Dec 7, 2023
This week features our second episode recorded live at NewDEAL’s 13th Annual Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C. Host Ryan Coonerty speaks with Nevada Treasurer Zach Conine about his innovative efforts to give more kids access to high quality education, including through his work around college savings, alternative education pathways, a robust scholarship database, and cross-agency collaborations that make financial aid awards more accessible to low-income first-generation students. They talk about what it was like to have the COVID-19 pandemic hit early in his term, when he influenced banks to offer forbearance to Nevadans, preventing small businesses from closing and allowing families to pay their mortgages and rent. Conine also reflects on the 2022 midterm elections in his state and shares his advice for the Democratic Party in 2024. Tune in to learn about Conine’s path from the private sector to public service, which started with a conversation with the late U.S. Senator Harry Reid.
(01:09) Meet Nevada State Treasurer Zach Conine
(01:40) Why Treasurer is an important but underrated job
(02:56) How Treasurer Conine decides which projects to invest in and how COVID changed the job
(05:22) Dealing with financial impacts of COVID-19 in early 2020 and why the shutdown was a payroll question for Nevada
(08:21) Offering forbearance to Nevadans during the pandemic
(12:04) Treasurer Conine’s transition from the privates sector to the government
(14:27) Why he sees serving in public office as a way to give back to the state
(15:11) How the late U.S. Senator Harry Reid convinced Conine to run for office
(17:02) Treasurer Conine’s exciting initiatives to help Nevadans save for college and pursue technical vocations
(20:53) How his career in gaming positioned him to follow through on big ideas and stay accountable to taxpayers
(23:54) Conine reflects on the 2022 midterm elections in Nevada
(26:12) The need to meet voters where they are and leave no race uncontested as we head into 2024
(27:14) How Democrats around the country can support electoral efforts in Nevada
(28:42) Treasurer Conine’s path forward for his remaining three years in office
(31:10) Conine’s dogs Democracy and Keno
(33:26) Treasurer Conine on why An Honorable Profession is a must-listen podcast