Victor Rountree
Victor Rountree is a retired United States Air Force Chief Master Sergeant with over 30 years of service. He has continued to serve Nebraskans as a senior pastor in Bellevue. When asked why he’s running for the Nebraska legislature, Rountree stated that he wants to continue serving the great people of Nebraska by ensuring that the policies enacted give everyone an opportunity to live the good life.
Rountree said that the most important issue facing Nebraskans is that their financial needs are not being met. Rountree called these “grassroots needs,” and part of meeting those needs is ensuring that the public services provided by State of Nebraska employees are fully funded. He also noted the lack of affordable housing and high property taxes. Rountree said that addressing these issues in the legislature will keep people in our state and will also draw people here.
Rountree feels a lot of camaraderie with the State of Nebraska employees who have helped to support his 36-year-old special needs son. He has worked with the Department of Health and Human Services and Medicaid and said that he feels he has built a community with the people they have worked with.
When asked what public service jobs are lacking in Nebraska, Rountree said that there was a lack of oversight when it came to the services the State of Nebraska provides to vulnerable children and families. He said that he will fight to ensure that public services and programs are fully funded, again noting that these services and programs are essential to meeting Nebraskans’ grassroots needs. During his time in the military, he supported multiple deployments and operations through detailed financial management and budgeting. Rountree said that this experience will help him ensure these services are fully funded.
Rountree does not support the privatization or contracting out of state services to private companies. He stated that State of Nebraska employees need to be the ones taking care of our state and privatization would cause a decrease in services because it does not deliver what it advertises.
Rountree said it is absolutely necessary that State of Nebraska employees maintain their right to unionize and collectively bargain the wages and conditions of their employment. He stated that employees having a voice is the key to supporting our workforce and while he understands that management has needs, collective bargaining is essential to ensuring that we continue to recruit and retain quality employees to serve Nebraskans. He stated that he would oppose any legislation that would take away an organization’s ability to collectively bargain. He would also support a bill expanding public sector collective bargaining rights to include legislative branch employees such as legislative staff and judicial branch employees such as probation officers and clerks.
When asked his opinion on legislative procedure, Rountree stated that he supports the election of committee chairs through secret ballot and also supports the current filibuster rules.
Rountree said that he is the best candidate for the legislature because his message is the message of the people. He’s passionate about serving his community and, if elected, will be a tough but fair representative who uses his voice to advocate for his community.
Felix Ungerman
Felix Ungerman is a former United States Air Force officer. During his 25 years of service, he traveled the world and experienced as many different cultures, climates, and people as possible. After he retired, he came back to Nebraska and served on Don Bacon’s campaign. After Bacon was elected, Ungerman was asked to serve as his chief of staff and district director. He is running for the legislature because he feels he is looking to multiply and expand the efforts he did for Congressman Bacon across his district.
Ungerman stated that high property taxes are an overwhelming concern in his district. He also said that workforce shortages are an issue, and in order to mitigate these shortages he wants to create more programs that open opportunities for military spouses, veterans, and immigrants to integrate into and help strengthen the Nebraska workforce.
When asked what public service provided by state employees he personally utilized, Ungerman said that he looks forward to learning more about all of the public services available. He stated that his daughter used Medicaid for a short time after giving birth.
Ungerman said that public transportation workers face challenges and the under-utilization of public transit has become apparent. To address this, Ungerman said we need to invest in the workforce and ensure that these services are fully funded. He also stated that there are tremendous shortages in healthcare facilities and these staffing issues can be mitigated through training programs, incentives, and increased wages.
Ungerman stated that when it comes to ensuring that public services and programs are fully funded, he will always look at both sides of any solution that comes along and ask who is adversely affected by it.
Ungerman does not support the privatization of state services but noted that if there are shortages then it could become necessary. He said that privatization should be as temporary as possible until government services can be restored.
Ungerman stated that he supports the right of Nebraska State Employees to unionize and collectively bargain the wages and conditions of their employment because Nebraska is a great place to live, work, and raise a family, and collective bargaining is a part of that.
When asked if he would support a bill expanding public sector collective bargaining rights to include legislative branch employees such as legislative staff and judicial branch employees such as probation officers and clerks, Ungerman stated that he would have to read any such bill. He also stated that he would oppose any bill that aimed to take away public sector collective bargaining rights in Nebraska.
When asked his opinion on legislative procedure, Ungerman stated that he sees the benefits of electing committee chairs by secret ballot and the current procedure seems to successfully choose the best possible leader. He does not support getting rid of the filibuster but thinks that changes could be made to make things more efficient and fair.
Ungerman said that he is the best candidate because he knows that policy that benefits Nebraskans shouldn’t have a party affiliated with it and the more you eliminate party to find a solution, the more trustworthy you become.