Neuhaus, Gloor address immigration, campaign financing in forum

While state legislative candidates Mike Gloor and Gregg Neuhaus agreed on many issues during their debate Thursday at Walnut Middle School, it did turn contentious at times.

Gloor and Neuhaus are campaigning for the seat representing the 35th Legislative District, which includes most of Grand Island. State Sen. Ray Aguilar cannot run for re-election due to the state's term limits law.

At several times during Thursday's forum, Neuhaus accused Gloor of accepting special interest money for his campaign and being the pawn of Grand Island's rich and elite. Neuhaus asked, "Who is he going to represent?"

Addressing the voters, Neuhaus said, "Don't let Grand Island's self-appointed elite tell you how to vote and who should be in Lincoln."

But Gloor said that's just sour grapes.

He said two-thirds of the money for his campaign comes from individuals who either live in Grand Island or on the outskirts of Grand Island.

"The largest single amount of checks I have gotten have been for $20," he said. "Prior to the primary, 90 percent of my money came from those individuals. These are friends of mine and I'm not going to apologize for having a lot of friends and being here for three decades."

Gloor then said that after the primary, a number of associations visited with him and his opponent as they were seeking campaign contributions.

"They picked me," Gloor said.

Gloor touted his 16 years as chief executive officer of St. Francis Medical Center and his 30 years of community service as qualifications to serve Grand Island in the state Legislature.

"All of that is what I perform and not what I'm making as campaign promises," Gloor said. "These are things I have done and that performance will translate in Lincoln as someone who can cut taxes, someone who can focus on economic development and create new jobs and someone who can address education needs, improve health care and access to health care, and who can make sure that employers hire legally."

Gloor also said he would make sure that the state of Nebraska antes up what it owes Grand Island for prisoner care and would make sure the state follows through on its commitments to the State Fair.

Neuhaus said he got into the race for his granddaughter.

"She and her generation is my concern," Neuhaus said. "When her parents moved to Grand Island, I looked around and I said we could do better."

Neuhaus said the race shouldn't be about "buying a seat with money from PACs and other special interests."

"This is about who can best represent the people of Grand Island, not just the rich and the powerful or the PACs or special interests, but all the people of Grand Island," Neuhaus said.

He said that if he's elected, his first priority is to "make sure every person here in Nebraska is here legally."

"It is one thing to say that you're against illegal immigration, but it's quite another to set forth a plan to solve the problem," he said.

Neuhaus said he has already drafted legislation dealing with the illegal immigrant problem in Nebraska.

"It will be my priority bill until it is passed and if I don't get it passed in my first term, I won't seek a second," he said.

Neuhaus said the cost to the taxpayer for what he called the "cheap labor" of illegal immigrants is enormous.

"But this is more important than money," he said. "We are paying for this so-called ’cheap labor' with our culture and the future of our children."

Gloor said the problems of illegal immigration must be dealt with, especially with those employers who hire illegal immigrants.

He said it all comes down to documentation and making sure individuals who present themselves are who they claim to be.

"You can help employers with issues of illegal immigration by giving them the opportunity to verify documentation," Gloor said. "If that does not occur, then we need to penalize them."

Neuhaus cited a list of statistics of the social and criminal problems illegal immigrants are causing in Los Angeles.

He said many of those same problems are now occurring in Grand Island. Neuhaus said many of the banks in Grand Island are contributing to the illegal immigration problem by allow them to transfer money from Grand Island out of the country for a small fee.

Both Gloor and Neuhaus were questioned by representatives of the area media.

The candidates were asked about the "safe haven" law that allows parents or caretakers to drop off their children at hospitals if they are not able to provide proper care for them.

The problem is that the law didn't define how old a child can be to be left at a hospital. That vagueness in the law has led to teenagers being left at hospitals in the state.

Both candidates agreed that the law should be changed immediately once the Legislature is in session.

"If we would have had a little bit better representation statewide that understood how the law works and the definition of a child in Nebraska, this would not have occurred," Neuhaus said. "The problem is that we have amateurs trying to make law."

Gloor said he was advocating against the law six months ago, "because you could see this coming."

"Right now, we have to set an age," he said. "For us who work in health care, it was predictable that ERs would become refuge for people who decided they had it as parents."

Both candidates said they did not favor enhancing gambling opportunities in Nebraska or the state providing any types of incentives for the gaming industry.

"Gambling is entertainment and it has to compete for those entertainment dollars," Gloor said.

Neuhaus said he doesn't favor expanded gambling in Nebraska, as it would bring more outside control to the gaming industry and communities, such as Grand Island with Fonner Park horse racing, and would reduce local control.

With the nation's economy in trouble because of the financial meltdown, Neuhaus said Nebraska has been shielded so far from the monetary woes, but needs to be more watchful about spending, clean up the waste in the state's finances and set spending priorities.

Gloor said the state needs to continue to reduce taxes, such as property taxes, and make government operations more efficient.

Both candidates were in favor of not only reinstating the death penalty, but also making sure the process of execution works in a timely manner.

Neuhaus favors changing the method of execution to lethal injection and said he would have called for a special session of the Legislature to fix the problem.

Gloor said the death penalty is a deterrent to crime and lawmakers need to determine the form of executing prisoners so it can be lawful.

On the state surplus, both candidates would like to see a big portion of that money returned to taxpayers.

The forum was sponsored by The Grand Island Independent and Leadership Tomorrow.