GRETNA — Voters of Legislative District 36 will choose between a retired U.S. naval officer and a retired manufacturing executive to represent one of the fastest-growing areas of the state.
State Sen. Rick Holdcroft, the Republican incumbent with a 28-year military career, wants to resume a quest for a safe haven “baby box” law, while challenger Darin Tompkins, a Democrat, wants to “protect” public education and raise the bar on business incentives. Both want to rein in property taxes.
“Service is really my forte,” said Holdcroft, 72, who has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s in computer science. He touts fiscal and social conservative values and a pro-life stance, and he says his distaste for marijuana is based on the negative impact he saw on young sailors.
On the side, Holdcroft, who lives in Bellevue, is a beekeeper — an interest over the past six years that helped inform recent proposed legislation that didn’t quite get off the ground but that he hopes to resuscitate if reelected.
Tompkins, 56, lives in Papillion and said his political debut stems from wanting more affordability and less “brain drain” of workforce talent. That includes his blended family of six kids, ages 24 to 34, five of whom live in Nebraska and another who’s studying in Iowa…