Ethan Clark, (Liz Macias, Central Nebraska Today)
ORD — Ethan Clark is currently running for the Nebraska Legislature’s District 41 seat.
Speaking on his background, Clark said he is a resident of Ord and lives with his wife, Elziabeth, and is expecting their first child. He works at Acres Equipment, a John Deere dealer.
Clark has experience with the Unicameral, having worked for a former senator. He also has worked in Washington D.C. for a number of members of Congress, including Senator Deb Fischer and Congressman Adrian Smith.
Clark said he feels this unique experience will serve him well, not only working on a daily basis with ag producers, but also knowing the ins and outs of politics and legislation.
“That will help me hit the ground running at the Legislature,” Clark said. He noted the Unicameral is unique among the 50 states and said its workings are unique, which could take someone time to adjust to, but he noted his past experience working with the body.
District 41 is currently represented by Senator Fred Meyer, who was appointed to the position in 2023 to replace Senator Tom Briese, who was appointed as State Treasurer by Governor Jim Pillen.
When asked about his reasons for running for the seat, Clark responded that after he and his wife moved back from Washington D.C. back to Nebraska, he immediately got involved in the Ord community.
Clark said he was involved with TeamMates mentoring, volunteering on a local economic development board and his local church.
After meeting with community leaders and when they learned of his experience, they suggested he might be suited to running election to the Legislature as Sen. Briese was set to hit his term limit.
Clark said he is running to ensure that there is “common sense representation,” for the district. He said District 41 is a conservative, agriculturally based area and he wants to ensure those values are shown in Lincoln.
“So often, we are seeing Omaha and Lincoln are seen as the leaders as to what is happening at the state legislature,” Clark said, “We need to make sure that not only do we have people voting the right way but the right voices to be leaders.”
Speaking to his priority issues, Clark said first is lowering the tax burden, especially property taxes, and this can be done through the control of government spending.
Clark said another issue he hears often is the lack of available housing, “we need to make sure we have good housing for good people.” He noted the lack of housing affects the ability of employers to fill jobs across the state.
Regarding economic development, Clark’s campaign website states, “Nebraska must become more competitive with surrounding states. To do this we must ensure that businesses of all sizes are able to operate without unnecessary barriers to entry, create jobs, and reinvest in their communities.”
Clark also wants to simply see a “good, conservative voice,” in the Legislature and stated that conservatives are aligned with certain values and noted he is pro-life, pro-Constitution, pro-Second Amendment and believes that the government overall should have very basic values to protect citizens but stay out of their daily lives.
With his background in marketing, Clark said the easiest way to be transparent with constituents is to effectively communicate on a regular basis. “Make sure they know what you are up to, why you are doing it, why you vote certain ways and why you are bringing certain bills.”
Clark also spoke on the subject of secret ballots that elect committee chairpersons in the Unicameral. He said that if elected he would do everything in his power to have transparent votes for the chairperson.
“Right now, we don’t know what deals are being made to get certain individuals into chair positions, which are very, very important,” said Clark. “With out the chair’s blessing of bills, they don’t make it to the floor.”
Questioned about involving others in his decision making, Clark said that getting constituents involvement is one of the most important things a state senator can do. “I’m trying to be a representative, not a politician.”
He also wants to involve experts on specific subjects to reach out to him and offer their views on legislation. He said representatives need those with in-depth knowledge to offer information so they can make informed votes.
When asked about the government’s role in the lives of citizens, Clark said the government must protect citizens, especially from foreign adversaries, but staying out of the way of the citizen is important to him. “Small government is good government, big government is bad government,” Clark summarized.
In conclusion, Clark said he seeks to be a commonsense candidate and wants to avoid the highlights or “lowlights,” of senators screaming on the floor about hot button issues.
“That is not who I am, I want to bring calmness to the legislator, some level headedness. I think we need more individuals like that for our constituents here and not the craziness that is out there.”
“We don’t need anymore extreme views, we need everyday Nebraskan views,” Clark stated.
Editor’s Note: Ethan Clark appeared on 1340 KGFW and this article was written using information provided during that interview. The full interview can be found here.
