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HASTINGS A Hastings lawyer and former city councilman has become the third to file for State Sen. Carroll Burling's seat in the Legislature.
Chuck Shoemaker, 56, filed Wednesday for the seat representing Dist. 33. A veteran of Hastings politics and several local boards and foundations, he said he'd like to bring that experience to bear in Lincoln.
"I've dealt with the issues. I've dealt with people who disagree with me. And I think that I've dealt with them in a fair manner," Shoemaker said. "And I'd like the opportunity to do that in Lincoln."
Shoemaker served on the Hastings City Council from 1996 to 2004 and has served on the Hastings Board of Public Works for the past two years. He also chairs the city's task force to determine the use of the $250,000 it won in last year's Yahoo! Green City challenge.
A registered Democrat since 1969, Shoemaker changed his affiliation to Independent to run for the Legislature. He said the move was more of a symbolic one than a change in political philosophy.
He said that while he admires the Legislature's officially nonpartisan nature, he's concerned about the creep of partisanship into the body.
He touted his experience across various local groups and issues and said that while local politics are less partisan, the skills required to find the best long-term solutions are same no matter the level.
"The issues are different, but the attitudes are just the same," Shoemaker said. "You're always having people who are pushing you one way or the other."
Shoemaker said he's particularly concerned about stimulating economic development in outstate Nebraska and said he wants to find a balance between providing economic incentives to businesses, funding government programs and keeping taxes reasonable.
He said he also wants to see the state's water issues resolved on a state level, and he wants to help ensure a fair boundaries system for school districts like Hastings and Adams Central or Grand Island and Northwest.
Burling is unable to run for re-election in November because of Nebraska's term-limits law. Dennis Utter, a retired Kenesaw banker living in Hastings, and Marvin "Butch" Hughes, a semi-retired construction worker, have also filed for the seat.
Shoemaker, a native of Cambridge, moved to Hastings in 1982 to establish a law practice with his wife, Lynne Friedewald, and with Richard Witt.
He is the vice-chairman of the Nebraska Humanities Council and a member of the board of directors of several charitable foundations, including the Hastings Community Foundation.
He is also active in the First Presbyterian Church in Hastings and the Hastings Noon Rotary Foundation.
District 33 encompasses Adams County and southwestern Hall County, including Wood River and Alda.
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