Jeremy Nordquist

Jeremiah J. Nordquist (born November 10, 1981) is a politician from the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. Nordquist represented an Omaha district in the Nebraska Legislature from 2009 to 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Jeremy Nordquist
Member of the Nebraska Legislature
from the 7th district
In office
2009–2015
Preceded byJohn Synowiecki
Succeeded byNicole Fox
Personal details
Born (1981-11-10) November 10, 1981
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceOmaha, Nebraska

Early life and career

Nordquist was born November 10, 1981, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In 2000, he graduated from high school in Beresford, South Dakota. He attended Creighton University in Omaha, graduating in 2004 with a B.A. in political science. In 2006, he married Shannon C. Riley; the couple produced one child.[1][2]

From 2004 to 2008, Nordquist worked for the Nebraska Legislature, as research analyst and an aide to senator John Synowiecki. From 2008 to 2013, he was employed as an advisor by Building Bright Futures, an Omaha philanthropy that sought to improve academic performance by low-income Omaha children.[1][2][3][4][5]

Nebraska legislature

In 2008, Nordquist ran for the Nebraska Legislature from District 7, representing downtown and southern Omaha. The incumbent, Synowiecki, was ineligible to run for a third consecutive term under Nebraska's term-limits law. Nordquist, a member of the Democratic Party, was opposed by Christopher Moles, a Republican law clerk who was then working on a law degree and a master's degree in business administration at Creighton University.[5][6][7]

In the nonpartisan primary, Nordquist received 1230 of the 1835 votes cast, or 67%. Moles received 605 votes, or 33%.[8] As the top two vote-getters in the primary, both candidates moved on to the November general election. Nordquist won this election with 4961 of the 6726 votes cast, or 73.8%; Moles received 1765 votes, or 26.2%.[9]

In 2012, Nordquist sought re-election to the Legislature. He faced two challengers. Christopher Geary, a Republican business owner, had unsuccessfully run for the Nebraska governorship in 2010; he had placed third in a three-way Republican primary, losing to incumbent governor Dave Heineman with 4.8% of the vote to Heineman's 89.9%. Adrian Petrescu, a professor of public policy at the University of Nebraska Omaha, was making his first bid for elective office.[10][11]

In the primary election, Nordquist received 1406 of the 1934 votes cast, or 72.7%. Geary placed second, with 345 votes, or 17.8%; Petrescu received 183 votes, or 9.5%.[12] As the top two vote-getters, Nordquist and Geary moved on to the general election. Nordquist won re-election with 4211 of the 6003 votes cast, or 70.1%; Geary received 1792 votes, or 29.9%.[13]

During his tenure in the Legislature, Nordquist served as chair of the Retirement Systems Committee; he also sat on the Appropriations Committee. In 2014, he co-chaired an initiative petition drive that sought to raise the state's minimum wage to $9 per hour; the measure passed in the general election.[14][15]

In 2015, Nordquist resigned from the Legislature in order to become chief of staff for Brad Ashford, who had been elected to represent Nebraska's 2nd District in the U.S. House of Representatives.[14][15] Republican governor Pete Ricketts appointed Nicole Fox, a Republican, to serve the remainder of the term.[16]

Policies

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals

Nordquist was the lead co-sponsor of a bill which would allow DACA recipients (also known as "Dreamers") to receive driver's licenses. (DACA recipients are children who were brought to the United States illegally as children but grew up in the United States, and were granted temporary protection from deportation under a program initially introduced by then-President Barack Obama.[17] The state's governor Pete Ricketts initailaly vetoed this measure[17] but the legislature voted 34-10 to override the veto. This ended Nebraska's status as the only state to deny driver's licenses to DACA recipients.[17][18] The bill was Legislative Bill (LB) 623.

State minimum wage

Nordquist led a successful initiative to increase the state minimum wage to $9 per hour by 2016.[19] 135,000 Nebraskans signed a petition to put the initiative on the ballot in 2014, which was voted on in the November 2014 election.[20] He also attempted unsuccessfully to persuade the legislature to raise the minimum wage for tipped workers.[21]

LGBT rights

In 2013 and 2015, Nordquist sponsored multiple bills to protect or expand LGBT rights while serving in the legislature. One bill would prevent discrimination in employment and housing by adding sexual and gender identity to the classes protected from discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodation. Another pair of bills would allow same-sex couples to adopt children or become foster parents, overturning a 20-year old policy which only permitted married heterosexual couples to adopt or serve as foster parents.[22] Each time, the bills were eventually tabled due to stiff opposition from the religious lobby.[23]

References
  1. "Sen. Jeremy Nordquist—Biography". Nebraska Legislature. Archived from original June 26, 2015. Retrieved 2015-08-13.
  2. "Jeremy Nordquist". LinkedIn. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  3. "Building Bright Futures Origins". Early Childhood Services. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  4. Braden, Jonathon. "6 years and $50M later, Omaha educational philanthropy undergoing overhaul". Omaha World-Herald. July 31, 2013. Retrieved 2015-08-13.
  5. "Synowiecki aide running for Legislature". Lincoln Journal Star. September 25, 2007. Retrieved 2015-08-13.
  6. For a map of Nebraska's legislative districts as they were in 2008, see "Omaha Area Legislative Districts", p. 323, retrieved August 13, 2015. For a map of District 7 in 2012, see "Legislative District 7 LB 703 - (2011)", retrieved 2015-08-13.
  7. Stoddard, Martha. "Total of 10 candidates file for Nebraska Legislature". Kearney Hub. December 2, 2007. Retrieved 2015-08-13.
  8. "Official Results of Nebraska Primary Election, May 13, 2008", p. 34. Nebraska Secretary of State. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  9. "Official Results of Nebraska General Election - November 4, 2008", p. 16. Nebraska Secretary of State. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  10. "3 vying to represent 7th District in state Legislature". KETV. April 26, 2012. Retrieved 2015-08-13.
  11. "Official Report of the Board of State Canvassers of the State of Nebraska: Primary Election, May 11, 2010", p. 15. Nebraska Secretary of State. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  12. "Official Report of the Board of State Canvassers of the State of Nebraska: Primary Election, May 15, 2012", p. 33. Nebraska Secretary of State. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  13. "Official Results of Nebraska General Election - November 6, 2012", p. 14. Nebraska Secretary of State. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  14. Walton, Don. "Nordquist resigning from Legislature". Lincoln Journal Star. May 27, 2015. Retrieved 2015-08-13.
  15. Hammel, Paul. "State Sen. Nordquist to resign legislative seat, become Rep. Brad Ashford's chief of staff". Omaha World-Herald. May 28, 2015. Retrieved 2015-08-13.
  16. Stoddard, Martha. "Nutrition specialist to finish Jeremy Nordquist's term in South Omaha legislative district". Omaha World-Herald. August 18, 2015. Retrieved 2015-08-19.
  17. Navarez, Griselda (May 28, 2015). "Nebraska Ends Ban On Driver's Licenses for Young Immigrants". NBC News. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  18. >"Nebraska 'Dreamers' can now apply for driver's licenses". KETV Omaha. May 29, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  19. Walton, Donald (May 27, 2015). "Nordquist resigning from legislature". Lincoln Journal-Star. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  20. Roberts, David (January 1, 2015). "Minimum wage increase takes effect in Nebraska". KETV News (ABC). Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  21. Stoddard, Martha (April 14, 2015). "'It's disappointing,' bill's sponsor says after lawmakers reject minimum-wage increase for tipped workers". World-Herald Bureau. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  22. Pluhacek, Zach (January 22, 2015). "Lawmakers propose protections for LGBT Nebraskans". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  23. Stoddard, Martha (January 6, 2016). "9 hot topics facing the 2016 Nebraska Legislature". World-Herald Bureau. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
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