Nevada treasurer candidates Zach Conine and Michele Fiore differ on gun-maker investments

Democratic incumbent Zach Conine was supposed to debate Republican challenger Michele Fiore last week in a debate ahead of their race to be Nevada’s treasurer for the next four years.

Fiore was unable to attend due to illness, but with less than 24 hours’ notice, the show went on with a solo appearance from Conine on “Nevada Newsmakers.”

Here’s a look at two highlights from his interview with host Sam Shad and me, Mark Robison, the RGJ’s local government reporter.

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Investments with gun-makers

At a Donald Trump “Save America” rally earlier this month, Fiore criticized Conine for removing gun manufacturers from the state’s investment portfolio.

Nevada currently has about $8 billion being managed. Rather than sitting in the bank, it is invested to make more money.

Conine “wants to use the office (of treasurer) for a woke political agenda,” Fiore said at the rally in Minden, adding that he will divest in any investment fund – even if it makes money for the state – if just one out of 99 companies in the fund makes guns.

Asked about this, Conine replied, “What I believe she's referring to is the $89 million that we divested in manufacturers and retailers of assault-style weapons. We did that because those investments were risky, not just risky from a company perspective, but also risky from a litigation perspective. Since then, not having those investments saved the state about $8.2 million. It was a great divestment. We're glad we made it.”

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What about her criticism that the state’s investment portfolio is being politicized?

“The most important job of the treasurer as the state's chief investment officer is to invest to get the highest return back for Nevadans, and that means avoiding risk,” he said.

“Those companies were deemed risky by our office. … We were right. And so if anyone questions that investment or any other investment we've made, I’d simply ask them to look at the hundreds of millions of dollars in investment returns we've had for Nevada.”

Treasurer qualifications

A reader named Molly wrote in to ask about Nevada’s treasurer needing to be bonded as a requirement for the job and how that applies to Fiore, who was once on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax liens and who has faced an FBI investigation.

In a prepared statement to the Reno Gazette Journal earlier this year, Fiore's campaign said she has paid her debts to the federal government.

"Like any businesswoman, Michele Fiore has had successful business ventures employing hundreds of Nevadans and also unsuccessful business ventures but has paid all bills and liens and most importantly always paid her employees and contractors,” the statement said.

Conine responded to the question of whether Fiore could be bonded – which protects Nevadans against wrongdoing – by saying, “I don't want to speculate as to what the background checks on Michele Fiore are going to turn up.”

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You want a treasurer who is experienced, he said, and you also want to treasurer with integrity.

“One of the reasons for that is because right at the beginning of the job, you have to have a surety bond,” he said. “We're the only state employee that I'm aware of who has a bond based on their performance and that's because in the past we have had treasurers who have taken money from the state coffers to better themselves, to enrich themselves and their families.”

• Watch or listen: To hear more from Conine, including his views on the effects of inflation, unclaimed property, how investment decisions are made and how the state’s rainy day fund works. Check out the full show via the video embedded at the top of this story or at nevadanewsmakers.com. Or listen by searching for “Nevada Newsmakers” on your podcast player.

Mark Robison covers local government for the Reno Gazette-Journal, as well as writes Fact Checker and Ask the RGJ articles. His position is supported by donations and grants. Because of this, the journalism he creates is free for all to read. If you'd like to see more articles like this, please consider sharing this article or giving through PayPal here – 100% of donations go to Mark's wages.

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