Pawnee County Commissioner Dennis Schaardt of Steinauer has filed as a candidate for the southeastern Nebraska legislative seat now held by Sen. Julie Slama of Peru.
Also in the District 1 contest is Janet Palmtag of Syracuse.
All three candidates for the seat in the nonpartisan Legislature are registered Republicans and all applied for appointment to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of former Sen. Dan Watermeier of Syracuse when he was elected to the Public Service Commission in 2018.Â
Gov. Pete Ricketts chose Slama to fill the position.
"Southeastern Nebraskans deserve a state senator who understands their values and will always fight for them," Schaardt said.
Schaardt grew up in rural Elk Creek on a family farm and is the owner of Den's Country Meats in Table Rock.
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"More than ever with ag commodities being down, infrastructure in our rural communities crumbling and little to no economic growth in our small towns, it is time for a change," he said.
"We need to grow our local economies to create more jobs; we need to improve our local infrastructures to help better serve our communities. Â
"We need to to lower our property taxes while still being able to fund education expenses to help cultivate the next generation of leaders for our community."