Shane Osborn - Political Career

Political Career

In 2006, Osborn won the Republican nomination for the office of Nebraska State Treasurer by defeating Republican incumbent Ron Ross, who had been appointed to the position on January 6, 2004 by Governor of Nebraska Mike Johanns. In the Nebraska Republican Primary, Osborn took 63 percent of the more than 233,000 votes cast, and Ross 36 percent. In the General Election, Osborn defeated John H. Gaithings of the Nebraska Party, 76 percent to 23 percent.

In 2007, the Aspen Institute selected Osborn to be a part of their Aspen-Rodell Fellows Program in Public Leadership and was also elected Vice President of the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. He is also a shareholder with the SilverStone Group, a financial services firm in Omaha, Nebraska.

In September 2009, Osborn announced he would not seek reelection for Nebraska State Treasurer.

During his tenure in office, Osborn has been committed to bringing transparency to the state treasurer's office and has been recognized by his commitment to returning unclaimed property to Nebraskans. While Nebraska's state government has grown by an average of 4.75% per year, Osborn has reduced the state treasurer's budget by 12.8 percent since he took office. Recently, in response to state budget concerns, Osborn cut two positions from his office and has frozen the salaries of his top seven managers.