CHEYENNE – After a long campaign season and a two-month gap before taking office, new Wyoming State Treasurer Curt Meier was excited to wake up this week and be able to go to work.
Meier, of LaGrange, won the treasurer race over Democrat Chris Lowry on Nov. 6. Since then, he’s been anxiously waiting to assume his post. Meier was sworn in Monday and, according to him, got to work immediately.
“It’s nice to know that after the inauguration, my name was on the door and my picture was on the wall and I had to get up and go to work today,” he said. “You can walk in the office and it’s yours.”
Even though he has barely just sat down in his Cheyenne office, Meier said he has already assembled several key members of his team, including Deputy Treasurer Dawn Williams. The focus during the early weeks of his term will be on monitoring the 2019 legislative session. Meier served in the Wyoming Senate for more than two decades before being elected treasurer.
“We are ready to start making some changes,” he said. “I think everybody is invigorated and excited to do the best job they possibly can.
“We’ve already mapped out a lot of the strategy we’re going to do moving forward. We have the legislative process that is taking place right now. The first thing right now is to look at the legislative process and rank the bills as far as priorities and set up our office to do the work that we have to on the incoming legislation and assign people to each task.”
Another major task Meier is undertaking is a restructuring of several departments in the treasurer’s office. Meier said that in the past, the Chief Investment Officer was responsible not just for investment, but for public relations and other tasks, as well.
“We’re going to allow that person to actually be a chief investment officer and take those administrative duties off his plate,” he said. “We’re reclassifying the position and looking at the budget process to see where we can bring new people in.”
As Meier explores different options to make the treasurer’s office run more smoothly, he said one of his main goals is to make sure the people in his office are able to maximize their potential.
“We’re trying to make sure everybody has the best opportunity to both better themselves and better their ability to serve the goals of our office,” he said.
