By Senator Tom Brewer
Happy New Year to the 43rd Legislative District! This is the last weekly article that I will write as a Nebraska State Senator. Being your State Senator has been the greatest honor of my life. It has been the most rewarding duty assignment I have ever held.
There are many inscriptions carved in the stone of the Nebraska State Capitol. My favorite reads:
“The Salvation of the State is Watchfulness in the Citizen.”
This is carved above the North door of the capitol. A Nebraskan born in Lincoln in 1873 named Hartley Burr Alexander wrote this. He became friends with Bertram Goodhue, the architect who designed and built our beautiful, one-of-a-kind State Capitol. Alexander’s collaboration with Goodhue on the Nebraska State Capitol led to his involvement in the design of other notable structures, including Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, the Oregon State Capitol, Rockefeller Center in New York, and the Los Angeles Public Library. Alexander studied Native American cultures, writing several books on the subject. He remains one of the world’s leading authorities on native American symbolism. In 1908 he was appointed Dean of the University of Nebraska’s college of philosophy. In 1922 he was commissioned by Mr. Goodue to transform his life-long study of Nebraska native culture and political philosophy, into the art and inscriptions unique to the Nebraska Capitol we see today.
Many times over the years I have watched the power of the truth contained in this inscription inspire countless citizens. Imagine driving 500 miles across slippery winter roads to come to the state capitol and sit in a hearing room all day. Your turn finally comes to testify. You’ve got 3 minutes and it’s 9:30 at night and you’ve been sitting there for 10 hours going over what you want to say. Very few Nebraskans are willing to do that, but we are blessed to have an abundance of this special breed of citizen in the 43rd District.
For the past eight years, I have written a weekly update and sent it to about a hundred newspapers around Nebraska. The senator who will be sworn in to replace me and I have not spoken since she refused to concede the campaign she lost to me in 2020. I sincerely hope she will keep the district informed concerning what she is doing in “your name.” That is all a state senator is – a representative elected by a group of people to speak on their behalf. Such a messenger is made important only by deeds that help their constituents. The only yardstick I feel is useful in measuring the worth of ANY politician is this: After the constituent contacted the senator, the problem they were suffering improved. I know the citizens of the 43rd District understand and expect that standard of service to continue, but it remains to be seen whether the new senator will continue this weekly update.
May the good lord bless and keep all of you in the new year. Thank you for your steadfast support these past eight years. Thank you for reading my articles, showing up to bill hearings, and thank you for allowing me to represent you in the Nebraska State Legislature! It has been my distinct honor to serve you!
Please contact your new senator with any comments, questions, or concerns at (402) 471-2628.