Liz Davids, a candidate for the District 1 seat on the Nebraska State Board of Education.
COURTESY PHOTO
Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner responded on Tuesday to claims that Chief Deputy Ben Houchin had violated state law when a photo of him in uniform was used in a local political candidate’s campaign advertisement.
The campaign of Liz Davids, a Lincolnite running for the District 1 seat on the State Board of Education, used a headshot of Houchin in uniform, along with a quote stating his support for her campaign, in a social media post used to announce his endorsement.
A few people raised concerns about the post, noting that Houchin appearing in uniform in a campaign ad appeared to violate state law.
Wagner Tuesday morning on the Lancaster County Sheriff’s social media pages in response to claims that Houchin had broken the law by posing for a photo in uniform for a campaign ad.
"This weekend a photo of Chief Deputy Houchin in uniform was used in an endorsement advertisement for a political candidate," Wagner wrote. "Many have raised questions if he is violating the law by doing so. Had he posed for the picture wearing his uniform, that would be true."
Houchin
Lancaster County Sheriff's Office
Wagner continued to say the photo was pulled from the department's public website by the campaign without the knowledge of or permission from Houchin, who has publicly endorsed Davids.
According to state law, members of law enforcement are not allowed to intentionally participate in any political campaign activity while in uniform.
Davids' campaign promptly removed the photo featuring Houchin in his uniform following a request by the department and replaced it with a different photo.
Davids said the sheriff’s statement “described the situation clearly†and declined to comment further.
In March of this year, two county sheriffs and a sheriff’s captain each paid a $1,000 civil penalty for participating in a campaign ad for Charles Herbster while in uniform. Herbster, who ran for Nebraska governor in 2022, ran the ad in February and March of last year before it was pulled by his campaign.
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Reach Jenna Ebbers at 402-473-2657 or jebbers@journalstar.com .
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