Sheehy always ready to serve

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LINCOLN — In his talks at Nebraska schools, Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy often recommends that kids be open to embracing "Plan B" in their lives and not get stuck on "Plan A."

Grab the brass ring when it comes around, even if it's a different brass ring.

Sheehy, a 52-year-old Irish-Catholic from a large and well-liked family in the central Nebraska community of Hastings, speaks from experience.

He was a premed major at college before being persuaded to return home and take a job as a county ambulance worker. The move led to a career as an area manager for the private Rural/Metro Ambulance Service.

He made an off-hand mention about running for the Hastings City Council someday, until friends convinced him he shouldn't wait. He was elected in 1994, later became the council president and then served six years as mayor of the state's seventh-largest city.

Sheehy was eyeing a run for U.S. Congress in the vast 3rd District until he got a Sunday afternoon phone call in January 2005 from soon-to-be governor Dave Heineman, asking him to consider an appointment as his lieutenant governor.

"Why not?" said Sheehy, who thought it would be a way to serve the state and would last at least until the 2006 elections.

Sheehy's next Plan B could be a big one.

Under a couple of different scenarios, Nebraskans could be addressing the affable, accommodating redhead as "Gov. Sheehy" by this time next year.

Heineman hasn't completely shut the door on a run for U.S. Senate this year. The conventional wisdom is, if the politically popular governor ran, he would be a heavy favorite to win the seat being vacated by Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb.

Under a second scenario, if a Republican was elected to the White House in November, Heineman would be a candidate for a cabinet post — particularly if the president was Mitt Romney, who was endorsed by Heineman months ago.

As lieutenant governor, Sheehy would take over the mansion in either case.

The second scenario, in fact, was how then-Lt. Gov. Heineman became governor seven years ago, after Mike Johanns accepted the post of U.S. agriculture secretary from President George W. Bush.

Sheehy doesn't waste a lot of time worrying about the possibility of becoming governor next year, he said in an interview.

He has already announced plans to run for the top job in 2014. He formed a political committee last month so he can raise money, and he hired Heineman's former fundraiser.

But Sheehy makes it clear he's ready to serve if the call comes earlier. He has served seven years as lieutenant governor, the longest term in state history, and has sat in on dozens of policy and budget sessions with Heineman, who has already voiced his support for Sheehy's 2014 campaign.

But what kind of governor would Sheehy be? What are the politics of the guy who has served in the shadow of the energetic, pro-business governor?

Around the State Capitol, Sheehy is chatty and friendly, but somewhat of a mystery politically. Few people ask No. 2 his opinion on issues such as child welfare. The big business prospects head to the governor's office, not across the hall to Sheehy's.

He's described as "accessible" and a "consensus builder," "Mr. Congeniality" and even "All-American."

People might not notice much of a difference, he said. Sheehy, like Heineman, is pro-life, pro-business and pro-capital punishment. He's an ardent promoter of Nebraska as a place to live and build a business.

"I would say that after seven years, we've had very little disagreement," he said. "I don't want to say there wouldn't be any change, but I think it would be pretty seamless."

Because of a personal interest in the changing delivery of health care services, he said, he might put more focus on issues such as assisted-living services for senior citizens.

Sheehy said he also had a slightly different take on rerouting the Keystone XL pipeline than Heineman.

He said the Ogallala Aquifer faced a very remote threat from a crude-oil leak, based on his experience with groundwater contamination at Superfund sites in Hastings. In the end, he agreed with the governor that it made sense to reroute the pipeline, but Sheehy said his opinion was based more on the difficulty of reclaiming the fragile soils of the Sand Hills.

One big difference would be their proficiency on the golf course. Sheehy's handicap is 26.5, more than a dozen strokes higher than Heineman's.

Sheehy is also 11 years younger and, unlike Heineman, is an avid skeet shooter and pheasant hunter.

Friends and former colleagues say Nebraska would be getting a great listener and collaborator; a "conservative-progressive" who is tight with taxpayer dollars but willing to get behind a worthwhile project that costs money.

As Hastings mayor, he worked to change its "anti-development" business image. One person said he might be a "kinder, gentler" governor than Heineman, personalitywise.

"He's a very good organizer and coordinator of people," said Phil Odom, another former Hastings mayor, citing Sheehy's leadership in passing a half-cent sales tax increase to build a $4.7-million water park in town.

As mayor, Sheehy even participated in the parades of nearby small towns, and he still attends meetings of the multicounty, South Platte Chamber of Commerce.

Terry Anstine, a former neighbor and president of Five Points Bank of Hastings, said Nebraskans would be getting a good listener and hard worker, one who appreciates the importance of small businesses like those in his hometown.

"He's the kind of person that most Nebraskans would want to represent them," he said.

While the $75,000-a-year job of lieutenant governor is low-profile, Sheehy is no stranger to the vast corners of Nebraska.

He logs about 60,000 miles a year heading to official and political events in an oil-burning, 2003 Nissan Altima with 279,000 on the odometer that he keeps driving "because it's paid for."

That thrift might also have something to do with the fact that he and his wife, Connie, have two children in college: Joel, who just graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha; and Maggie, a medical student at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Boxfuls of commemorative hats, coffee mugs and other keepsakes line one wall of his office. They attest to the dozens of ribbon cuttings, speaking engagements and events he attends, from Chadron to Wayne, Beatrice to Scottsbluff.

"I live and work out of my car," said Sheehy.

His official residence remains in Hastings — when he needs to overnight in Lincoln, he stays with his in-laws.

In the old days, being lieutenant governor came with only one official duty: presiding over the State Legislature when it is in session.

But in the last 20 years, the second-in-command has been given additional tasks.

Under then-Gov. Ben Nelson, Maxine Moul tackled rural economic development, and Kim Robak dealt with streamlining health and human services.

After 9/11, then-Lt. Gov. Dave Heineman took the helm of the state's Homeland Security effort.

Sheehy assumed that mission and has also led the Nebraska Information and Technology Commission, which established a statewide, computerized medical-records system.

He has also led trade missions to Japan, Hong Kong and Cuba.

He said he likes solving problems. Seated at a long desk in his office, he recently worked out a spat between a business and state environmental regulators.

Sheehy also met recently with an 85-year-old man complaining about the loss of his driver's license. Afterward, the man told him he didn't think Sheehy could really help him, "but you listened."

He's a relatively recent Republican, changing parties in 2003. But he said he had registered as a Democrat in his teen years only because of his Democrat father, who died when Sheehy was 11.

The GOP, he said, fits better with his smaller-government, pro-life views, and he has become active in party events.

Sheehy could have some challenges in running for governor in 2014 because he's not from the traditional power bases of Omaha or Lincoln. And until Heineman was elected in 2006, a lieutenant governor had not won an election to the state's highest office since 1953.

Sheehy didn't have too much time Friday to think about that or whether Heineman would run for the Senate.

The lieutenant governor was meeting with a group of high school kids in Lincoln over the noon hour, then driving the Altima to Omaha to speak to a group of electrical contractors.

"I'm not paying much attention to the Senate race and what's happening there," Sheehy said. "I concentrate on my job."

Contact the writer:

402-473-9584, paul.hammel@owh.com

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