By Mark Coddington
mark.coddington@theindependent.com

Paul Eurek, Gary Rasmussen, Kate Sullivan and Jerome Warner disagreed on a few individual issues but largely pointed to greater fiscal responsibility, strong education and rural economic development as the keys to the state's prosperity.

"I am a Republican with Republican values. I am pro-life, a strong supporter of traditional marriage and the Second Amendment," said Eurek in his opening statement, taking positions that the other candidates would later echo.

Thursday's forum, sponsored by the Nebraska Farm Bureau, was the first leading up to the May 13 primary, when the five candidates will be whittled to two. (Jerry Peterson of Neligh did not attend.)

A crowd of about 100 at St. Paul's American Legion Hall submitted written questions that were each read to every candidate by moderator Gene McCoy of KNLV Radio in Ord.

The questions covered a wide variety of issues, from roads funding to term limits to stem-cell research.

One question that brought significantly different answers from the candidates revolved around LB 1174, the bill introduced this year to replace Nebraska's corporate farming ban, which was ruled unconstitutional by a federal appeals court in 2006.

Sullivan said she supported the bill, calling it a successful compromise that holds true to the original Initiative 300 while allowing more flexibility.

But Eurek and Rasmussen opposed it, saying it would unfairly limit the freedom of farmers, especially young ones, to incorporate on a small scale.

"It's going to boil down to be the same thing (as I-300) unconstitutional," said Rasmussen, a cattleman and Howard County supervisor from Elba.

Differences also emerged on funding for the state's roads. Eurek, who spoke repeatedly of the need to tighten the state's budget, said that rather than "digger deeper into our pockets" for funds, the state should prioritize projects and drop the less important ones.

But both Rasmussen and Sullivan said needs to recognize the importance of infrastructure, particularly in rural areas.

"We need to set some priorities, and those need to be spread throughout the state to rural Nebraska does not get shortchanged," said Sullivan, who runs a Cedar Rapids bank with her husband.

Several candidates expressed similar positions while stressing different aspects of those issues. Both Eurek and Sullivan, for example, listed lowering property taxes among their top priorities.

But Eurek emphasized smaller budgets and suggested a cap on property tax income, while Sullivan said state aid to schools should be more of a priority and proposed that organizations like community colleges or educational service units that aren't closely tied to property taxes shouldn't take their funding from it.

Warner, a retired security guard from Greeley, gave significantly shorter answers than the other candidates, but said in his opening statement that his primary purpose in running was to alert Nebraskans to dangers caused by the North American Union.

"If they knew about it, they sure wouldn't want it," Warner said.

The candidates gave largely uniform answers on several issues: All expressed support for the death penalty and the state's concealed carry law, and all but Warner described themselves as pro-life when asked about stem-cell research.

Eurek, an entrepreneur and businessman from Loup City, emphasized his experience working with budgets of large corporations. He stressed the encouragement of new young farmers and tech-related entrepreneurs as the key to revival of the state's rural areas.

Rasmussen put agriculture and water issues on the forefront, saying it's important for Nebraska to maintain control of its water supply. He touted ag-based economic development, mentioning ethanol plants several times as an economic driver.

Sullivan spoke several times of the need for a strong rural voice to counter urban interests in the Legislature. A former Cedar Rapids school board member, she noted the state's mandate to provide a quality education to its citizens.

"Education is the key that opens the door to solving so many of the issues that we've been talking about," she said.

McDonald cannot run for re-election because of the state's term-limits law. Her district encompasses Antelope, Boone, Garfield, Greeley, Howard, Sherman, Valley and northern Hall counties, including Cairo.