Secretary of State John Gale

Two long-time Republican officeholders have noticed some unsettling trends as they leave office.

Republican John Gale, Secretary of State since 2000, says national interests now fund many campaigns, lessening the impact strong state political parties once had.

“So, what you have is an increasingly uniform voice that’s not necessarily representative of their independent states,” Gale tells Nebraska Radio Network during an interview in his office.

Gale first began working in politics as a law student, when he volunteered to help in Arizona Republican Barry Goldwater’s unsuccessful presidential run in 1964. He worked in North Platte as an attorney when then-Gov. Mike Johanns appointed him Secretary of State.

Gale says he had always been impressed by the strong state political party organizations. He says the creeping influence of national interests, along with the gerrymandering of Congressional districts, have allowed extreme views to sway both political parties. He laments the litmus tests which seem to guide the Republican and Democratic Parties now, forcing candidates to agree to a prescribed set of views.

Treasurer Don Stenberg

Republican Don Stenberg served as both Attorney General and state Treasurer and says things have gotten nastier since he began work at the Capitol in 1979.

“But I think what’s changed over the years is instead of debating the issues on the merits there’s more and more in terms of personal attacks and basically even the politics of personal destruction,” Stenberg tells Nebraska Radio Network during an interview in his office.

Stenberg began work at the Capitol as the legal counsel for Gov. Charley Thone, serving from 1979 to 1983. Stenberg served as Nebraska Attorney General from 1991 to 2003 and is now wrapping up two terms as state Treasurer.

Stenberg acknowledges President Donald Trump has caused some division in the Nebraska Republican Party, with many Nebraska Republicans supporting Trump’s policy decisions, but wincing at his personal political style. Still, Stenberg says Trump has done more to push a conservative agenda than any president since Ronald Reason.

Both Stenberg and Gale say Nebraska has been somewhat isolated from the negative national political trends, but has not been untouched.

AUDIO:  Brent Martin reports [:55]

Secretary of State John Gale

Secretary of State John Gale, the state’s top election official, worries about current trends in our political discourse.

This is the conclusion of our two-part series.

Gale says a robust democracy requires at least half of the registered voters to cast ballots. During the mid-terms, 58% turned out, one of the highest voter turnouts in state history.

“You get discouraged and then the voters surprise you and they show that they do have a keen interest in participating on our democracy,” Gale tells Nebraska Radio Network during an interview in his office.

Gale says his goal as Secretary of State has always been to increase voter registration, then encourage voters to go to the polls. Voter registration is at an all-time high in Nebraska and early voting recorded the highest total in state history during the mid-terms.

While encouraged by registrations and participation, Gale worries about the information voters are relying on to inform their decisions. He is especially concerned about the impact of social media.

“People become so motivated by fear or by anger or by false information or at least what I call inaccurate information and they make judgments based upon that really very limited emotional response,” Gale says.

Gale says he understands people are busy, with a lot going on in their lives, but he insists they must be informed to make proper decisions. That, according to Gale, includes going to sources which give both sides of an issue, participating in meetings and public hearings, and engaging in civic activities.

Two programs Gale created while in office bring back fond memories. One, aimed at elementary school children, had him and others in the office dress up in period clothes and enact various parts of Nebraska history. Before it ended, Gale made presentations to approximately 30,000 4th Graders. A second program convened eight diplomatic conferences which brought leaders from around the globe to Nebraska, ending only when the 2008 recession hit, drying up the money available from a private foundation and businesses which funded the program.

Aside from elections, the Nebraska Secretary of State serves as Protocol Officer, Business Services manager, and state Records Administrator as well as on on five boards and commissions.

Gale says the Secretary of State’s office kept him as deeply engaged as practicing law in North Platte. First appointed in late 2000, Gale won election to the office in 2002 and re-election ever since, until deciding to retire at the age of 78.

“So, I leave with a great sense of satisfaction. I think I’ve upheld my oath of office and my passionate commitment to the rule of law and I hope the public feels that I have served them well, but I can’t thank them enough for the opportunity.”

AUDIO:  Brent Martin reports [:55]

Secretary of State John Gale

Secretary of State John Gale leaves office after 18 years in the position; ending with elections a bit more settled than when he began.

This is the first of a two-part series.

Gale was a lawyer in North Platte when then-Gov. Mike Johanns appointed him to be Secretary of State in December of 2000.

“Shortly after that fiasco and calamity of a 2000 presidential election year,” Gale recalls during an interview with Nebraska Radio Network.

Gale says some big issues had to be addressed when he became Secretary of State, remembering an enormous national debate about the integrity of our elections.

“Of course, it all arose out of Florida in the Bush-Gore campaign which required the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve whether or not recount was appropriate in Florida or not,” Gale says.

Gale says the 2000 presidential election caused many to lose faith in elections. He set out to restore that faith.

Congress addressed some of the problems disclosed in that election by passing the Help America Vote Act. It mandated each state have a central authority to use federal funds to upgrade election equipment and improve the vote count.

At the time, Nebraska had a county-centric election system, according to Gale, with eight separate voter registration programs, 60 counties still using the questionable hand-count method, and about 40% of Nebraska counties using punch cards. Gale consolidated voter registration and discarded hand-counts and punch cards. He did make a decision early on to keep paper ballots, which Gale says have proven to be the gold standard for elections, providing a paper trail for any potential election challenges.

Gale says Johanns wanted assurances from him he would run for the office, telling Gale he didn’t want to appoint someone for just a two-year stint. Gale did run, winning election as Secretary of State in 2002. He then won re-election in 2006, 2010, and 2014; finally deciding, at the age of 78, not to run again.

Tomorrow, Gale shares his concerns about the direction of our democracy.

AUDIO:  Brent Martin reports [:50]

Congressman Don Bacon, election night, November 6th, 2018

Fewer and fewer members of Congress have military backgrounds with the mid-term elections not helping representation of veterans in Washington.

Congressman Don Bacon, former commander of Offutt Air Force Base, laments the weak military voice in Congress, made weaker after the mid-terms.

“We had more veterans lose than won. So, we went backwards,” Bacon tells Nebraska Radio Network. “We had 19% of the House were veterans in the 115th Congress. It’s going to be 18% in the 116th Congress. So, we went backwards just a little bit and when you compare it to the 70s, over three-quarters of all the members were veterans.”

Veterans among members of Congressional staffs are even rarer. Bacon says only 2% of the staffers on Capitol Hill have military backgrounds.

Bacon says he hopes in the new Congress to use his military experience to work on electronic warfare and intelligence reconnaissance, which he says have been languishing. He also wants to spur improvements to the Gold Star program, which comes to the aid of those who have lost a spouse in battle. He wants to oversee improvements to cyber defense against Russia and China as well as modernization of the country’s nuclear defense system and fight against efforts to cut the nuclear defense system.

Those are military matters which Bacon says a veteran can add a voice of expertise in a Congress sorely lacking it. But military experience isn’t the only benefit of veterans in Congress, according to Bacon, who says veterans benefit from the military’s culture.

“The veterans tend to be more team players,” according to Bacon. “Even when the disagree, they do it in a collegial way and I think that we need more of that in the House and in Washington in general.”

AUDIO:  Brent Martin reports [:50]

Nebraska State Treasurer Don Stenberg

State Treasurer Don Stenberg began his career at the state Capitol in 1979 and is leaving public service after stints in the governor’s office, as Attorney General, and as Treasurer.

We asked Stenberg if it seems real yet that he is leaving state government.

“Yeah, it’s pretty real,” Stenberg says with a chuckle during an interview in his office. “The pictures are off the wall and most of my files have been gone through and dealt with as appropriate. So, yeah, it’s real.”

Stenberg first came to state government as legal counsel to Gov. Charley Thone, serving Thone from 1979 to 1983. A graduate of Harvard Law School, Stenberg went into a private law practice. He won election as Attorney General in 1990 and re-election to two more terms, serving as AG from 1991 to 2003.

Stenberg has faced frustration, unsuccessful in attempts to run for United States Senate.

A minor controversy broke earlier this year when a state audit disclosed a $2.6 million account Stenberg had kept off the state accounting system. The state Auditor criticized keeping an account off-the-books and the fact that it earned no interest.

Stenberg defends the account, stating his predecessor set it up at First National Bank of Omaha to accept administrative fees paid by those participating in the state’s various college savings plans. Stenberg argues the money in the account does not belong to the state, but instead to the College Savings Trust.

“Our current Attorney General changed that opinion in August and immediately after that I moved those funds into the state accounting system,” Stenberg tells Nebraska Radio Network, explaining his predecessor, Shane Osborn, set up the system in accordance with a legal opinion at the time. “When the Attorney General (Doug Peterson) basically changed the ruling of a prior Attorney General, we moved those funds as directed by the Attorney General.”

Stenberg says there is a very real difference in the positions of Attorney General and Treasurer, with the nature of Attorney General bringing the officeholder into conflict situations while Treasurer helps people save for college, returns unclaimed property, and teaches financial basics to Nebraska students.

As for his future, Stenberg believes politics might be behind him.

“Well, I think it’s unlikely that I would run for office again,” Stenberg says. “I think if I were to do any additional public service, it would be in some appointed position. But, again, I’m not looking for a job right now and really just looking forward to taking some time off.”

AUDIO:  Brent Martin reports [:50]

State Treasurer Don Stenberg

State Treasurer Don Stenberg leaves office after serving two terms, the most he could serve.

This is the first of a two-part series.

Stenberg must leave office due to term limits, an office he’s proud of, especially the NEST Financial Scholars program which has taught financial literacy to more than 42,000 Nebraska students.

“I think that there’s a need for it,” Stenberg tells Nebraska Radio Network during an interview in his Capitol office. “I have advocated that either the state Board of Education or the Nebraska legislature require a financial literacy course in high school as a graduation requirement.”

Stenberg says the program has proven successful with tests taken by students afterward demonstrating big gains in how to draft a budget to keep from spending more than earned as well as a better understanding of credit, insurance, and taxes.

Stenberg also is proud of a relatively new program, the Enable program, successfully shepherded through the Unicameral by Sen. Kate Bolz of Lincoln. The program allows disabled Nebraskans, or their guardians, to save tax-free to pay for their expenses.

The Nebraska Educational Savings Trust, or NEST program, helps Nebraskans save tax-free for college. It has expanded well beyond Nebraska, with nearly 265,000 accounts nationwide, boasting nearly $5 billion in assets. There are four separate NEST plans, which consistently rank high in performance.

Officials with the Treasurer’s office have returned $96 million in unclaimed property to its rightful owners.

Stenberg says he has enjoyed the job.

“Being Treasurer, you get to help people save for their college education,” Stenberg says. “We’ve helped Nebraska students become more financially literate. We’ve returned unclaimed property to people. And, so, it’s been a fun job and a way to help a lot of our fellow Nebraskans.”

Stenberg became Treasurer after serving as the Nebraska Attorney General from 1991 to 2003. He began work at the Capitol as the legal counsel for Gov. Charles Thone, serving in that role from 1979 to 1983.

Tomorrow, Stenberg looks back on a career of public service and what might be in his future.

AUDIO:  Brent Martin reports [:50]

Gov. Pete Ricketts

Gov. Pete Ricketts says Republicans are looking ahead after a mid-term election which wasn’t kind to the GOP.

Ricketts, new chair of the Republican Governor’s Association, says reports out of Washington about the association’s annual winter meetings over-played worries expressed about the mid-term election.

“Well, I think that some of those reports were actually a little bit exaggerated about what Republican governors were saying,” Ricketts tells reporters. “I think if you look at this cycle, what you saw was not different from other cycles. So, for example, if you go back to President Obama’s first term, his first mid-term election, he lost 60 seats in the House. Well, the Republicans just lost 40 seats.”

Still, Ricketts concedes Republicans lost some crucial races, often after losing suburban voters. That was a major topic of discussion during the Republican Governors Association’s annual winter meeting in Arizona. Some political publications stated Republican governors expressed concern about falling Republican support among women and upper-income suburban voters, a few blaming the rhetoric coming from the White House. Several governors, in interviews with national reporters, shared their concerns about the “tone” set by President Trump.

Ricketts points to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan as a success story for Republicans and as an example for other gubernatorial candidates to follow. Ricketts says Hogan formed a focus group of 110 women who corresponded with the campaign online. Ricketts says Hogan listened to what they said, addressed their concerns, and won in a liberal, Democrat-leaning state.

“Again, that’s an example of how we’ve got to go out and talk to voters about things they care about and when do that, we’ll win.”

AUDIO:  Brent Martin reports [:50]