For Neb. treasurer Osborn, still a dual identity
Posted: Tuesday, September 23, 2008
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Heroic Navy pilot or Nebraska State Treasurer?
More than 1.5 years into his job at the Capitol, where he's made a splash with both controversy and accomplishments, Shane Osborn is still trying to remind Nebraskans that he's both.
The burly 34-year-old looks like he could still muscle an unruly military plane to safety. But he acknowledges that when it comes to wrestling control of his image as state treasurer, "we're not there yet."
"The first year was definitely 100 percent the pilot," Osborn said of his decidedly imbalanced, dual identity during a recent interview with The Associated Press. "And now it's 'Oh you're the treasurer too."'
"We're working on it."
Osborn still has the type of national name recognition few veterans can claim. In 2001, he was piloting a Navy surveillance plane over the South China Sea when a Chinese fighter pilot got too close and collided with Osborn's large plane.
Osborn regained control of the craft and landed it on Chinese soil. The 24-member crew was unhurt but taken prisoner for 11 days before being released.
Osborn acknowledges the incident was a major reason he was elected state treasurer in 2006.
Replicating that type of drama, and the recognition it attracts, is nearly impossible. That's especially true when one considers Osborn's current job.
The six statewide, constitutional offices are governor, attorney general, auditor, secretary of state, treasurer and lieutenant governor. Only the lieutenant governor has perhaps a lower public profile than the treasurer.
The last time the office led the news was about five years ago, when a financial scandal led Lorelee Byrd to resign as treasurer after pleading guilty to misconduct in office.
Osborn has managed to stay in the news more than some previous treasurers -- but not always for the reasons he'd like. Last year, he made headlines when word came out he was still working for the same Omaha-based insurance brokerage, SilverStone Group, that employed him after he left the Navy.
Gov. Dave Heineman, a former state treasurer, was among those who questioned Osborn's decision last year, saying: "I believe being state treasurer is a full-time public servant position and you should devote all your energy and time to that position"
Early this year, a state senator tried and failed to pass a state law that would bar constitutional officers from taking outside jobs.
Osborn continues to be a shareholder and work for the brokerage, though he says not "day-to-day."
He says he only got one phone call from a resident concerned about his professional moonlighting. And he claims that news reporters, not the public, were interested in the issue.
"Nebraskans will tell you if they're upset ... and I wasn't getting that," Osborn said. "I was getting support."
Osborn faces another public relations challenge that emerged more recently.
Earlier this month, a former employee in Osborn's office filed a lawsuit against the state alleging he was directed to illegally create a computer program to prohibit employees from filing for overtime.
"I can categorically deny that," Osborn said of the allegation.
The former employee, Robert Harrison of Lincoln, says after he refused -- and directed his protests to Osborn and several managers -- his bosses retaliated by asking him to resign.
In some areas, Osborn's office has compiled some impressive statistics in a short time.
The office last year shattered the previous record for the amount of unclaimed property returned to Nebraskans. Unclaimed property is everything from health claim payments and dividends to life insurance proceeds, wages and unused gift certificates
By more aggressively seeking rightful owners of unclaimed property, Osborn's office returned $13.5 million last year, compared with the previous record of about $9 million.
Osborn says he's on pace to break the record again this year.
He assumed it would be difficult to find many of the owners whose names had languished on a list for years.
Then he saw the list.
Tom Osborne, the former Husker coach, Nebraska Congressman and current University of Nebraska-Lincoln athletic director, had about $1,500 worth of unclaimed property.
Every major bank in the state had unclaimed property, as did some school districts, nonprofit groups and other easy-to-find entities.
"It was stunning to me," said Osborn, who will take over this year as president of the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators.
"Why aren't we out there trying to find people?" he recalled asking himself when he first took office.
Osborn's office also got by with less during his first year in charge, cutting the budget by more than 4.5 percent. He has submitted a budget this year that would reduce expenses by another half a percent.
The math and statistics major also began regularly reconciling the bank and accounting records of the office, something that previous state auditor reports said hadn't been done.
And computer security problems that allowed a hacker to break into the computer system that handles child support payments have been fixed, Osborn says.
Of course, the day-to-day work Osborn is doing on his small piece of the government machine aren't likely to trump what happened on April 1, 2001 over the South China Sea.
While he tries to make a name for himself as state treasurer, Osborn appears comfortable with that fact.
"I'm proud of what I accomplished as a naval officer," Osborn said. "The last thing I want to do is distance myself from that experience. But at the same time, you want to let people know there's substance behind what you're doing in the office."
The Norfolk High School graduate, who was born in Mitchell, S.D., moved to Omaha in 2005 after leaving the Navy.
More than 1.5 years into his job at the Capitol, where he's made a splash with both controversy and accomplishments, Shane Osborn is still trying to remind Nebraskans that he's both.
The burly 34-year-old looks like he could still muscle an unruly military plane to safety. But he acknowledges that when it comes to wrestling control of his image as state treasurer, "we're not there yet."
"The first year was definitely 100 percent the pilot," Osborn said of his decidedly imbalanced, dual identity during a recent interview with The Associated Press. "And now it's 'Oh you're the treasurer too."'
"We're working on it."
Osborn still has the type of national name recognition few veterans can claim. In 2001, he was piloting a Navy surveillance plane over the South China Sea when a Chinese fighter pilot got too close and collided with Osborn's large plane.
Osborn regained control of the craft and landed it on Chinese soil. The 24-member crew was unhurt but taken prisoner for 11 days before being released.
Osborn acknowledges the incident was a major reason he was elected state treasurer in 2006.
Replicating that type of drama, and the recognition it attracts, is nearly impossible. That's especially true when one considers Osborn's current job.
The six statewide, constitutional offices are governor, attorney general, auditor, secretary of state, treasurer and lieutenant governor. Only the lieutenant governor has perhaps a lower public profile than the treasurer.
The last time the office led the news was about five years ago, when a financial scandal led Lorelee Byrd to resign as treasurer after pleading guilty to misconduct in office.
Osborn has managed to stay in the news more than some previous treasurers -- but not always for the reasons he'd like. Last year, he made headlines when word came out he was still working for the same Omaha-based insurance brokerage, SilverStone Group, that employed him after he left the Navy.
Gov. Dave Heineman, a former state treasurer, was among those who questioned Osborn's decision last year, saying: "I believe being state treasurer is a full-time public servant position and you should devote all your energy and time to that position"
Early this year, a state senator tried and failed to pass a state law that would bar constitutional officers from taking outside jobs.
Osborn continues to be a shareholder and work for the brokerage, though he says not "day-to-day."
He says he only got one phone call from a resident concerned about his professional moonlighting. And he claims that news reporters, not the public, were interested in the issue.
"Nebraskans will tell you if they're upset ... and I wasn't getting that," Osborn said. "I was getting support."
Osborn faces another public relations challenge that emerged more recently.
Earlier this month, a former employee in Osborn's office filed a lawsuit against the state alleging he was directed to illegally create a computer program to prohibit employees from filing for overtime.
"I can categorically deny that," Osborn said of the allegation.
The former employee, Robert Harrison of Lincoln, says after he refused -- and directed his protests to Osborn and several managers -- his bosses retaliated by asking him to resign.
In some areas, Osborn's office has compiled some impressive statistics in a short time.
The office last year shattered the previous record for the amount of unclaimed property returned to Nebraskans. Unclaimed property is everything from health claim payments and dividends to life insurance proceeds, wages and unused gift certificates
By more aggressively seeking rightful owners of unclaimed property, Osborn's office returned $13.5 million last year, compared with the previous record of about $9 million.
Osborn says he's on pace to break the record again this year.
He assumed it would be difficult to find many of the owners whose names had languished on a list for years.
Then he saw the list.
Tom Osborne, the former Husker coach, Nebraska Congressman and current University of Nebraska-Lincoln athletic director, had about $1,500 worth of unclaimed property.
Every major bank in the state had unclaimed property, as did some school districts, nonprofit groups and other easy-to-find entities.
"It was stunning to me," said Osborn, who will take over this year as president of the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators.
"Why aren't we out there trying to find people?" he recalled asking himself when he first took office.
Osborn's office also got by with less during his first year in charge, cutting the budget by more than 4.5 percent. He has submitted a budget this year that would reduce expenses by another half a percent.
The math and statistics major also began regularly reconciling the bank and accounting records of the office, something that previous state auditor reports said hadn't been done.
And computer security problems that allowed a hacker to break into the computer system that handles child support payments have been fixed, Osborn says.
Of course, the day-to-day work Osborn is doing on his small piece of the government machine aren't likely to trump what happened on April 1, 2001 over the South China Sea.
While he tries to make a name for himself as state treasurer, Osborn appears comfortable with that fact.
"I'm proud of what I accomplished as a naval officer," Osborn said. "The last thing I want to do is distance myself from that experience. But at the same time, you want to let people know there's substance behind what you're doing in the office."
The Norfolk High School graduate, who was born in Mitchell, S.D., moved to Omaha in 2005 after leaving the Navy.
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