Ben never forgot his home town

I had heard of Ben Nelson when I moved to McCook 30 years ago, but I had not met him.

It was not until Ben upset Kay Orr in 1990 to become Nebraska's Governor that I came to know Ben and meet with him on a regular basis. His victory in the governor's race was dramatic, because -- at the time -- Kay Orr was the first and only female Republican governor in the nation.

Ben rapidly grew in popularity, which is shown by the fact that in 1994 he won re-election in a landslide, capturing 74 percent of the vote.

By that time I had meet multiple times and became aware of his many efforts to help his hometown -- McCook -- and Southwest Nebraska.

His efforts before 1994 and those after included being a key player in bringing the Work Ethic Camp and nearly 100 jobs to this area; helping bring Valmont and those jobs to McCook; keeping commercial air service in Southwest Nebraska by his support of Essential Air Service; his establishment of the Norris Institute; finding grant dollars to help with the remodeling of Community Hospital in McCook; and many other projects.

Although Ben was a Democrat, he was considered a very conservative governor. During this time as governor, he cut spending by 64 percent; opposed the Clinton health care plan; opposed a nuclear waste dump in Nebraska; and pushed for welfare reform before it was a popular national goal.

He was backed by the National Rifle Association, Right to Life and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Based on the fact that I knew him, knew what he had already done for McCook and Southwest Nebraska, and that, although a Democrat, he was very conservative, it would not have taken much for me to support him when he announced he was running for Senate in 1996. However, I had met and become friends with Chuck Hagel in my previous job and I was a life-long Republican so I became the Red Willow County chair for Hagel. Much to my surprise, Hagel defeated Nelson in McCook and Red Willow County despite all Nelson had done for this area. Despite my support for Hagel, Nelson never once held that against me or McCook. He was always gracious and helpful ... a gentleman whom I consider a friend.

In 2000, Nelson ran again for the Senate and won. Another landslide victory came when he was re-elected to the Senate in 2006 by winning 64 percent of the vote. And, again in the Senate, Nelson was one of the most conservative Democrats. He voted against the Democratic party line and for conservative Bush nominees for Supreme Court justices and for John Bolton as the U.S, delegate to the United Nations. Nelson was one of only two Democrats to vote against removing combat troops from Iraq and was the deciding vote back in 2001 in favor of the Bush tax cut.

Yet, despite his history of leaning right in Republican Nebraska and his support of his hometown and Southwest Nebraska, his deciding vote in favor of Obamacare sealed his fate not only in the state but his hometown area.

Dick Trail, a columnist for the Gazette, was not a Nelson fan and his columns often were highly critical of Nelson. As a result, when the airport was renamed for Nelson, the columnist's pen became a sword and struck not only at Nelson, but at myself and other council members. The inside joke was that if the unnamed road to the sewer plant was named the "Dick Trail," then maybe the renaming of the airport would have been easier for the columnist to swallow. Regardless, to this day, I have never heard Nelson utter an unkind word about the columnist, which, again, attests to the character of Ben Nelson.

Ben Nelson's record will show landslide wins in political races, four statewide election victories, numerous achievements as both Governor and Senator, but what the history books will not cover is that Ben Nelson never forgot his hometown and the people of Southwest Nebraska. He has always been dedicated, loyal and true two his roots.

Hopefully, like U.S. Senator George W. Norris, who was rejected locally, future generations will see the good Ben Nelson has done and embrace him in the same manner we now embrace Norris.