Brian Johnson retired from Pima County in 2020, but after four years away, he’s ready to get back to work and is eyeing a new position: treasurer.

Johnson, a Democrat, is challenging Republican incumbent Chris Ackerley for the position. And with 14 years of experience working in the assessor’s office and county finance, Johnson believes he’s well-prepared for the role. 

Johnson retired in 2020 to care for his ailing wife, who died in 2022. Now that a few years have passed, Johnson said he felt a calling to return to work. 

“When I saw that Beth Ford was going to retire, I said, ‘This is something I know all about, something I can do and I want to get back into it,” Johnson said. 

Ford served six terms as the Pima County Treasurer before stepping down last April. Pima County Supervisors appointed Ackerley, a former state representative, to the position over Patti Davidson, the department’s former chief deputy. 

One of Johnson’s key concerns is the way processes are currently handled in the treasurer’s office. Drawing on his experience as a member of the State Board of Equalization, which hears property tax and value appeals, Johnson observed inefficiencies in how these issues are managed. 

“In Pima County, the Treasurer doesn’t do the tax roll, the finance department does it and that is a problem and an issue that’s going to come up and need to be resolved because I don’t think the current County Administration wants that responsibility,” he said. 

To address this, Johnson plans to create a dedicated public service unit within the Treasurer’s office to handle taxpayer concerns, complaints and issues directly.

He pointed out that under the current system, calls to the property tax hotline are routed to the finance department, then forwarded to the Treasurer’s office. He believes this creates unnecessary frustration for residents. 

“I think if we had an integrated system and we had people who were dedicated to that, we can handle all those problems in one stop, not just pushing people around, which causes frustration,” he said. 

Johnson also reflected on the impact of the 2008 financial crisis on Pima County’s workforce, saying that prior to 2009, the county employed 11,000 people. After the recession and a sharp drop in property values, that number decreased to 7,000. 

“Here we had to cut out a lot of services and programming we were doing for people that were beneficial to the community. It was a necessity, because the money wasn’t there,” he said. 

Today, even with the local economy thriving and the tax base more than doubled, Johnson points out that Pima County is still operating with the reduced workforce, limiting its ability to serve the community. He believes the county should expand its services now that the financial situation has improved. 

If elected, Johnson also plans to reshape how the Treasurer’s office handles investments. He intends to propose an investment policy that aligns with the county’s prosperity initiative.  

“Rather than investing, say, $3.9 million in Chevron corporate bonds and receiving monetary yield, we could use that $3.9 million to invest in a short-term gap loan for affordable housing,” he said. “We may not get a monetary return, but the return and the value that we’re going to get for the community will be so much better.”

Looking to the future, Johnson has already begun thinking about his potential leadership team. He has asked Jake Martin, a University of Arizona student who challenged District One Supervisor against Rex Scott in the primary, to serve as his Chief Deputy Treasurer if elected. Martin has agreed to take on the role. 

“My legacy is to be able to bring my experience and wisdom and help a brand new generation in government,” Johnson said. “I see myself as a person who will initiate a change in culture and in the Treasurer’s office, to provide better services, to provide more for the taxpayer.” 

Isabela Gamez is a University of Arizona alum and reporter with Tucson Spotlight. Contact her at gamezi@arizona.edu.

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