Walz Talks Lindstrom, Pillen, and Property Taxes at Omaha Campaign Stop
by Lewis Thune
(Picture credit Matt Johnson)
Papillion — Democratic gubernatorial nominee Lynne Walz welcomed 50 locals to Papillon’s Sump Memorial Library for a listening session Thursday evening. The former state senator from Fremont shared her personal story and reasons for running before fielding questions from the public, stressing her record as a political outsider.
Regarding her political origins, she recalled her unwitting start from an unexpected phone call.
“I had my whole family over for dinner, and I was over the stove, and the phone rings,” she said. “The voice on the other side says, ‘Hello, is this Lynne Walz?’ I said, ‘Yes it is’ and he said, ‘Hi, this is Senator Steve Lathrop,’ and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, what did my kids do now?’”
After being initially hesitant to run for state office, she recounted her eventual ascent to the unicameral in the 2017 session on the heels of an impressive victory:
“District 15, that is Fremont area – highly, highly Republican, Trump +33 – I won, beating an incumbent in 2017. I was then re-elected in 2020, and I won by 19.”
She touted her bipartisan support within the unicameral that led to her being elected chair of the Education Committee.
“If you know anything about the legislature, you’ll know that it’s very hard for a Democrat to be elected to chair of any committee. But my colleagues again trusted me,” she said. “I was also able to pass 100 pieces of legislation because of my ability to build relationships.”
She cited the beginning of Governor Pillen’s tenure as the beginning of many problems within the legislature, influencing her decision to run for governor.
“In 2023, things changed. It started out focusing on politically divisive issues, and it lasted the entire year,” she said. “There was a lot of administrative interference.”
She said beginning that term, policy conversations with her Republican colleagues ceased being productive, and cited Pillen’s influence as the major cause of the freeze.
“They would look me in the eye and say ‘I understand what you’re saying, I just can’t vote for it, because the governor has called my colleagues and said that if you vote for that, you will be primaried.’”
Property Taxes and Brett Lindstrom
After former GOP state senator Brett Lindstrom announced an Independent bid for the Governor’s Office last week, Walz spoke briefly during the event and afterward with the The Plains Sentinel about her relationship with him.
In response to a series of questions from an attendee about property taxes, she referenced her work with her fellow gubernatorial hopeful.
“I worked with Brett Lindstrom a few years ago — so a bipartisan effort — on a property tex piece of legislation that would literally reduce our property taxes by $719 million. Brett and I traveled the state together, we educated people across the state on this piece of legislation,” she said, referencing her 2022 work for LB890 and LB891.
Despite the support of Lindstrom, however, the proposals were shot down. Lobbying reports from the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission show broad support for Walz’s LB890 from various Nebraska school districts, but opposition from Omaha Public Schools. Walz indicated political gamesmanship on the floor as a cause for its demise.
“First reading, we couldn’t get it passed. Because I was a Democrat, and we can’t have a Democrat – especially passing legislation on property taxes.”
When asked by the The Plains Sentinel if she’d talked with Lindstrom prior to his joining the race, she indicated she had, but was surprised by his decision to do so, let alone in July.
“We’ve had conversations about him getting into the race, I was honestly a little surprised that he decided to get in the race, because we only have like 16 weeks left. So I feel it’s a little late.”
When asked if the presence of a third candidate changed her campaign’s strategy at all, she said it did not.
“I’m not going to try to play games and, you know, split a vote here or split a vote there. It really is about us working hard, keeping our heads down, and representing Nebraskans as a whole” she told the The Plains Sentinel.
And regarding that goal, she listed her top policy focus as economic development, taking aim at the current deficit in light of the governor’s attention to statewide property taxes.
“We’re gonna be a billion dollars in the hole before we start the session, and we’ve already cut, cut, cut,” she said. “The property tax relief fund is not sustainable, period. We cannot continue to pour money into a property tax relief fund because, as you can see, we’re having to rob cash funds right now to balance the budget.”
The imperative for renewed focus on economic and labor policy was her closing case to the people of Papillion, as she committed to acheiving better results from Lincoln.
“I look forward to a time when I can allow our legislative process to replenish,” she said. “If my values are not enough to convince you, I’ll remind you that the last time Nebraska won a national football championship was when a Democratic governor was elected.”
— Lewis Thune is a writing fellow with The Plains Sentinel.