John Walz, (Courtesy)
HASTINGS — Republican candidate John Walz released the following statement explaining why he filed for the Nebraska governor’s race shortly before the March filing deadline.
“In the days leading up to the filing deadline, it became clear that Governor Jim Pillen was the only Republican candidate in the race who appeared broadly electable statewide.
A recent audit released by State Auditor Mike Foley raised questions regarding a multi-million-dollar emergency no-bid contract issued through the Nebraska Department of Economic Development. Whether those concerns ultimately lead to anything significant remains to be seen, and additional developments may or may not arise in the future.
These uncertainties raised a critical question: what happens if the unexpected occurs?
If Governor Pillen were forced to withdraw from the race after the filing deadline, and no other viable Republican candidate had filed, Nebraska could find itself in a situation where the governor’s office might effectively be handed to the Democrats by default.
That would mean the most important statewide office in Nebraska being decided not by voters — but by a paperwork deadline.
Nebraska should never lose the governor’s office because nobody bothered to file the paperwork.
I spent many years working as an engineering project manager. One of the core responsibilities in that profession is identifying risks and mitigating them before they become disasters.
Risk is always evaluated using two simple questions: how likely is it, and how bad would it be if it happens?
In risk management there is a category known as a ‘low-probability, high-consequence’ event. Even if the probability of a problem may be small, responsible leaders mitigate that risk if the consequences of ignoring it could be catastrophic.
The real risk here was not about any individual candidate. The real risk was that Nebraska voters could lose their choice entirely if circumstances changed after the filing deadline.
For more than a week before the deadline, I contacted individuals who had previously run for governor and others with greater name recognition and established political networks. I encouraged them to place their names on the ballot as a contingency candidate.
No one chose to do so.
So on the day of the filing deadline, I went to the Secretary of State’s office shortly before close and asked if anyone else had filed.
No one did.
So I filed.
That decision was not driven by ambition. It was driven by responsibility.
Good leaders do not wait for crises to start planning. They prepare before the crisis happens. Nebraska should never be caught without a contingency plan.
As long as Governor Pillen remains electable, I will not mount a traditional statewide campaign requiring resources that I don’t have; it would be futile against a sitting, electable governor. Instead, my filing ensures that Nebraska has a prepared contingency should circumstances unexpectedly change.
If called upon to serve, I would establish a statewide citizen task force that travels across Nebraska holding town halls and public forums. This task force would listen directly to Nebraskans, ensuring that policies reflect local needs and priorities rather than the dictates of distant bureaucrats.
Nebraska has its own economy, its own culture, and its own values. The people who live here — not distant bureaucrats — should be shaping “The Good Life” that only we are familiar with.
My governing philosophy is straightforward: Nebraska should begin behaving like a sovereign state again. For generations, states have gradually surrendered authority to Washington while federal agencies and bureaucracies have expanded far beyond their constitutional limits. The further government moves from the people, the less accountable it becomes.
As governor, my priorities would include:
• Directing Nebraska agencies not to cooperate with federal mandates that exceed constitutional authority
• Working toward eliminating property taxes on primary residences
• Strengthening election transparency through precinct-level paper ballots
• Ending the annual vehicle registration tax cycle that treats ownership like a subscription service
• Requiring full transparency in state spending so taxpayers can clearly see where every dollar goes
• Restricting the influence of lobbyists and outside political money in state government
• Strengthening data privacy protections for Nebraska citizens
• Encouraging resilient and decentralized energy infrastructure
• Ensuring clear country-of-origin labeling so consumers know where their food and products come from
• Protecting citizens from the expanding surveillance state
• Returning the ultimate say to the people through fully informed juries
• Capping Nebraska’s tax collection to a percentage of the GDP
Government programs do not create prosperity. Productive citizens do. The proper role of government is simple: write laws to protect liberty, enforce those laws fairly, and then get out of the way.
Placing my name on the ballot ensures that if the unexpected ever happens in this race, Nebraska will still have someone prepared to step forward.
Sometimes leadership is not about ambition. Sometimes leadership simply means stepping forward when no one else will.”
