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LINCOLN — The race for chairman of the Legislature's Urban Affairs Committee normally gets overshadowed by contests for more high-powered legislative leadership spots.
But Mike Friend's departure from the Legislature last summer thrust the position into the spotlight.
The race was front and center Thursday as lawmakers took time from their budget-cutting special session to decide who should get the seat.
The election pitted a Republican against a Democrat in a body dominated by the GOP.
It pitted a man against a woman and an Omaha senator against one from Lincoln for a seat traditionally held by Omaha-area lawmakers.
The winner? Democratic State Sen. Amanda McGill of Lincoln, who got 27 votes to 21 for Republican Sen. Scott Price of Bellevue.
The outcome surprised many in the lobby, who had expected the vote to follow party lines, although the Legislature is officially nonpartisan. Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln said the vote turned on experience and seniority.
Sen. John Wightman of Lexington agreed.
He noted that McGill has been vice chairwoman of the committee for three years and that Price has served only one session in the Legislature and is not on the committee.
Urban Affairs is a minor committee that deals with some of the Legislature's more prosaic issues, such as annexation, sanitary improvement districts, tax increment financing, natural gas regulation and weed control.
McGill said she was excited to be another woman in leadership in the Legislature. Although she represents northeast Lincoln, she said, she is a graduate of Millard North High School and has the trust of Omaha senators.
Contact the writer:
402-473-9583, martha.stoddard@owh.com
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