Bryan Paseka
We were unable to reach Mr. Paseka for an interview.
Beau Ballard (Incumbent)
Beau Ballard was appointed by Governor Pete Rickets to fill the seat of former Senator Mike Hilgers after Hilgers was elected Nebraska Attorney General. Ballard served as a legislative aide to Hilgers for five years prior to his appointment. He is running for legislature because he wants to be a younger voice in the legislature and help bring more young people to our state by creating economic opportunities.
Ballard said the number one issue facing Nebraskans today is property taxes.
When asked what public services he uses, Ballard said that he owns a few small businesses and works with Economic Development. He has also served on the Health and Human Services Committee and has learned a lot about the agency. Because of this, Ballard said that he knows we need more Division of Developmental Disabilities services in our state. He would solve this by making room in the budget for our state’s most vulnerable people. He also stated that there needs to be more money allocated toward the maintenance of roads and bridges.
Ballard said that fully funding public services is always the goal, but that the legislature needs to be able to work with stakeholders and not overshoot its means. When asked about the privatization of state services, Ballard said that it’s ultimately about what is most efficient.
Ballard stated that he supports the right of Nebraska State Employees to unionize and collectively bargain the wages and conditions of employment. He also stated that he would oppose any bill introduced that would take away public sector collective bargaining rights in Nebraska.
Ballard would not support a bill expanding collective bargaining rights to legislative branch employees. He said that allowing legislative staff to collectively bargain would get in the way of the senator-staff relationship.
Ballard stated that he thinks committee chairs in the legislature should be chosen by public vote and a Senator’s political party should line up with how they vote for committee chairs. Ballard also said that the filibuster rules need modification and there should be an emphasis on actually voting. When asked if he felt an obligation to vote a certain way because of his appointment to his seat, Ballard said that while the Governor and he align on a lot of issues, he feels he has an independent voice.
Seth Derner
Seth Derner is a Nebraska native running for the legislature because he wants to put Nebraskans above partisan politics. His goal is to bring people together and restore common-sense solutions to the challenges facing the hard-working people of our state.
Property taxes are the number one issue facing Nebraskans, and Derner said that it’s essential to address this issue quickly to attract and retain young people in our state. Derner stated that some people don’t feel engaged or included in the civic processes that affect their daily lives, and he wants to help educate and be as transparent as possible with the Nebraskans he serves.
Derner’s company has contracts with the Department of Education and participated in a program with the Department of Economic Development to support internship programs. He often visits our Nebraska State Parks and his parents use Medicare. One public service shortfall that he has been made aware of while canvassing is a shortage of correctional officers. He also stated that not enough young people are being recruited and state agencies across the board are struggling to fill vacancies.
In general, Derner believes that contracting out or privatizing state services does not invite civic engagement and often takes away transparency. However, he said there is sometimes a need to contract out when a very specific service needs to be performed and an agency doesn’t have the resources to do so. As a general rule, though, Derner believes that privatization prohibits taxpayers from being able to see what their tax dollars are being used for.
Derner supports the right of Nebraska State Employees to unionize and collectively bargain. He also stated that he would support legislation that expanded collective bargaining rights to legislative and judicial branch employees. If a bill was introduced to take away public sector collective bargaining rights in Nebraska, Derner would oppose that legislation.
Derner stated that committee chairs in the legislature should continue being chosen by secret vote and he supports the current filibuster rules.