Democrat vies for county treasurer spot

FAYETTEVILLE — Zane Chenault, a Democrat, will challenge incumbent Bobby Hill for the Washington County treasurer position.

“My primary focus will be looking out for the best interest of the Washington County taxpayers,” Chenault said.

Chenault, 54, of Fayetteville, is a state employee, U.S. Army veteran and Arkansas native, he said. He considers himself to be fiscally conservative and a problem-solver.

The Treasurer’s Office handles county revenue from local, state and federal agencies and distributes money to taxing entities, including school districts. The office’s duties also include investing county money and estimating revenue for the Quorum Court’s budgeting process.

Chenault will face Hill, a Republican, in the primary election May 22. Candidate filing ends Thursday.

Hill is paid $103,531 a year, based on state law and his experience.

Chenault has worked with budgets and has management experience, he said.

He worked as a vice president of service delivery at CompuCom, where his duties included overseeing $250 million in revenue. He oversaw about 2,000 employees, he said.

“I applied myself and was very successful in the private sector, now I want to use my expertise to give back to my community,” Chenault said.

Chenault said he works well with budgets, revenue forecasts and cost-control measures. As treasurer, he would be more engaged with city, community and agency leaders and the public to solve budget issues, he said.

The county faces a $5 million shortfall between revenue and expenditures in its $68 million budget this year, records show.

“I want to be very active throughout the county,” Chenault said.

“I’d prefer to offer solutions to current, pending budget issues rather than waiting for them to come up and then trying to figure out what to do.”

Chenault and his wife, Peggy, moved to Northwest Arkansas in 2015. The couple has been married 29 years and have two adult children. He served in the Army from 1991 to 1996.

Chenault has a background in computer science. He is employed at the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, an agency that promotes job growth statewide, and was recently appointed to the Fayetteville Airport Board.