Lawmakers mourn a colleague; Ernie Chambers defends big cats

Catching up on a few things.

Lawmakers mourned the loss of former colleague Jennie Robak, who was struck and killed by a car in a grocery store parking lot in Lincoln. The 81-year-old Robak represented the Columbus area from 1989 to 2003. The feisty Democrat was the mother of six children, including former Lieutenant Governor Kim Robak who presided over the Legislature for six years while her mother was a state senator.

Jennie Robak was interested in mental health issues, said former state Sen. DiAnna Schimek of Lincoln. Schimek remembered Robak as somebody you could count on. She had a good heart, cared about issues and was a happy person, she said. The two women were elected in the same class and began serving in 1989.

Veteran lawmaker Ernie Chambers has long listed his occupation as "Defender of the Downtrodden." This year he is stepping forward as the defender of the Mountain Lion. The big cats are native to Nebraska but were wiped out by early settlers and essentially vanished after 1890. The next sighting wasn't until 1991 in Sioux County, in the upper northwest corner of the Panhandle. Wildlife experts say the cats have a breeding population of about 22 today.

Chambers is offering a bill to repeal the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission's authority to set a hunting season on mountain lions and has also vowed to fight every bill and issue in which the commission has a stake. He said the people who go after the cats are killers, not hunters, because they use dogs to chase the animals until they are exhausted and easy prey. That's not hunting, he said, that's slaughter. He has vowed to avenge the deaths of two young male cats that were shot and killed during January's hunting season. The two hunters, who won their permits in a lottery, said the senator is entitled to his opinion. Unbeknownst to them, killing a mountain lion is likely easier than killing Chamber's passion for the issue.

Speaking of Chambers, he has another colleague running for higher office to pick on. State Senator Amanda McGill of Lincoln is running for the Democratic nomination to be state Auditor. Current Auditor Mike Foley, a former state senator, is one of six people in the hunt for the Republican nomination for Governor. Senator Pete Pirsch of Omaha is seeking the Republican nomination for the Auditor seat. McGill and Pirsch are both term-limited in the Legislature. The race marks the first time in 16 years that the incumbent auditor hasn't sought another term.

Third District Representative Adrian Smith of Gering has competition for the Republican nomination from retired Army Col. Tom Brewer. The 55-year-old veteran was recently told by the Army that he could no longer be active duty because of his many wounds. He said running for, and serving in Congress, would allow him to continue giving back to the country.

Brewer is a member of the Oglala Sioux tribe and grew up on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. He has lived in Murdock, which is part of the 1st District, for more than a decade. He said he is moving to Gordon in the 3rd District where he has owned a home for many years. Hey, Tom Osborne did it with a cabin at Lake McConaughy and a boyhood home in Hastings.

The challenger admits that Smith has the advantage of name recognition and a sizeable campaign fund, but says he still has a clear agenda for Congress, if by chance he gets elected. Brewer says he wants to focus on veteran's issues, stop the run away budget and stop terrorism in Afghanistan.