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LINCOLN — If former State Sen. Mike Friend lived in Kansas instead of Omaha, he might still be pounding the pavement in search of a job.
He certainly wouldn't be director of the new state Office of Violence Prevention, a position created earlier this year by one of his own legislative bills.
Kansas requires that lawmakers wait one year before taking a state job created by the Legislature during their last term in office.
Nebraska — and most other states — have no such prohibition. But Friend's appointment to the $70,000-per-year job has generated charges of political cronyism from government watchdogs and north Omaha leaders.
Gov. Dave Heineman announced the seven-year legislative veteran last week as his choice to lead state efforts to counter violent crime.
Friend, who was barred by term limits from running for re-election, resigned from the Legislature on Sunday and started his new job Monday.
Peggy Kerns, director of the National Conference of State Legislatures' Center for Ethics in Government, said naming lawmakers to jobs they had a hand in creating makes for awkward ethical situations even if it doesn't violate a state's laws.
“It always makes the public question the legitimacy of the action,” she said.
Heineman told The World-Herald that he had no one in mind for the job when Legislative Bill 63 passed. He said Friend's name didn't come up until Heineman sat down with staff last month to look at possibilities.
By then, Friend was unemployed, having been laid off as a copywriter and editor for First National Bank of Omaha.
“I thought, my gosh, here's a man with enormous talent who understands these issues, who understands the challenges in Omaha in particular,” the governor said.
Heineman said he doesn't favor waiting periods for lawmakers taking jobs in state government, although he supports them for lawmakers becoming lobbyists.
The situations are different, he said: Lobbyists benefit personally from their connections to former colleagues.
John Hibbing, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln political science professor, said the crucial question is whether the governor chose the best person.
“You have to dot the i's and cross the t's because there are going to be people who say this just doesn't smell right,” he said.
Critics dispute whether Friend was the most qualified choice.
Ben Gray, an Omaha city councilman and gang intervention specialist, and former Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha both said Friend has few violence prevention credentials.
He has a history of backing “draconian” crime laws that result in more people going to prison for longer periods, rather than working to steer people away from gangs and violence, Gray said.
LB 63 as introduced by Friend created several new gang-related crimes and increased penalties for others.
The violence prevention portions of the bill were added later. They had been proposed by Sen. Brad Ashford of Omaha.
“There's no doubt in my mind” the appointment was political, Chambers said. “Friend lacks vision and understanding.”
Jack Gould of Common Cause Nebraska is another doubter.
He said Friend's résumé includes little to indicate that he is the best-qualified. Friend has spent his career doing writing, editing and some business analysis.
Larry Bradley, a Democrat who filed earlier this year to run for Friend's seat, sees pure politics in the governor's move. Naming a sitting lawmaker allows the governor to appoint someone, presumably a fellow Republican, to fill the seat. That person would have a leg up in the 2010 election for a district in which a majority of voters are registered Democrats.
Republican Tim Lonergan filed for the seat Monday. Jeff Miller, a Republican who filed for the seat earlier, has withdrawn for health reasons.
Some former colleagues said Friend's political experience will be useful. Sen. Bill Avery of Lincoln said politics requires negotiation and compromise, skills that will be valuable in the new position. Friend also has administrative experience from heading the Urban Affairs Committee, Avery said.
Willie Barney, head of the Empowerment Network, said that if the director can bring all parties to the table, there are enough specialists around to make prevention efforts work.
“I'm looking forward to working with the senator,” said Thomas Warren, president and CEO of the Urban League and a former Omaha police chief. “There's a lot of work to do.”
Contact the writer:
402-473-9583, martha.stoddard@owh.com
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