Another year and another session of the Nebraska Unicameral is underway. The 101st Legislature officially convened at 10:00 am on Wednesday, January 7, 2009. This new session brings with it sixteen new Senators to represent the people of Nebraska. As your new State Senator, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to you.

First and foremost, thank you to all the voters of the 3rd District who supported me. I got to know many of you on the campaign trail and it is an honor and a privilege to have received your vote of confidence. More importantly, thank you for exercising your right to vote and fulfilling your civic duty. I also want to thank my predecessor, Senator Gail Kopplin, for his dedication and service to the people of the 3rd District the last four years.

My wife Jacquie and I have three wonderful children-Ashley, Ben, and Matt. Ashley attends Wayne State College and Matt and Ben are students at Bellevue East High School. I am retired from the United States Air Force after 20 years of service, including six years with the Air Force Weather Agency at Offutt. Since retiring, I have worked as a Business Development Manager for various defense contractors and opened an ice cream shop in Bellevue with my wife.

I ran for the Nebraska Legislature because I want to represent the people of the 3rd District. I feel our values and beliefs are similar and I will be a voice for you in the Unicameral. From the start my goals have been very clear and I promise to work tirelessly to control government spending, promote economic development in our district, and take care of our veterans.

As with any new job, the first couple weeks have been filled with new experiences, new people, and new responsibilities. I requested and was assigned to the Agriculture Committee, General Affairs Committee, and the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee. These committees will hear many issues that are important to the residents of the 3rd District and I believe my experience and skills will serve me well.

We have wasted no time getting down to business. A total of 679 bills were introduced this session. For my part, I introduced five bills and one resolution -LB 418, LB 532, LB 533, LB 534, LB 673, and LR 10. These bills cover such issues as taxes, education, and labor. Future columns will explain my bills in length as well as their progress. In addition, feel free to look up the full texts of these and other bills at http://www.nebraskalegislature.gov/.

I have already received phone calls and letters from some of you and I encourage others to do the same. I am here to listen and to represent your thoughts and ideas in the Legislature. You can contact me by calling (402) 471-2627 or by mailing comments to Rm 1528 of the State Capitol, PO Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509.

Thank you again and I look forward to working for you over the next four years as your State Senator!