Victor Roy, Oceanside’s former treasurer, is running for San Diego County treasurer-tax collector.

Roy worked for United Airlines in a decades-long career in that industry before becoming Oceanside’s treasurer.

The San Diego Union-Tribune emailed a series of questions to Roy and other candidates to help inform voters about their positions, priorities and plans if elected.

Roy said he did not use AI in responding to the Union-Tribune’s questions.

1.) Why are you running, and what makes you the best candidate?

I am the most qualified candidate. I am the only candidate in this race who has been elected as a city treasurer.

I served for six years and continually increased the city of Oceanside’s investment portfolio year after year from $300 million into $550 million, which equals 70% of unprecedented growth. Oceanside is the third largest city in our county. That gives me significant working knowledge and expertise with regards to public finance and most governmental operations and budgets.

I am the only candidate who has earned California treasury certification from the California Municipal Treasurers Association. I served six years as an active and supporting member of the California Municipal Treasurers Association; no other candidate has this important qualification.

2.) What are the top 3 issues facing the county treasury?

Dan McAllister was my colleague, my friend and a mentor. It is imperative that there be a smooth transition by a well-qualified candidate into the county treasurer’s office in order to continue the excellence of leadership that Dan McAllister exemplified for 23 years. (This includes maintaining 99% collection of property taxes, maintaining a well-balanced $18 billion investment portfolio that showcases safety, liquidity and yield, as well as proper management of the county’s deferred compensation program.)

On Day One readiness, I am fully prepared to step into this role without a learning curve. With extensive experience in audits, state compliance and fiscal oversight, I understand what it takes to manage public funds responsibly from Day One. Managing public funds is about precision and not about politics. Let’s keep partisan politics out of the office of the county treasurer.

3.) What are the first 3 things you would do in office if elected?

I will review the investment policy with my existing staff in order to update it and bring in any needed changes that will improve our county’s investing performance. Any proposed changes will be brought forth to the Treasury Oversight Committee for their review and approval.

I will review all budgets to be sure that we maintain compliance and best practices standards; balanced budgets are essential. Thus, any and all budget shortfalls will need to be immediately addressed and resolved by my department as well as with the Board of Supervisors.

I will do the same for our participating school districts, water districts and our deferred compensation program. We need to continually implement best practices along with proper checks and balances within our systems. Cybersecurity is always a top priority in order to maintain safety with all of our public funds.

4.) What do you think is the most important role of treasurer-tax collector, and how would you change and innovate in the job to fulfill it?

Not answered.

5.) The county’s former longtime treasurer, Dan McAllister, championed customer service for county taxpayers. How would you continue that legacy? How can the office’s customer service be improved?

I am a champion of excellent customer service. I will have an open door policy. We will move forward with modernizing the treasurer-tax collector systems with new innovations, which include the latest digitization programs while we improve our cybersecurity systems. We will collaborate with other county treasurers across the state of California; I will continue to support and be an active member of the California Municipal Treasurers Association.

6.) What areas of savings and/or investment should the treasurer-tax collector’s office consider tapping into in the future to benefit the county and its residents?

We need to monitor the interest rate environment and take advantage of the best rates with LAIF, CAMP and any other JPA. I will review the investment portfolio to make sure that we are 100% in compliance with state of California rules and regulations. I will review the current investment policy, confer with industry experts and propose changes that will enhance our investing abilities. That is what I did for the city of Oceanside, and that is why my strategy was successful in Oceanside; I and my team started with $300 million and built it into $550 million in an unprecedented six years.

7.) Should the San Diego County Employees Retirement Association divest any of its holdings or otherwise rethink its investments? If so, how?

No. But we need a thorough review and audit in order to see how we could improve efficiencies in investing and protecting these public funds.

8.) The treasurer-tax collector currently faces no term limits. Do you support term limits for this office? Why or why not?

No. A good strong independent fiduciary leader who demonstrates continual success should not be bound by term limits. That is why Dan McAllister served for 23 years; his commitment to excellent customer service and innovation is unparalleled.

I am running as an independent so that voters will not be forced into voting for “the lesser of two evils” (the far right or far left, which my opponents represent).