LINCOLN - Governor Jim Pillen held his first monthly radio call-in show on Monday, and one caller asked if there was any quid pro quo between Pillen and former Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts
The caller stated that many in Nebraska feel the reason Ricketts was appointed to the open Nebraska Senate seat is because Ricketts was a big advocate and donor to Pillen’s gubernatorial campaign. Pillen said while some people may think this, they earned the support thousands of people from all 93 counties.
"We activated what I call the "Silent Conservative Pragmatic Nebraskans" to get in the game. Out of all those, I probably spent over 30 hours a week either on the phone or in person to help with our campaign, and zero of them asked for something in return."
Pillen said when it came time to appoint the U.S. Senator, he chose the one who was the best fit.
"The elephant in the room is real simple. When it came down to appoint the next U.S. Senator, we had some great applicants. We had 111 applicants and interviewed nine people through the process. Ultimately, it’s my decision, and I chose the best person.”
He says while people don’t like appointments, sometimes you have to do so, and everyone will get a chance in two years to make their choice.
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