LINCOLN — Gov. Pete Ricketts has doubled his monetary backing of the petition drive to restore the death penalty in Nebraska.
A report filed Friday shows the governor gave $100,000 to Nebraskans for the Death Penalty in early July, which comes on top of the $100,000 he gave to the campaign in June.
His donations account for nearly one-third of the funds raised by the group, which has less than a month left to gather signatures on a petition seeking to put the fate of capital punishment on next year’s ballot.
The referendum petition would ask voters whether they want to undo legislation repealing the state’s death penalty.
Ricketts’ role in financing the petition drive appears to be a first, at least in recent decades. Past governors have signed petitions or thrown their political support behind them but have not been top contributors to the drives.
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There are no legal barriers to the governor’s contributions, according to Frank Daley, director of the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission.
Kent Bernbeck, a petition veteran, said he doesn’t see an issue with the donations. The size of the contributions simply shows that the governor has money, he said. Ricketts estimated his net worth in 2006 to be between $45 million and $50 million.
“I think, if someone wants to give a bunch of money, he can do it,” Bernbeck said. “It’s up to public perception” whether that helps or hurts the petition.
Last month, State Sen. Ernie Chambers, a leading opponent of capital punishment, criticized Ricketts for funding a repeal petition after he failed to convince the Legislature to retain capital punishment.
Ricketts defended his donations, saying he thought it was appropriate to give Nebraska voters a chance to decide the issue.
“I think the Legislature was out of touch with how the vast majority of Nebraskans feel about this issue,” he said.
The petition group’s latest campaign finance report shows that the governor remains the top individual donor to the drive.
The second-largest individual donor is his father, T.D. Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts, who gave $100,000 in June. The elder Ricketts did not contribute any additional funds in July.
Nebraskans for the Death Penalty got another $200,000 boost in late July from the Judicial Crisis Network, based in Washington, D.C.
The network, which is the largest group donor, describes itself as “dedicated to strengthening liberty and justice” in the United States, with a commitment to limited government, the rule of law and a fair and impartial judiciary.
Other large donors for July include business leaders William Grewcock of Omaha, $25,000, and Charles Herbster of Falls City, Hugh Hunt of Blair and Gail Werner Robertson of Omaha, $10,000 each.
Chris Peterson, a spokesman for the group, said the organization was grateful for the Nebraskans who have volunteered to collect signatures or have donated to the effort.
“With less than four weeks until our deadline we continue to work hard to gather enough valid signatures to put the future of the death penalty to a vote of the people and to put the repeal on hold until the voters have spoken,” he said.
A report filed by Nebraskans for Public Safety, which formed to oppose the petition drive, added $31,520 to its fundraising total in July.
The group had received $400,000 in June from the Proteus Action League, an Amherst, Massachusetts, social justice organization. The largest donation in July came from Omaha business leader Richard Holland, who donated $20,000.
Donations to the anti-death-penalty group totaled $433,490 and spending totaled $308,989 for the two months, according to its last report.
For the same period, the pro-death-penalty group reported donations totaling $652,430 and spending totaling $557,101.
The petition group must gather valid signatures equal to 5 percent of registered voters, or about 57,500, to put the issue on the ballot.
If they gather signatures equal to 10 percent of registered voters, or about 115,000 signatures, they can keep the repeal from taking effect.
Ricketts was unable earlier this year to defeat Chambers’ bill eliminating the death penalty. Lawmakers from both sides of the political spectrum joined to override his veto.
The petition drive was launched soon after the override vote.
Contact the writer: 402-473-9583, martha.stoddard@owh.com
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