Pub. 14 2017 Issue 3

O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S - H E L P I N G N E W M E X I C O R E A L I Z E D R E A M S 8 What drove you to enter politics and public service? Seeing that people in public service could make a difference was what drove me to enter the political arena. When President John F. Kennedy was elected, I embraced the enthusiasm and change embodied in that time. My career in public service began 42 years ago when I was elected Bernalillo County Treasurer. I implemented the Prudent Investment Rule (Safety, Liquidity, and Yield) for Bernalillo County’s investment program. While change is never easy, the reforms that were implemented saved taxpayers money and I was re-elected, serving two terms. In 2004, Governor Bill Richardson appointed me the State Property Tax Director of the NewMexico Taxation and Revenue Department. In that position, I managed an agency comparable in size to the State Treasurer’s Office, in addition to overseeing Interview with New Mexico State Treasurer Tim Eichenberg T im Ei chenberg wa s e lec ted a s t he 30t h St ate Trea surer of New Mex ico in 2014 . A former sma l l business owner, Treasurer for Bernal i l lo Count y, Proper t y Tax Director for the New Mex ico Tax and Revenue Depar tment , and two - term state Senator, Eichenberg has the ideal background and training to manage the responsibilities and duties of the State Treasurers’ office.