Derek Uehara, a certified financial planner and former Henderson City Council candidate said Tuesday that he is running for Nevada Treasurer.

Derek Uehara talks to the Las Vegas Review-Journal editorial board at the Review-Journal offices Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Derek Uehara, a certified financial planner and former Henderson City Council candidate said Tuesday that he is running for Nevada Treasurer.

Uehara, who announced his campaign at a Republican Men’s Club luncheon Tuesday, said he is running because he wants to ensure the “long-term economic health of the state.”

“As a certified financial planner, I know how important an individual’s money is to them,” said Uehara, a 51-year-old Henderson resident.

Uehara said he specifically wants to use the office to emphasize the SSgA Upromise 529 plan, a tax-deferred college savings account for Nevada children that requires only a $15 deposit to start. He said he believes that investing in such an account will motivate children to pursue higher education and help solve Nevada’s history of education woes.

“I want everyone to have a 529 account,” he said. “The goal is to change the mindset of our young people. If our young people are motivated, then they’re going to be OK.”

The announcement sets up a GOP primary contest between Uehara and former Las Vegas City Councilman Bob Beers.

Beers, a certified public accountant who has also served in both chambers of the state Legislature, lost his Las Vegas City Council seat in this year’s municipal elections to Steve Seroka in a race that centered largely on what to do with the shuttered Badlands Golf Club in Summerlin. Less than two months after that election, Beers said he would run for state treasurer.

Nevada’s current treasurer, Republican Dan Schwartz, isn’t seeking a second term because he is running for governor next year.

In 2015, Uehara challenged incumbent Sam Bateman in the Henderson City Council race, losing by a margin of 51 percent to 43 percent.

Contact Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638. Follow @ColtonLochhead on Twitter.