Arkansas – State Treasurer Dennis Milligan officially launched his 2022 campaign for State Auditor Tuesday.
Milligan made the announcement at the State Capitol with his wife, Tina, and three grandchildren.
Milligan is running to succeed current Auditor Andrea Lea, who is term limited.
“I am very proud of the accomplishments my team and I have achieved since being elected as State Treasurer,” said Milligan. “It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the citizens of Arkansas in this capacity and I hope to continue my service to this great state as your next Auditor.”
Milligan was recently elected by his peers to serve as the National Chair of the State Financial Officers Foundation for 2020-2021.
“I earned our state coffers more than $400 million in interest from its investment portfolio,” said Milligan. “In fact, I’ve reorganized the treasury’s investment division to include an appropriate system of checks and balances, and because of these efforts, I’ve produced some of the highest ever investment returns for the state.”
Milligan and his team have doubled the assets of the Arkansas 529 Education Savings Program from $500 million to over $1 billion and implemented the state’s ABLE program, which is a savings plan for people with disabilities.
“These are just some of the major achievements we’ve been able to accomplish since taking office and I’m proud to say we’ve done so much more,” Milligan said. “Now, I am humbly asking the citizens of our great state for their vote to allow me to continue to serve them as their State Auditor.”
The Auditor of State is half of the state’s constitutional check and balance system, along with the Treasurer of State, overseeing the state’s finances. The Auditor is the general accountant for Arkansas and serves as the payroll officer for the executive, legislative and judicial branches. The Auditor also administers Arkansas’s Unclaimed Property (UCP) program, formerly called The Great Arkansas Treasure Hunt. This program connects those who live in the state with their unclaimed property and allows current and past residents to collect their property at any time.
“Auditor Lea has done a tremendous job during her time in office,” said Milligan. “I look forward to continuing her vision of modernizing the office with the latest technology and finding efficiencies where possible to build upon the important work she has achieved.”
