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Transparency, efficiency, cooperation themes for candidates’ forum Tuesday
McCOOK, Neb. — A collection of candidates cited motivations ranging from a simple desire to serve their communities to more personal reasons such as wanting to spend more time with their families at a candidate’s forum hosted by McCook radio stations KICX and KBRL Tuesday night at the Bieroc Cafe.
In a tight format, interrupted for a short time by spotty broadband streaming problems, 14 candidates for various Red Willow, Frontier and Hitchcock County offices answered two questions from a panel comprised of Shary Skiles, Publisher of McCook Gazette; Troy Bruntz, President & CEO of Community Hospital; Kyle Dellevoet, Lead Minister of McCook Christian Church; and Tyler McCarty, representing McCook Chamber of Commerce.
Common themes running through the evening included the need for better transparency and communication between various offices and between offices and the public, as well as government efficiency tempered by the need to attract and retain law enforcement officers and others providing vital services.
Nebraska Legislative District 38 Representative:
As a Libertarian seeking to represent District 38 in the officially nonpartisan Nebraska Unicameral, Tyler Cappel emphasized “putting liberty first” and “slashing growth” by steps such as eliminating property taxes over 10 years. Born in McCook and growing up in Holdrege, Cappel and his wife, Ciera, a chiropractor, operate Cappel Chiropractic and Personal Training with offices in Arapahoe and Cambridge. Cappel said his campaign “is all about getting power back to the people.”
Incumbent Dave Murman, who is eligible for another term representing the district, was not present because the Legislature is still in session.
Nebraska Public Power District Board of Directors:
Reliability and low cost are most important for Nebraska Public Power District customers, said Bill Hoyt, incumbent Subdivision 4 board member. One of two who voted against a plan to achieve Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050, Hoyt said “alternative energy is just not proven to be reliable.” During recent power outages, NPPD sold energy to heavily alternative energy states, thanks to “dispatchable and reliable” sources such as NPPD’s flagship coal-fired Gerald Gentleman Station near Sutherland.
Forced into a town job by the 1980s farm crisis, Hoyt was a McCook police officer for 25 years and served on the Middle Republican Natural Resources board, and had volunteered as an EMT, firefighter, Scout leader and other civic activities.
While admitting he might need to “get out of my bubble a little more,” he credited the 9-2 Net Zero vote to the fact “eastern Nebraska looks at things differently than we do” in the west. “I still think the Net Zero plan is a mistake.”
Opponent David Gale of North Platte also opposed the Net Zero plan and said current NPPD board members were in step with the left-leaning League of Conservation Voters, a claim Hoyt denied for himself to the Gazette. Gale said the mandate would hurt affordability, but when questioned about how he would overturn the 9-2 vote, said he was “not anti-environment” but is “pro-common sense.” He went on to say, “The insanity of shutting down coal generation plants at the same time we’re getting rid of the internal combustion engine in automobiles makes no sense.” The Net-Zero mandate would force the Gerald Gentleman plant to shut down by the year 2035 which will cause electricity rates to double, he said. Gale lives in North Platte and is the CEO and founder of the Sandhills State Bank with 10 branches in western Nebraska.
Candidate Larry Linstrom did not attend.
University of Nebraska Board of Regents:
Kathy Wilmot of Beaver City said supporting the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis would be a priority for her if elected to the District 7 University of Nebraska Board of Regents post, as she planned to focus on the needs of the district, especially agriculture.
A former teacher, state board of education member and correctional worker, Wilmot said she has never changed her commitment to fair and equal opportunities for education and that she wants students to receive an education, not indoctrination. Matt Williams and Nolan Guernsey, candidates for the same post, did not attend.
Red Willow County Commissioners District 1
Ted Gans, a Schuyler native and Nebraska state trooper stationed in McCook for 17 years, said Red Willow County needed a “fresh start” in the District 1 county commissioner post. He said he would prioritize “better roads, better law enforcement, and better working relationships with local businesses and county constituents.” He said he would see that the county bought local gravel for less than it is currently paying. He said he plans to work with the newly-elected county sheriff to provide the budget for strong law enforcement in the county. “I believe that it is paramount that we have a leader that is extremely transparent with its people so you always know what’s going on at the county level.”
District 1 incumbent Earl McNutt pointed to the new jail as a major accomplishment of his 23 years as a county commissioner. While a shortage of employees is a problem everywhere, it’s especially important to find ways to keep and attract qualified law enforcement and jail staff. A county employee himself, McNutt said his experience and leadership skills would be important assets as the county faces major challenges in the future. “I just believe that we need to continue to have the consistency that we have on the county board with all the issues that are at hand and certainly move forward.” He urged members of the audience to vote May 10, regardless of their choice.
Red Willow County Commissioner District 3
Candidate Charles Fritsche, a semi-retired farmer, said he is fair, honest and knows “how to treat people right.” He said he has no agenda and was encouraged to run for office by neighbors. He wants to work on enhancing the sheriff’s staff and promised, “I will answer my phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week except from 10 to 12 on Sunday.” Asked how he would spend the $2 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding the county is receiving, he replied “very wisely.” He told attendees, “I’m not taking this job for the money or the benefits. I will give back to the community because it’s treated me awful well.” District 3 incumbent and candidate Cayla Richards did not attend.
Frontier County Treasurer
Frontier County Treasurer candidate Karmen Herrick, a single mom with three current jobs, said she hoped to serve her kids and community better in a new post and will work to update a current low-tech office. She is the vice-president of her local chamber and is a member of the Fall Festival board of directors.
Frontier County Sheriff
Frontier County sheriff candidate Ruth Soukup pointed to her service as a deputy and graduate of the Law Enforcement Training Center in Grand Island as qualifications and said establishing law enforcement contracts with Maywood and Eustis would be priorities, as well as attracting and retaining deputies. She said she wants to “get the officers out patrolling; the officers must be visible throughout the county and in their communities.” She said upcoming changes to law enforcement continuing education requirements are another priority that she will be focused on if elected.
Opponent Doug Schultz outlined similar priorities and listed his 14 years of experience as Curtis city administrator as well as Frontier County sheriff’s deputy as substantial qualifications. He is a lifelong resident of Frontier County, served in the U.S. Army, and is a University of Nebraska at Kearney graduate. He said high turnover in deputies and dispatchers is the biggest challenge facing the department, and he would like to see personnel have “roots” in the county. He wants to stabilize the income for the sheriff’s department by working with the communities in Frontier County to develop contracts for law enforcement, “with the main goal being to keep four or five law enforcement officers in Frontier County.”
Candidate Adam Cooper did not attend.
Hitchcock County Sheriff
Gerry Hunter, appointed Hitchcock County sheriff after the death of D. Bryan Legott in early 2021, said he believes the Hitchcock County Sheriff’s department “is going in the right direction and I’d like to stay there and keep things going in the right direction.” He said being visible is a big part of law enforcement and he encourages his officers to spend time in each community in the county. He would use Facebook to keep the public informed about crime in the county. “I enjoy helping people, I enjoy serving people.” Opponent Ryan King did not attend.
Red Willow County Sheriff
Long-time McCook police officer and Red Willow County Sheriff candidate Kevin Darling said he was not a “numbers guy” nor a “micromanager,” but worked in a “more collaborative” manner and had learned to “take my ego out of the picture.” He said being the boss was not important to him, he is more focused on working with people to make sure the mission gets done.
As the county sheriff is traditionally also the county emergency manager, Darling was asked how he would deal with emergencies such as a major grass fire experience here a few years ago and currently in nearby counties.
He said accountability was important, but a decentralized command is crucial with qualified personnel in charge of specific, well-defined tasks.
Darling attended the FBI National Academy in 2011, served in the Air Force for four years, is an EMT and has conducted numerous community self-defense classes over the years.
Opponent Dalton Downing has served as a Red Willow County jailer, Red Willow County Sheriff’s deputy, Oberlin Police Department, and McCook Police Department. He has been involved with drug enforcement, human trafficking, bike safety and “stranger danger” programs, as well as fire, hazmat and EMT training. He said he is a strong believer in “community-oriented policing” and that having interactions with citizens would be an important part of his agenda. He said he is well-rounded, with experience in fire, hazmat, EMT, and medical transport services, which will help him tackle emergency management duties. He said that staff in the sheriff’s office needs to feel that they are heard so that problems can be fixed.
Candidate Bill Watts served two combat tours of duty in the U.S. Army and 10 years in law enforcement, then took a break before deciding to run for Red Willow County Sheriff.
After a question, he said “Red Willow County has a lack of law enforcement right now for whatever reason that might be, and that’s a battle that I’m willing to take on.” He said he is the type of person that won’t give up when he sees a battle worth fighting. He said it would be his intention not to take on the position of emergency manager if he was elected Red Willow County Sheriff. “I don’t know enough about it. I’d rather get contracted out with somebody that specializes in it. So if a mass casualty or something happened, we’d have a specialist that knows what’s going on, knows how to handle the situation, and then we would work closely with that individual to do whatever needs done.”
Candidate Jaeden Carter did not attend.
The primary election is on May 10.
— A YouTube video of the event is available at https://youtu.be/lR52Yy9Rjzs