As the primary election nears, gubernatorial candidate Jim Pillen made his fourth stop in Scottsbluff during a visit to western Nebraska Tuesday, April 12.
During a stop at the Star-Herald, Pillen outlined four main pillars that he said have made up his campaign since he started on the trail a little over a year ago: agriculture, kids, taxes and values.
Pillen made stops in Alliance, Scottsbluff and Kimball as a part of a series of town halls hosted by the Nebraska Farm Bureau, which endorsed him in February. Pillen told the Star-Herald that with agriculture being one of his four main pillars, it’s good to know a grassroots organization like Nebraska Farm Bureau is behind him.
“We’ve been blessed to be endorsed by the Nebraska Farm Bureau, which is extraordinary humbling because our focus has been grassroots campaigning,” he said. “…They (the bureau) are a grassroots, rural organization (that’s) 100 years old representing Nebraska farmers and ranchers.”
His experience in raising pigs and growing the family farm gives him an insight to the agriculture industry that his opponents don’t necessarily have.
“All of us guys in agriculture, we need government to be out of our hair, but stand up and defend us and fight like heck for us,” he said. “Nobody has a better understanding of that than me.”
Pillen said that farms are one of the few places that can help address the ongoing concern of young people leaving the state. Keeping kids in the state is another one of his key issues he plans to tackle in office, and his solution is to get kids trained in Nebraska industries and businesses.
“We got to stop the out-migration,” he said. “Business, farmers and ranchers are the solution, not government.”
He pointed to Scottsbluff’s Aulick Industries as a prime example of what he’d like to see across the state.
“They’re getting eight, nine, 10 kids a year out of high school, and then they are paying them to go to trade school. They’re paying for their costs so they become a certified welder, and then they’re going to have to have great careers, and that’s how they’re going to grow their business,” he said. “That’s just an embryonic example. Nobody has to be heroic, but that’s what we need to do to grow our businesses and grow our communities.”
Pillen went on to say that fixing the tax problem, specifically the property tax problem, will also help communities grow by cutting down property taxes and valuing land more fairly. He said the state over-relies on property taxes, causing the “three-legged stool” of Nebraska’s tax system to be out of balance, with the property tax leg being much too long.
“We have to decrease spending and then we have to change property taxes … that leg’s got to get cut off so the three-legged stool is level, and I believe for that to happen, we need to change how we appraise the value of our property,” he said. “…I’m a believer in working with the unicameral so we could change it to an income-based approach, and then you can have businesses be successful, but then that helps hold government accountable so that you spend money on what’s needed.”
Pillen’s final pillar of his campaign focuses on the values that he believes Nebraska needs to get back to, which include taking a stance against critical race theory, protecting the unborn and preserving constitutional freedoms.
As a University of Nebraska regent, Pillen said he was the only one to propose a resolution to stop the imposition of critical race theory.
“(It’s important to be) standing up for, making sure University of Nebraska is ours. It’s ours, Nebraskans, and it’s making sure that our university understands who they work for. They work for the people in Nebraska, and it’s important to really stand up and fight like heck for our values.”
Pillen also said he plans to put anti-abortion legislation back on the table and enforce law and order as a part of his “values” pillar. Having announced his running mate to be Joe Kelly, former U.S. attorney for Nebraska, Pillen hopes to emphasize his commitment to and value of law enforcement and public safety.
“(I) had no other person as a thought, and he will be a great partner; we’ll work elbow to elbow,” Pillen said. “…Joe’s got an extraordinary, extraordinary record, and he’ll be a great partner as we try to have transformative change for Nebraska. … Joe has no agenda. It’s the greater good of Nebraska and not a shadow of a doubt about it.”
*This article originally appeared in the Scottsbluff Star-Herald on April 20, 2022.
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