Never let partisan politics defeat progress

I got to know Ben Nelson when he was Governor and reported on seven of the eight years he was in office. The last year I worked in the Department of Administrative Services in his administration.

During those eight years I experienced a lot of firsts in my career. I was one of the first people to ride with the Governor when he decided, near the end of his tenure, that he'd better see if he could still drive after all those years of being chauffeured. It was just a short drive around a few blocks of the Capitol and a State Trooper was riding shotgun. We all survived.

I flew with Ben and a couple of other reporters on a Saturday for a series of meetings with Sandhills ranchers to discuss taxes. That's when I discovered the magic of chocolate chip cookies baked at the Governor's Mansion. The Governor brought along a couple of bags full. One bag disappeared into the cockpit when the arm of the Trooper-Pilot came out through the privacy curtain and snatched it. On the trip, we discovered a governor who genuinely listened without pushing his agenda.

I toured the proposed low-level radioactive waste disposal site in Boyd County with Nelson and his Department of Environmental Quality director and noted there was an abundance of ducks. Ben agreed that it takes water to attract ducks. The site was never developed. Nelson's passion for public safety and the environment won the day.

A couple of other reporters and I spent the evening with Ben in his private quarters at the mansion, awaiting word from the warden that the execution of a death row inmate had been completed. We discussed a variety of topics that night, from church to sports, and discovered a Governor who deeply cared about all Nebraskans.

Ben Nelson was the best Republican Governor since Jim Exon. Wait, what? Yes, I know they were both registered Democrats. The point is, they were Nebraska Governors who didn't lets partisan politics defeat progress. Seems to me we could use a little dose of that again.

Thanks, Ben, for all your years of tireless public service. We'll catch you on the next adventure.