O’Brien, Sapp match strides
in District 2 regent race
By Tabitha Hiner
and Anita Parker
Staff Reporters
Guests at Nancy O’Brien’s election party
Tuesday night shook her hand and wished her
luck before leaving, but they didn’t know if she
had won a seat on the NU Board of Regents.
O’Brien started out the evening trailing her
opponent Lee Sapp in the District 2 regent race
by 1,308 votes.
But with about 90 percent of the votes
counted, O’Brien led Sapp in the tight race by
401 votes. O’Brien had 33,076 to Sapp’s 32,675.
While O’Brien had appeared nervous at the
beginning of the night, she was optimistic after
announcing her narrow lead.
“I think I’m going to win,” she said. But
“it’s nrit all over until it’s over and I don’t think
we’ll know until Thursday.”
O’Brien said she thought absentee ballots
and the final 10 percent of the uncounted votes
would mean victory for her if the upward trend
continued.
Sapp said that he did not expect the numbers L
to be so close.
“I guess since this was my first time running
I was overconfident,’ Sapp said.
O’Brien attributed her lead to “hard work.” _
She said that meeting people and getting her
position on issues known was beneficial.
She said she had known that the race was
going to be close because even though Sapp
was inexperienced, he had spent five limes as
much money on the campaign as she had.
O’Brien said that she spent about S1(),(X)0
while Sapp spent about S50,0(X).
“I think money is the big issue,” she said.
“To do TV ads in a regents race is unusual.”
O’Brien said she did not think Sapp was
prepared to be a regent. “He wants to run the
university like a business,” she said. “If you try
to set it up like a business, it’s not going to
work.”
Sapp said he fell positive about the race so
far, although his opponent was qualified.
Opposing stands on the Nebraska Coordi
nating Commission for Postsecondary Educa
tion could have contributed to the closeness of
the race, Sapp said. O'Brien supported the
coordinating commission, wh ilc Sapp opposed
it.
“We pretty much agreed on everything except
for the central committee issue," Sapp said.
“With a situation like that it's just up to the
voters.”
O’Brien
Sapp
Powell upset by Wilson
in Lincoln regent race
By James P. Webb
and Alan Phelps
Staff Reporters
A Lincoln cardiologist won Tuesday’s
race between two political unknowns for the
District 1 seat on the NU Board of Regents.
Chuck Wilson upset Dick Powell 56
percent to 44 percent, 12,093 to 15,235
votes.
In between fistfuls of popcorn and pre
mature congratulations from about 70 sup
porters at Brittany’s Restaurant, 227 N. 9th
St., Wilson kept close tabs on the race
between himself and Powell.
Wilson and his wife Linda talked with
campaign workers and supporters at the
reception celebrating more than a year’s
work.
Each time the local news announced
election returns without giving figures for
the regent race, the crowd booed.
Then, at 8:50 p.m., the barroom conver
sation was stilled as the next announcement
came. A round of applause greeted news of
Wilson’s 3,(X)0-vote lead.
After his victory speech at about 10 p.m.,
a supporter asked Wilson if the signs for his
campaign should be saved for his next race.
Wilson responded, “I don’t want to even
think about another race right now.’’
News of Powell’s defeat was heard by a
groupof about 45 supporters gathered in the
lower level of Lincoln’s Clayton House,
10th and O streets.
"Well, we sure made an effort to take our
message to the people,” Powell said. “Wc’ re
not going to finish first as wc would like to,
but my opponent is a good adversary and
he’ll serve the university well,” he said.
Powell said Wilson won because he out
spent him two-to-one and also had more
newspaper endorsements.
“A lot of people don’t know what the
regents arc,” Powell said. In such a situ
ation, he said, people look to other sources,
such as newspapers, to tell them who to vote
for.
Despite the loss, Powell said, he and his
family were holding their heads high.
“I feel good and my family feels good
about w hat we’ve done... we’ve run a clean
See DISTRICT 1 on 8
Powell
Wilson
Early results show defeat
of slot-machine proposal
OMAHA (AP) — Unofficial
tallies Tuesday showed a sound
rejection of a proposal allowing
bars and non-profit groups to oper
ate video slot machines.
And, a proposal lo create an
appellate court designed to ease
the caseload for the state Supreme
Court appeared headed for victory
Tuesday.
With 65 percent of the precincts
.reporting, voles against Initiative
404, the video slot proposal, to
taled 205,693, or 66 percent and
votes in favor of the measure stood
at 107,851, or 34 percent.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars
and lobbyist John DeCamp led the
petition drive to pul the issue on
the ballot.
To be passed, the ballot meas
ure needed a majority of the vote
plus at least 35 percent of the total
votes cast in the election. Total
\otes cast includes absentee bal
lots that may not be counted for
several days.
A state senator who opposed
Amendment 2, the measure to al
low the Legislature to create an
intermediate appellate court, said
it might result in "a battle royal” in
the Nebraska Legislature.
State Sen. Ernie Chambers of
Omaha has opposed the move,
• saying he doesn't trust the Legisla
ture to retain the right to a Supreme
Court appeal for people convicted
of felonies.
According to incomplete results,
172,477 people, 68 percent, voted
for ihc measure, while 80,423
people, 32 percent, voted against
the proposal.
The ballot measure needed a
majority of the vote plus at least 35
percent of the total votes cast in the
election. Total votes cast includes
absentee ballots that may not be
counted for days.
Chambers said, “this vote is only
the preliminary, the main event
comes during the legislative ses
sion.”
Referendum 406, the question
of repeal of LB 1059, the school
finance law, received the support
of 53 percent of the voters in early
returns.
In Nebraska’s 1 si Congressional
District, Republican L.S. Rep. Doug
Bereuter won his seventh House
term on Tuesday, defeating Demo
cratic farm activist Larry Hall.
Bereuter had 45,723 votes, or
64 percent, to Larry Hall’s 25,464
votes, or 36 percent, according to
incomplete returns.
“1 think it’s reasonable to as
sume it is a victory," Bereuter said.
Incumbent Democrat U.S. Rep.
Peter Hoagland defeated challenger
Ally Milder lor the 2nd Congres
sional District seat.
Early returns showed Hoagland
leading Milder, 57 percent to 43
percent.
In Nebraska's 3rd Congressional
District, two stale senators were
locked in a tight race to replace a
political legend.
Republican Bill Barrett of Lex
ington had 59,470 votes, or 51
percent, to Democrat Sandy Scof
ield of Chad roll's 57,739 votes, or
49 percent, according to incom
plete returns.
Barrett said his primary strength
lies in the eastern and central parts
of the spraw ling, heavily-Republi
can district. Scofield said she felt
her campaign could make up the
difference in early returns.
Barrett relied largely on the
endorsement of Rep. Virginia Smith,
R-Neb., who is retiring after 16
years in the House.
State treasurer, auditor challengers win
Incumbents beat by 2-1 margins
The Associated Press
Two Democratic candidates for
statewide constitutional office made
history Tuesday night.
In a move unprecedented in 30
years, suite treasurer candidate Dawn
Rockcy and auditor candidate John
Brcslow turned out the incumbents
by nearly two-to-onc margins.
W ith 62 percent of the state’s 1,892
precincts reporting, Rockcy hud 66
percent of the unofficial vote tally —
182,267 votes — to 34 percent, or
93,412 votes for incumbent Frank
Marsh, who is facing a felony theft
charge.
Brcslow had 68 percent of the vote
155,738 — to incumbent Ray A.C.
Johnson's 32 percent— 72,412, with
54 percent of the precincts unoffi
cially counted.
If she’s certified the w inner, Rockcy,
who turns 29 Monday, would tie the
record for the youngest elected con
SUlutional officer in the state. Ironi
cally, that record was set by Marsh,
who was 29 when he succeeded his
father as secretary of stale in 1952.
I plan to hit the ground running. I
“44 -
I plan to hit the ground
running.
Rockey
state treasurer-elect
-** -
want to sit down next week w ith all
the groups that do business with the
treasurer's office and find out what
needs to be changed," Rockey said.
Rockey is an administrative assis
tant to state Sen. Ron Wiihcm of
Papillion. She also served as a legis
lative aide to slate Sen. Jerry Miller of
Davenport and as a researcher in the
governor’s Policy Research Office in
1983 and 1984.
Brcslow said he thinks it's great
“that Nebraska has finally returned to
a two-party system. But it’s very
important that we retain an independ
ent stance in office and audit Repub
licans and Democrats alike."
Brcslow, who heads a Lincoln
based welding supply business, said
the auditor’s office needs to be run
like a business.
In another stale office Secretary of
State Allen Becrmann won his sixth
term w uh a 55 percent to 45 percent
victory over challenger Nancy Sue
Hansen with 54 percent of the votes
counted.
Becrmann, 50, is a Dakota County
native, he holds degrees from Mid
land College and the Creighton Lni
versity College of Law .__
Commission
Continued from Page 1
Lee Rupp, vice president for Uni
versity of Nebraska relations, said the
vote was only the first step toward
coordination.
“This just shows the voters arc
buying the concept,” he said.
The Association of Students of the
University ol Nebraska senate and its
president, Phil Gosch, had opposed
the amendment, partly because it
doesn't provide for a student repre
sentative on the commission.
But Gosch said passage of the
measure wasn’t a complete defeat.
"My comments... were that there
arc positive aspects,” he said “We
will work with the system that the
voters say that they want.”
Gosch said he will begin exploring
avenues to student representation:
creation of a student advisory board,
putting a student on the board through
at-large appointment or having the
Legislature add a non-voting student
member w hen it approves implement
ing legislation.
The amendment provides lor a
commission of 11 members to be
appointed b> the governor.
2 Percent
Continued from Page 1
City called the initiative “worrisome’*
and said she was glad it appeared
headed for defeat.
Hoch said she thought the measure
lost support once voters examined
how the initiative would affect them
instead of viewing it as a slap at
government.
Rupp said he thought the initia
live’s defeat was a signal that al
though Nebraskans may not be happy
with the performance of all govern
ment officials, they aren’t ready to
depart from a representative form of
government.
II the initiative had passed, he said,
voters would have been forced to go
to the polls even on small issues. The
measure would have required local
governments to call special elections
to override the 2 percent lid.
“We have representatives to do
that,” he said.
Telephone calls to the residence ol
Ed Jaksha, Omaha lax activist and
chief supporter of the lid proposal,
were not answered.
However, in an Associated Press
story, Jaksha said he would continue
his effort to get a limit on government
spending.
He blamed w hat he called a cam
paign of distortion and disinforma
tion by lid opponents for the apparent
defeat of the measure.