, specifically for education. And I bet many Arizonans just don’t know about this fund. It’s now a $9 billion fund. Serious money. We invest it differently from every other state that has a fund similar to this. And the other states are making more money with their investments. If we had just done what Texas, Utah, or even Wyoming does, we likely would have earned over 200 million dollars more last year. That’s totally tax-free. Nobody has to pay anything more.”

“Those are three reasons I’m running for Treasurer in particular, but there’s one more reason that I’m running for office, which is to restore some decency to our politics. I am a problem solver; I’m not a politician. And I believe we need to focus more on where we agree, less on the extremes, and we need to bring our community back together again to fix problems. 

“So, to go back to the beginning, I will work to provide people with more jobs and more opportunities to improve their lives. So, that’s why I’m running.”

Why should voters pick you over any Republican opponent?

I think it really goes back to what I just said– this office has been in Republican hands for a long time, and it’s gotten stagnant. I’ll bring two differences from our current treasurer. One is this focus on needing to invest more in education. Our current treasurer does not think we should renew Prop 123 at its current level, and that’s effectively spending less on education. That’s the last thing we need.”

The other reason is this endowment that I mentioned. It’s been 30 years since its investment policy has changed. It’s time for us to modernize this office, starting with that policy. Those are two things that I’ll be bringing that’s different than Republicans. 

But last, it’s fiscal responsibility and competency. I’ve run large businesses successfully, growing them year over year. I’ll do the same for Arizona.

What are at least two issues you’ll be running on as the candidate for Arizona Treasury?

“Driving economic growth, investing more in education, making sure Arizonans get a good return on their investments and restoring decency to our politics.”

And the state’s financial portfolio. Do you want to comment on the management of that by the Treasurer over the last four years? 

“I think there are two parts to what the treasurer does. Onw is being the state banker, and Kimberly (Yee) has done a fine job with that. But you’re also the state’s chief investment officer, primarily of this $9 billion education fund. That’s where we need to make changes. We are missing out on tax-free money that could help solve some of our budget issues, and we should take advantage of that.”

Please explain at least two ways you will conduct voter and social media outreach to connect with the people and turn them out.

“One is, we intend to get to all corners of the state. I’ve got roots in rural Arizona. We need Democrats. We need Independents. We need Republicans. The issues we’re running on are not solely urban or rural issues. They are issues that impact all Arizonans. We intend to get to every county and bring our case to the people. We’re very active on social media. We will be doing a lot with traditional media as well, and we hope to bring a different tenor to this election.

Will you be going on all facets of social media like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube?

 That’s the plan.

Was there anything not covered in the first four questions that you would like the readers to know about you and your candidacy for the Arizona State Treasurer? Please explain.

“I’m going to emphasize the last point, which is about restoring decency in our politics. I know I’m not alone in wanting to do that. I’m not a politician. I’m a successful businessman. I’m a problem solver. I want to help bring our focus back on where we agree and how to move forward, less on the extremes, and still get things done. That’s what we need, and we need it not just in the treasurer’s office, we need it throughout this state and frankly, throughout the country.”

Please click here to find out more about Nick Mansour and his candidacy to become the next Arizona Treasurer.