Pillen stops on gubernatorial campaign swing through area

    Touting his ownership of a Chase County business, Jim Pillen spent an hour and a half in Imperial Monday as he visited communities in the west, campaigning to be Nebraska’s next Governor.
    Pillen’s meet and greet, which included a short address and questions, drew about 30 people to St. Patrick’s Parish Hall.
    Brad Foote of Imperial introduced Pillen, noting they’ve been friends a long time. Foote said Pillen called him 16-18 months ago, asking for his support as he sought the Republican nomination.
    “I’m not sure we’ve had a farmer as Governor for 100 years,” Foote said.
    He, too, noted Pillen’s Chase County business—Imperial Foods—which Pillen Family Farms has owned since 2006. The hog farms are in rural Champion and Enders.
    Pillen introduced his running mate, Joe Kelly, a Lancaster County prosecutor for 30 years and Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney from 2017-2020.
    Kelly most recently served as criminal bureau chief in the office of Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson, a post he had held since early in 2021. He left that post in May to join the Pillen campaign full-time.
    “He’s the only person that entered my mind as a running mate,” Pillen said.
    Pillen touched on topics including trade skill development among youths, agriculture, property taxes, local control of education and said he is proudly pro-life.
    He would like to see more development of the trade skills among youths, noting Nebraska’s current shortage of 100,000 workers.
    Pillen promoted more partnering between businesses and schools. He would encourage business owners to come into schools in a mentoring role and meet with students early on. That could lead to paying their trade school tuition with a commitment the student returns later to work for that business.
    “We have to be aggressive. We have to invest in our kids,” he said.
    He noted the majority of youths want to return to their home communities after college.
    Pillen said agriculture is the state’s lifeblood and he will give it high priority if elected. He believes the inheritance tax should be eliminated, and land values should be determined on an income-based system.
    He said he is proud of Nebraska farmers who are using less water and producing more.
    The most important elections this year are the local school board races, Pillen said.
    He said the NE State Board of Education has no statutory authority so local school boards “need to step up.” Local boards do not have to accept recommendations from the state board, he said.
    “They’ve given up on our kids,” he said of the state board.
    Again addressing property taxes, Pillen said 157 of Nebraska’s 244 school districts get no state aid. He said state aid should go to every student, adding he expects to get pummeled from the State Education Association for that stance.
    Pillen was disappointed a special session was not called after the overturning of Roe vs. Wade this summer. Not enough votes could be tallied to do it.
    He believes if they can flip some of the “blue vests” in Omaha this November, possibly 3-4 seats, it will make a difference.
    Pillen said the left is trying to make out the overturning of Roe vs. Wade to be about eliminating in-vitro fertilization, contraceptives, patient-doctor privilege and more when it’s really about babies in the womb.
    He talked emotionally about their youngest son, now a high school senior, who they adopted after taking in his young pregnant mother.
    “Our family was transformed by that experience,” he said.
    He said he is proudly pro-life and people need to get out of their comfort zones and talk about the issue.
    During the question and answer session, Pillen stated he does not believe in government-mandated vaccines or masks, said the state needs to expand its broadband access and applauded the legislature’s decision on the Perkins County Canal project for which $53 million has been earmarked.
    He encouraged the crowd to appreciate each other because “Nebraskans are incredible.” That’s a big thing he’s learned in the campaign, he said.
    State Sen. Dan Hughes of Venango was also in attendance, as was 44th District legislative candidate Teresa Ibach of Sumner, who is campaigning for Hughes’ seat.
    A number of local candidates also attended.