October 29,1996 _ Page 5
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GOV. NELSON speaks to UNL students in the Selleck Hall cafeteria. Nelson will face Chuck Hagel in U.S. Senate race. Ryan Soderlin/dn
Senate race could
affect governorship
-— - > >
By Erin Gibson
StaffReporter
For Nebraskans, more than a Sen
ate seat is at stake in this election.
If Gov. Ben Nelson wins his race
against Chuck Hagel, Lt. Gov. Kim
Robak will inherit the governor’s man
sion and the statehouse until the 1998
election.
But Robak is no st|anggr |o %
1 Capitol, and she s^y^flevraild enjoy -
the governorship.
, She was appointed to office as lieu
tenant governor in October 1993, hav
ing served as Nelson’s chief of staff
since July 1992. As lieutenant gover
nor, she presides over the Legislature
and works closely with Nelson on sev
eral initiatives, often filling in for him
at public events.
As governor, Robak said, she
would continue many of the policies
and initiatives started under Nelson’s
administration, including making pub
lic education a priority, working on
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on crime and making government more
efficient.
But Chuck Sigerson, Nebraska’s
Republican Party chairman, said ethi
cal questions could arise if Robak takes
over the governor’s mansion.
Robak’s husband, William Meuller,
has risen to the position as the highest
paid lobbyist in the state over the past
few years, Sigerson said.
Sigerson said Robak’s office could
allow him access to insider government
information.
Although he did not accuse either
Robak or Meuller of unethical actions,
“the appearance is certainly there,”
Sigerson said.
“If we don’t want people to be cyni
cal of government, government better
dam well be squeaky clean,” Sigerson
said.
But Robak said her office would not
••
If we don’t want
people to be cynical
of government, gov
ernment better darn
well be squeaky
Chuck Sigebson
Nebraska Republican Party chairman
change her husband’s position as a lob
byist. In turn, his position would have
no.effect on her decisions in office.
“I’m a Democrat, and he’s a Repub
lican, so he obviously hasn’t influenced
me yet,” she said.
“I took an oath of office to serve
the people of Nebraska to the best of
my ability, and I will continue to do
mai, KooaKsaid.
Nelson echoed Robak’s certainty
that she would serve the people of
Nebraska well, regardless of her
husband’s positions.
But Sigerson said if Nelson wins
the election, Robak and her husband
should make a difficult decision. One
should step down to keep “a line of
propriety” in the Nebraska State Capi
tol, he said.
And that could be a lot to ask from
the two longtime Nebraskans.
Robak taught elementary school for
four years in Nebraska after earning her
bachelor’s degree from UNL.
Robak and her husband both earned
law degrees from UNL, Robak gradu
ating with highest honors in 1985.
Should she become governor,
Robak said she was unsure if she would
seek reelection in 1998.
Matthew Wajte/DN
GOV BEN NELSON speaks to seniors at the Underwood Tbwers in Omaha last week. Nelson was there
touting his plan to protect social security and Medicare.
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File Photo
U
I grew up in the shadow
of George Norris.”
Ben Nelson
Governor remembers
bipartisan hero
From The Associated Press
Democratic Gov. Ben Nelson didn’t have to search far for
a hero as a young boy in the western Nebraska town of
McCook.
As a young boy, Nelson’s Republican father took him on
Memorial Day visits to George W. Norris’ grave.
Norris has been the perfect role model for Nelson. Like
the governor, Norris forged a career gamering support across
party lines.
“He was so bipartisan that President (Franklin) Roosevelt
came out to campaign for him,” Nelson said.
Nelson has been a lifelong Democrat, except for his first
voting experience in 1964. He registered as a Republican to
vote against Barry Goldwater in the primary.
The father of Nebraska’s nonpartisan one-house Legisla
ture, Norris was the first independent elected in the U.S. Sen
ate in 1936.
The progressive agenda that Norris supported led to the
establishment of the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Ru
ral Electrification Administration. The programs so rankled
Republican Party leaders that Norris left the GOP.
Norris’ home in McCook is now a museum run by the
Nebraska State Historical Society.