Nebraska Citizen

Interview with Jay Vavricek, Candidate for the 3rd Congressional District.
December 21, 2005

Jay Vavricek is the Mayor of Grand Island. He was elected in 2002 with 72% of the vote.

Jay believes that his experience as Mayor is a good foundation for serving as Congressman for the 3rd district.

Jay has been in small business for over 30 years and is the owner of seven radio stations in Grand Island, Kimball and McCook.

Jay believes that agriculture is the foundation on which the economy is built – that it is the foundation of economic stability for Nebraska. He feels that he knows the importance of ag. He believes we should build on our strengths, not our weaknesses and that ag is the primary strength of Nebraska and will continue to be for a long time.

I asked Jay about the 2007 Farm Bill and what he, as a freshman congressman, could do to influence it. He responded by saying, “We need a state farm policy. We need to have a discussion in the 3rd district to research the key ingredients that are beneficial to producers. The 2007 Farm Bill will have a large impact on economic development for Grand Island, McCook and rural Nebraska. The farm bill is an economic development tool that we need to maximize so we can grow.”

Jay is a big proponent of jobs and growth. He says, “It is jobs that bring people to a community. It is jobs and family ties that keep people in the community.” Jay points out that Grand Island has 2,700 new jobs in the last three years since he has been Mayor and that he wants to see that kind of job growth all across the third district.

I asked if Jay felt that there should be a limit on the amount of money that a farmer can receive from the Federal Government. Jay calls these “income transfer payments.” He says these are beneficial for the long-term growth of agriculture but would like to review if caps are necessary. Even so, he believes they are a necessary part of farm policy that have been in place for many years.

We talked about ethanol. Jay believes we need to support ethanol. He believes it helps create jobs and bolsters prices for farmers. He declares himself a strong supporter of ethanol.

Jay introduced his budget last year that included a 33% reduction in the cities property tax rate. Ultimately, the budget was approved and implemented. Jay recently proposed reducing property taxes another 10% for this year. He feels that this has been accomplished by streamlining government. Jay has run the city like a business. Services should be provided efficiently. Each tax dollar should be maximized.

Jay believes in open government. He feels that it is important that government should be accessible and open.

I asked Jay what kind of new jobs have been created in Grand Island in the last three years. He says that the new growth has been in ag, food processing, and manufacturing. He specifically mentioned Case New Holland and the suppliers to Case. He is glad that Standard Iron is in Grand Island and is growing. Grand Island has five major roads and lends itself to businesses that depend on good access to transportation. Jay feels that retailing has exploded and is really helping the economy of the city.

Grand Island recently designated part of the city revenue to be set aside for economic development. Jay feels that this has been a powerful tool for helping build the community.

One of the biggest benefits to the community was a call from the Adjutant General asking if Grand Island would like to attract a National Guard helicopter facility. Jay believes that this was the springboard that helped bring the community together. Grand Island was successful in recruiting the helicopter facility, and there will be a groundbreaking ceremony in 2007.

Jay believes that the same principles and philosophies that apply to his work as Mayor are applicable for how he would help the entire 3rd district. He believes the keys are business management, fiscal conservativeness, accessibility of government and being responsive. He says he has tried to build on the strengths of other people.

We talked about Lake McConaughy. Jay feels that the lake is low because of the drought. He feels that we need state leadership. He does not want to pit community against community or ground water user vs. surface irrigator. He feels that it is important that other states with mutual interests cooperate and that we need more dialogue.

Jay feels that he is familiar with the Republican River Basin issues. He believes that we should wait until the final data has been provided to the DNR and that once that data has been provided to the DNR, there will be more information to help decide the issue.

I asked Jay if he believed that global warming was happening. He said, “I would make the assumption that global warming is occuring. It is 50 degrees in December in Nebraska, and, as a hunter, I have seen how the seasons have changed in Central Nebraska. The polar ice caps are reducing. I think there are some things at play in the universe. Call it global warming or not, but that is my impression.”

I asked if the United States should do anything to reduce the effect of warming. Jay said, “We are talking about the earth and if any discussion takes place, it needs to take place between the nations of the earth because we are all sharing the same planet. We are not an island, and we need to discuss with other nations.”

I asked if Jay would support nuclear power plant development. He says he is not opposed to nuclear power.

We moved over to the immigration issue. I asked if there should be a wall between the US and Mexico. Jay says that he has just created a Hispanic steering committee to talk about this and other issues. He looks forward to hearing their impressions. Immigration is a concern that he hears about as he travels the 3rd district. He does not believe that a wall is the answer.

I asked if the US should ask undocumented workers to return to their country of origin. Jay does not believe that is a realistic solution. Jay says, “Current immigration laws that people are following, the homes that have been established, and considering the need the US has for laborers…forcing undocumented workers to leave is not practical.” He hopes to announce a position on immigration in the near future.

Health care costs are rising faster than the rate of inflation. Jay speaks energetically about how these increasing costs make it difficult for small businesses to grow or keep current employees. Jay believes we need great access to health care in rural Nebraska. He feels that we need to promote access. Jay says he does not have an answer to how to deal with this today, but he believes the marketplace and competition will result in better service. He feels competition allows people to make a good personal choice and helps address costs.

I asked if there should be subsidies for prescription drugs for those with low income. He believes that one needs to look at the larger budget picture and discuss specifics in this context. “Historically,” he says, “there has been assistance for low income people and that should continue.”

I asked if Jay believes life begins at conception. He does. He believes abortions should be allowed in the case of rape, incest, and the life of the mother.

Jay does not believe embryonic or fetal stem cell should be permitted. Jay believes he would like to research adult stem cell research more. He is not sure that it is profitable for private industry and would like to review that. However, he is inclined to support adult stem cell research.

Jay does not believe that a doctor should be permitted to prescribe marijuana for pain relief.

I asked if Internet sales should be subject to sales taxes. Jay wonders how that could be collected. He believes that access to markets is important. He also feels that Internet sales can hurt local main street businesses. So, he believes the public should have a discussion about the issue.

I asked what Jay, as a congressman, would do for education. Jay said, “I will be the education, economic development jobs supporter. My wife was the first person in her family to get a college education.” The same is true for Jay. He was the first in his family to get a college education. His wife is an elementary teacher. His daughter is a music teacher. He believes that education is the key to strong economic development. Therefore, he says he will be a strong supporter of education.

The last question was why people should vote for Jay over the other candidates. Jay responded by saying: “I have a track record of leadership in both business and as an elected Mayor of one of the larger cities in the 3rd district. I have helped people, and I want to help people in the future. I have the skills and the ability to work with people. But, basically, my track record of leadership, job creation, lowering taxes and economic development make me a good candidate, and I want your vote.”

Candidate Profile

Tags: Jay Vavrickek, Nebraska, Congressional

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The Associated Press is reporting that the Nebraska Supreme Court has refused to hear the term limits challenge brought by three State Senators.

If the Senators want to challenge the ruling, they will need to file suit in a State District Court and persuade the court to issue an injunction.

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Phone Interview with John Wightman December 20, 2005
Candidate for Nebraska Legislative District 36

John Wightman lives in Lexington and has many years of civic service in the community. He has served on the Lexington City Council for over 20 years and has been Mayor twice. He is President of the Dawson County Economic Development Board and and he is on the Lexington Council of Economic Development Board. He is also on the Lexington Foundation Board. John is 67 and is an attorney. He graduated in 1963 from UNL with a law degree and has been an attorney for 42 years. John is active in the Methodist church and is a Mason and a Shriner. John was a teacher for 1 year in 1959-1960.

John terms himself pro life. He believes life begins at conception. “It would be a travesty, if we don’t allow for an exception in the case of rape and incest. That ought to be a woman’s choice in my opinion.”

John says he favors stem cell research. When asked if he would put limits on fetal or embryonic stem cell research, John said he would want to study the issue as to what would be available if you did not use embryonic stem cells. He would want more input before he made that determination.

John supports the death penalty and would favor allowing executions via lethal injections instead of the electric chair.

John does not support the legalization of marijuana and also does not think that a doctor should be allowed to prescribe marijuana for pain relief.

We talked about how it is reported that jails are overcrowded and that most of the increase in inmates is caused by drug-related offenses. I asked if John thought it would be better to build more jails or relax the penalties for drug-related crimes. John said he thinks we have to look at everything. He thinks that we should consider building additional jails. At the same time, he believes that drug rehabilitation is a lot more important than longer incarceration, in some instances.

I asked if the State of Nebraska should subsidize prescription drugs. John felt that was a difficult question and needed much more information before he felt comfortable answering. He feels that we have major problems as a State in paying for Medicaid expenses and doesn’t think he can give a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer without hearing more.

We talked about products being purchased on the Internet and how people can purchase goods without paying local or state sales taxes. John feels he has experience with this concept because he served on the city council for many years. John feels that there has to be a way of collecting a tax on Internet sales. He thinks that if too many sales move to the Internet, local communities that rely on sales taxes will see their revenue stream dry up. He says that not all sales will move to the Internet, but it can certainly impact local government revenues.

Regarding water issues, the area that John lives in has been designated by the State of Nebraska as “over appropriated.” John thinks that he needs much more information before he would suggest any solutions. We talked about how the State can pay farmers to not irrigate or it can reduce the amount of water a farmer can use. John owns some land in the Middle Republican River NRD and knows about the EQIP program that pays farmers to not irrigate. He believes the State must continue to fund such programs.

I asked John if he realized that if every irrigation well were turned off in the Republican River Basin, Nebraska would still fail to comply with the Agreement it has with Kansas. John said, “Well, I don’t think they will fail to comply on a long-term basis. They probably have over-appropriated right now. If you shut off every well…I don’t know how they could.” I told John that, according to the State, even if you shut down every well for at least three years, the area would still not be in compliance. He said, “You might as well write off those areas, if you don’t compensate them for not having water. It would be a disaster.” I suggested that the State cannot afford to compensate that many people. John said, “I have not seen all of the figures.”

We switched over to the topic of concealed guns. John believes in the rights of gun owners, but would like to hear more evidence. He would not be ready to vote on the right to carry concealed weapons without more information.

I asked about his support for vouchers for private schools. He doesn’t feel that his mind is made up on that subject, but he would lean toward favoring the idea on a limited basis. He would like to study the issue more, but is strongly in support of public schools and believes public school teachers are doing an excellent job of educating our youth.

I asked if teachers should be required to take a competency test. John feels that there has to be some method of regulating the competency of teachers, but does not know that he could support a test for teachers.

I asked if John believes global warming is happening. He has read both sides of the issue and does not feel that he can say if it is or is not. He suspects that there is some, but he feels there are two sides. He thinks there are long-range shifts in climate, but he wants more evidence before he would say that global warming is happening.

We moved over to the subject of regulating the construction of confined livestock operations. I asked if it should be easier or harder for things such as hog lots to be built. John thinks that things are about the way they should be now. He supports the livestock friendly designation but feels that things need to be answered more on a case-by-case basis.

John supports the idea of tax breaks to encourage economic development. He also supports the idea of a venture capital fund to encourage new business, but the state must make sure that it has the financial resources to do so. He also supports continued tax breaks for ethanol development. Once again, he feels that this may need to be decided on a case-by-case basis.

Colorado anticipates shutting down between 25% and 50% of its irrigation in the next 15 years. I asked if John felt that water restrictions in Nebraska might lead to the same result. John believes that irrigation is good for Nebraska. He feels that without irrigation, the economy of the western half of Nebraska would be in a shambles. He doesn’t know if we can afford to reduce irrigation.

I asked if Nebraska should create incentives to encourage doctors and nurses to locate in rural Nebraska. He has not studied that issue and does not know if such additional needs exist. He is aware of some programs, but is unsure if more are needed or not.

I asked if John supported casino gambling in Nebraska. He does not.

The last question dealt with whether gays should be permitted to marry or have civil unions in Nebraska. John said he did not think they should be permitted to marry, but he felt that it might be unconstitutional to block civil unions under the US Constitution. He feels that it is important that the State make laws that are in compliance with US Constitutional requirements. If by ‘civil unions’ one means partnerships, then John said he does not think the State can interfere with the rights of gays to be partners.

We ran out of time for more questions, so this was the end of our interview.

John Wightman, Nebraska Legislature, Lexington Nebraska

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I received an email from Alan Svajgr. It is as follows:

Because of priorities in my business and personal life, I have withdrawn my name as a candidate for the Nebraska Legislature for Dist. 36. Thank you, Alan Svajgr

Race Profile

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David Hahn, an attorney and the CEO of a new internet publishing company has announced his candidacy for Governor. Hahn is a Democrat. New Digital Group publishes college newspapers including the Nebraska State Paper, the Columbia Spectator, and the Daily Collegian which publishes informatoin about the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

The New Digital Group formarlly operated under the names of Digital Partner and ispi.

There is an interesting discussion about Mr Hahn on the Nebraska Democrat Forum.
Nebraska Democrat Forum

New Digital Group

His campaign web site is located at Hahn For Nebraska

He is married to Ruth Davidson Hahn. Ruth Davidson Hahn Biography

Tags: David Hahn, Daily Nebraskan, Nebraska Governor

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John Hanson, candidate for the 3rd Congressional District.

John was the senior Ag advisor for Tom Osborne. John has worked with Tom Osborne since Osborne started his political career.

John is 43 and was born in Lexington. He worked for a few years in Omaha in a bank and now resides in the Kearney area. John owns farm land that is both surface irrigated and ground water irrigated and rents it out. John also custom feeds cattle. John resigned his position with Tom Osborne when John announced his candidacy for the congressional seat.

The big issues for John’s campaign are agriculture and economic development. John points out that Nebraska’s 3rd congressional district is one of the largest in the nation and that agriculture makes up at least 70% of the economic activity in the district. Of the 435 congressional districts in the nation, the 3rd district is the number one district for corn sales and the number one district for cattle sales. Agriculture dominates the activity for the district, and John believes that whoever represents the 3rd district needs to have a background in Ag.

Even cities like Grand Island, Kearney and Scottsbluff rely on jobs that are related to agriculture.

John’s goal is to be elected and serve in the Congress for the rest of his life. John has no intention of running for any other seat, such as governor or senate. He hopes to serve on the House Agriculture committee. Within 4 to 6 years, he hopes to be sub-chair; and within 15 years, he hopes to be chair of the House Ag Committee. He doesn’t have any desire to be on any other committee unless it is Ag related, such as the Ag Appropriation Committee.

John knows how the Farm Bill works. He has worked with Osborne in Congress for over 6 years and understands how the system works. He knows the players and knows whom to work with to get things done.

We talked for over an hour about Agriculture and the Farm Bill. John says that the 2007 Farm bill is the key issue for the district. He believes that Agriculture is at a crossroads and that we have three options.

The first being to continue what we are doing now. That is, subsidize agricultural production via more LDP, counter cyclical payments. John believes that is a dead end because it leads to more consolidation and the loss of producers. If this continues, the 3rd Congressional district may disappear after the 2020 census.

The second option is to continue the same path but to bring more money into Agriculture. As the other members of Congress become more urban, it is difficult to find the votes to make that happen. Half of the California delegation can outvote all of the farm state votes.

The third option is to change how Agriculture works. John is a proponent of Whole Farm Revenue Insurance. It is also sometimes referred to as AGR Lite, which stands for Adjusted Gross Revenue – Livestock. It is a program that is used on the east and west coasts. This would shift things away from production-based income and, instead, would guarantee a farmer a percentage of his average revenue.

This stops the USDA from deciding what a farmer will grow. John described in detail how non-program crops are being blocked by the current Farm Bill and how these other crops could bring jobs into the area. John used Chicory, Brown Mustard and Aronia as examples of crops that could not only bring the farmer more money but also create jobs. However, because of the way the Farm Bill works, these crops cannot easily be grown. This is due to penalties if a farmer grows something other than what the government supports, the inability to get insurance, and the lack of certified herbicides.

John has a passion for agriculture. He has grown up around agriculture, and it is what he knows. He believes this qualifies him to be a good representative for the district.

John also loves ethanol. He says, “I will support the continued volumetric subsidies for ethanol. It is good for economic development.” He is also a big fan of a hydrogen reactor that can take grain alcohol and convert it to hydrogen, which can be a very efficient power provider. John is involved with 25/25, which wants to see America get 25% of its power needs from Agriculture by the year 2025.

Many look at agriculture as an industry with problems. John believes that ag may be on the verge of a renaissance. The House Ag committee will decide the future of agriculture, and John wants to be on that committee as it makes its decisions.

We decided that there were other things that people wanted to know about besides agriculture.

Abortion. John is pro life. He believes that life begins at conception. John would permit an exception only if the life of the mother was at risk. He supports adult stem cell research but opposes fetal and embryonic stem cell research.

Health care is a priority for John. He believes there is a lot of duplication on the Federal side of the health care system. Even though there are more critical care access hospitals in the 3rd district than almost any other district in the nation, a veteran must still travel to Omaha to get care instead of being able to go to a local hospital. John would like to see that changed. John would like to see all of the health care financing handled through a single clearinghouse. He says each department has its own system, which creates a lot of unnecessary duplication.

Jon believes in revenue neutrality. That means any idea he has that requires cash must also have a corresponding offset. This keeps the government from growing.

I asked John if he believes in global warming. “Yeah, I do.” He is not comfortable with all of the science on it and does not believe it is a “slam dunk,” but he believes there is reason to be concerned. It is part of the reason that he supports ethanol, hydrogen, and nuclear power.

He believes that any time one talks about economic development in the 3rd district, they must talk about agriculture. This is true even for towns like Grand Island. Many of the jobs in Grand Island are directly related to agriculture. When ag is doing well, the towns grow. When it does poorly, the towns notice.

We talked briefly about water. I asked how John would deal with Lake McConaughy being low. He believes the best way to deal with that is to reform the Environmental Protection Act. He calls it a miserable failure at achieving its intended goals. He feels that because of the Environmental Protection Act, there is a sizable amount of water in McConaughy that could be wasted by Fish and Wildlife if it tries to create a flood during a drought. John believes that whatever the decision is, it is best made at the local level. He also prefers EQIP over CREP, if acres need to be retired.

We talked about the Patriot Act. John feels that this is an issue that he needs to study more. He would probably support it, but knows there are some issues that need to be addressed.

We also talked about immigration. I asked John if the US should build a wall on the border with Mexico. He doesn’t believe a wall is necessary but that we should build a solid, impenetrable fortress. He believes that can be done with technology. I asked why it was necessary. He believes that it is important that we know who is here. John is not anti-immigration and is, in fact, in favor of immigration. However, he does not believe America can afford to have its immigration laws ignored. He prefers to see the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants return to their native country and then cross the border legally. He is willing to increase the number of visas but believes that, at minimum, all immigrants must report to the authorities and go through the proper procedures. John strongly opposes amnesty.

The conversation turned to drugs. John opposes legalizing marijuana and opposes the medicinal use of marijuana as well.

John does support the re-importation of prescription drugs. He feels that drug companies should profit but that when they spend more money on marketing than they do on research, things need to change. He also talked about how making sure people get doctor-prescribed drugs is important and that making those drugs available at an affordable cost can lower the overall cost by preventing things such as strokes. John supports federal subsidies for drugs for low income people.

We talked more about economic development. John supports the creation of a Venture Capital Fund for rural areas. He also supports the idea of taking a small portion of any venture capital fund and putting it into an insurance fund. If a venture capital fund that invests in a rural area loses money, then it can recover some of their investment from the insurance fund. John describes this as being similar to how the FDIC works. The idea would be to encourage venture capital investments in rural areas by lowering the risks for the investor.

John believes that he brings a big advantage to the table. He feels has the institutional knowledge, emphasizing that because he has worked in the halls of Congress for a number of years, it won’t take him 2 years to get up to speed. He says he knows the players, knows who to talk to and what to do to represent the 3rd district.

John Hanson Profile

Tags: John Hanson, Nebraska, Tom Osborne, Congress

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Pete Ricketts sent out an email about his campaign.

It is a 1MB image.

Campaign Email - Requires Adobe Acrobat to open

Tag: Pete Ricketts
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Adrian Smith mailed out a campaign letter. Here is a copy

Page 1

Page 2

Tag: Adrian Smith

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The Ricketts' campaign isn't sparing any expense. I received a letter today looking for support. The Kramer and Stenberg campaigns will need to find ways to compete without money as it doesn't appear that they will be able to match what Ricketts will spend.

Pete Ricketts Letter

Tags: Pete Ricketts, Don Stenberg, David Kramer

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