Sarah Centineo was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Centineo's career experience includes working as an attorneyn small business owner, and nurse. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Iowa in 1997 and a law degree from the Creighton University School of Law. Centineo has been affiliated with Nebraska Association of School Boards and The Iowa Association for Justice.[1]
Centineo reported no contributions or expenditures to the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Committee as of November 3, 2016.[3] Candidates were not required to file campaign finance reports unless they received or expended $5,000 or more in a calendar year.[4]
Sarah Centineo completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Centineo's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
I am a nurse attorney, a current school board member (since 2016) and a small business owner. We moved to Bellevue in 2003 and have raised our family here. I have my bachelor's in nursing from the University of Iowa (1998) and my law degree from Creighton (2011).
To grow our community and our state we must address the issues associated with workforce development and retention from housing to childcare to the everyday issues that affect Nebraskans.
Supporting public education is vital- we cannot strip away funding from our public schools and give control of our public schools to the governor or the legislature.
Healt care access is vital to a healthy community.
My experience in healthcare, the law, and education gives me the depth and breadth of education and experience that will make me a successful legislator. I have also spent a lot of time counseling people through some of the roughest times in their lives, through my work as a nurse and a lawyer. That has made me a more understanding and empathetic person.
The core responsibilities of an elected official are to uphold the Constitution of the state and federal government. Elected officials are tasked to support the safety and well-being of all of their constituents.
When the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded when I was in 6th grade. We were sitting in our classroom watching it while sitting in the floor, they had one of those a/v carts with a TV on it.
I was babysitting at 11, it was a different time, and I was a very responsible 11 y/o. I babysat until I was 15 and then I started working at Walgreens.
Adapting to the future of business and agriculture and bringing people to our state. We need to make sure we have leaders that are looking forward, not backwards.
Yes, I think it is beneficial to have working knowledge of how local governmental entities operate, that way a person may better understand the impacts of proposed legislations.
I don't think I would model myself after anyone, but there are legislators that are inspiring- Ernie Chambers was a master of the rules, Jen Day is a great speaker on the floor, Carol Blood consistently proposes legislation that helps people in very real ways.
I was knocking on a door, and I introduced myself and once the gentlemen heard I was a nurse he just opened up about his struggles taking care of his son, he was a recent widower, and his son had a fever. He just needed a little help.
I have an elderly neighbor I met walking my dogs and she reached out because she needed help doing a pr-procedure bath and didn't have anyone else to ask. Her husband wasn't up to the task, so I helped her. Small kindnesses make a big a difference. It really made me think about what it is like to age in place and what services are available to people.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Note: Centineo submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on September 10, 2024.
Sarah Centineo is a nurse, an attorney, a current school board member, mother, and wife. She has spent her entire professional life caring for and advocating for children. First as nurse in the pediatric and neonatal intensive care units and then as a school board member passionately advocating for the educational rights of all students in Nebraska.
Health Care access- Sarah will advocate for all Nebraskans to have access to the healthcare they need, without having to go broke doing so.
Support public education- Sarah will continue her mission to ensure all Nebraskans have access to quality public education to prepare them for the future.
This means making sure that we support teachers and staff with fair pay for the hard work they do and making sure that our tax dollars do not go to non-public education.
Work force development- We have historically low unemployment in Nebraska, this means we do not have enough people for the jobs available. This limits the growth that Nebraska can experience. We need to do things in the legislature that will keep our children in the state and that will attract new people. Affordable housing, affordable childcare, a welcoming environment, and ensuring our state embraces all people are some of things that we need to focus on in order to address our work force issues.
Ruth Bader Ginsberg- she fought so hard even when the deck was stacked against her and I never got the idea she tried to be anyone who she wasn't, but she was also confidently herself.
I have the breadth and depth of experience and education that makes me uniquely qualified for leadership. Experience in education, healthcare, and the law.
When I was elected to the school board, one of the first events I went to was a staff event and I was overwhelmed and in awe of the thought that I was partially responsible for all pf these people and their families.
Elected officials should never lose sight of what the impacts their decisions make on the people who are depending on them.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. It is the only book I have read more than once. There is so much in there, every time I read it, something new hits me.
Yes, I believe that most people have more in common than they have things that separate them. It is also important to understand that other legislators are real human beings with families and communities. It helps decrease the amount of vitriol that can take place.
Sue Crawford (dignified and all business), Ernie Chambers (masterful use of the rules), Carol Blood (doesn't mince words), Jen Day (passionate, intelligent, and thoughtful on the mic).
I was knocking on doors and a man answered the door and when I mentioned I was a nurse, he asked if he could ask me some questions. It turns out that day he had his son hm e sick from school with a high fever. He was very clearly overwhelmed. He told me he was a recent widow and that his wife had handled all of the medical issues with their children.
This man was just trying to do the best he could for his family with limited resources and he was thankful to me for taking time to listen to him, which just blew my mind
There are situations in which emergency powers need to be used- it is difficult to give a statement without knowing what the specifics are of the use of emergency powers- healthcare emergency, natural disasters, violence in the state, etc.
Vote Mama, the NSEA, Planned Parenthood of Nebraska, the Sierra Club of Nebraska, 314 Action Fund Nebraska Association of Public Employees/AFSCME 61, Nebraska State AFL-CIO, and a Campaign for a Healthy Nebraska.
The government should be transparent in its budgeting unless there is some kind of compelling reason to keep that information out of the public domain.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Note: Centineo submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on April 17, 2024.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Sarah Centineo campaign contribution history
Year
Office
Status
Contributions
Expenditures
2024*
Nebraska State Senate District 45
Lost general
$111,908
$108,964
Grand total
$111,908
$108,964
Sources: OpenSecrets, Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
Ballotpedia features 618,575 encyclopedic articles written and curated by our professional staff of editors, writers, and researchers. Click here to contact our editorial staff or report an error. For media inquiries, contact us here. Please donate here to support our continued expansion.
Scott Eby 
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
