Tim Steller's column: Insider not necessarily best pick for Pima County treasurer

In 2024, Martin, then 21 years old and still attending the U of A, ran against incumbent Pima County Supervisor Rex Scott for the Democratic nomination in District 1. He lost the election badly but won respect from Scott and other local Democrats. 

That's how he ended up as Brian Johnson's surprising pick as chief deputy treasurer when Johnson was elected to the treasurer's post in 2024. 

"We ran into each other at a campaign event, and he (Martin) went to speak before me, and he blew away the room," Johnson told me last week. "He was so good." 

A year and a half later, Martin is the insider candidate for a different office. He is asking the supervisors to select him out of nine candidates to replace Johnson, who resigned after a sexual harassment investigation was launched against him. Johnson had also been in a longstanding dispute with Pima County Assessor Suzane Droubie over $6 million in property tax refunds. 

Now, Martin is backed by almost all of the 27 staff members in the treasurer's office, who wrote letters supporting him. Even two employees who said they were harassed by Johnson — claims Johnson disputes, and has described as part of a conspiracy to oust him — are supporting Martin. And he's received admiration from supervisors I've spoken to, despite his youth at age 23. 

In effect, Martin is presenting himself as Brian Johnson's one good decision. And it seems, at this telling, like the Pima County Board of Supervisors may be willing to give him a try at this crucial moment in a key county office. 

But if there's one thing shown at a League of Women Voters forum Tuesday, and by the candidates' submissions to the county, it's that there are real options. The impressive upstart who quickly became an insider favorite should be considered but not viewed as their default pick. 

Standouts among applicants

When you ask people what the treasurer's office is, they inevitably describe it as the county's bank. The treasurer's office collects, stores and disburses tax money collected for the county, school districts, some fire districts and other public entities. The office houses a relative handful of people who are a crucial cog in the operation of local government.

By dint of history, treasurer is an elected position. Arizona's constitution establishes not just the county supervisors and the sheriff as elected positions, but also the county attorney, assessor, recorder, superintendent of schools and treasurer. It looks weird now, but it's just the way things are. 

In addition to Martin, those who asked to be considered for the $96,600-per-year job are: Brian Bickel, Daniel Dempsey, Derrick Espadas, Sami Hamed, Jim Hannley, Derika Louk, Jorge Soto and Don Womack. All are Democrats, as is required by law, since Johnson, too, is a Democrat. 

Of that group, Louk has one of the most important endorsements. Former six-term treasurer Beth Ford, a Republican who hired Louk into the treasurer's office in 2012, supports her candidacy.

After working three years in the treasurer's office, Louk went on to work in the Pima County School Superintendent's Office, rising to chief financial officer, before returning to Pima County to work in finance. 

"She not only grew up basically in the treasurer’s office, but because of her activities with schools, she understands the office," Ford told me. "She’s set tax rates."

Louk wasn't necessarily the most impressive candidate in the forum Tuesday, I thought, but she and others struck me as up to the job. Specifically, Espadas, Dempsey and Soto stood out to me.

Sami Hamed, who lost the primary to Johnson in 2024, has collected a series of strong endorsements, including one from the Pascua Yaqui Tribe.

Unscathed from the scandal

The most revealing question at the forum, I thought, was this: "What is one of the most critical current challenges to the treasurer's office, and what would you do to meet that challenge?"

There was near unanimity among the candidates that the biggest issues in the treasurer's office center on issues of trust, healing, public confidence, experience, and leadership after the upset of recent months.

"Essentially, a traumatic experience has happened in the department," Espadas said. "You can’t just say 'accountability' and move on. You have to heal."

There was one exception to this unanimity: Martin. He said the selection of a new servicing bank for the treasurer's office is the biggest challenge.

"I don’t believe that the largest issue is leadership. I believe the department has strong leadership," he said, apparently referring to himself.

Martin has emerged relatively unscathed from the scandal that unseated the man who hired him. But while two women who said they were sexually harassed in the office support him, there is one other big outstanding issue. 

When Johnson resisted Droubie's instructions to refund $6 million to 630 property taxpayers, what did Martin do? He told me that he made his disagreement with Johnson clear but deferred to him. 

"I thought he was incorrect to be holding those up," Martin told me. "I thought it was an overstep of his authority. I chose to step back once it was clear that we had a disagreement."

Johnson doesn't remember it that clearly. 

"I don’t know what his reaction to that was," Johnson said. "He was also being told by the county attorney that you just rubber-stamp these because that’s what you’re supposed to do."

What's clear is that after Johnson resigned and Martin took over the office on an interim basis, he began processing the refunds.

Outside applicants deserve a look, too

It could be that Martin is all he's cracked up to be, a wunderkind occupying the first public position of what will be a series of increasing responsibilities as he proves himself in the political realm. But while it's tempting to put a lot of stock in the allegiance of treasurer's office staffers, I hope supervisors look beyond that. 

They shouldn't consider his age, in my view. If Martin has demonstrated he's good enough, then he's old enough. 

Still, they should consider that the insider may be the comfortable choice, but often isn't the right choice. The right outsider, among a pool of qualified candidates, can also put this key office back on a good path.