Jeff Parris
Jeff Parris ran for election to the Nebraska State Senate to represent District 14. He lost in the general election on November 6, 2018.
Parris completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2018. Click here to read the survey answers.
Elections
2018
- See also: Nebraska State Senate elections, 2018
General election
General election for Nebraska State Senate District 14
John Arch defeated Jeff Parris in the general election for Nebraska State Senate District 14 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | John Arch (Nonpartisan) | 55.8 | 7,625 |
 | Jeff Parris (Nonpartisan)  | 44.2 | 6,035 | |
| Total votes: 13,660 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Nebraska State Senate District 14
John Arch and Jeff Parris advanced from the primary for Nebraska State Senate District 14 on May 15, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | John Arch (Nonpartisan) | 60.0 | 3,462 |
| ✔ | | Jeff Parris (Nonpartisan) | 40.0 | 2,306 |
| Total votes: 5,768 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Jeff Parris completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Parris' responses.
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
• What would be your top three priorities, if elected? ? First priority is a full review of how are public schools are funded. I believe the state is putting too heavy of a burden on the local district through property taxes. Nebraska is at the lower end of the spectrum in funding for education from the state level. That needs to be corrected. It might take a full review of how every service is funded by the state, but we need to make education a priority because it affects our future more than any other expenditure. Also with education and training. We need to ensure that children that want to pursue a college degree are able to pursue it in Nebraska at an affordable cost. At the same time we need to make sure that those that do not want to follow through with education have the necessary skills to enter an apprenticeship program for a skilled labor position. There are many skilled labor shortages and we need to ensure our children have the technical and vocational background to obtain these higher paying skilled labor jobs. ? Second priority relates to mental healthcare. Over the last few years, I have seen great debates and discussions about doing more for healthcare for the people of our state, but many times the subject of mental healthcare is not included in that discussion. Mental healthcare is not part of many insurance plans and it should be included. It seems that mental healthcare is always one of the first items cut during budget difficulties. This trend needs to stop. I have talked with the Superintendent of the Papillion/La Vista school district and he confirmed that there are many children going through school with mental health concerns that are not being addressed. I have confirmed with the Sarpy County sheriff that many people are in the corrections system and they are not receiving any mental healthcare. As a veteran, I know that we have many service members returning from these conflicts with PTSD and many other mental health issues and the VA is still not doing enough. We need to do more for mental health in our communities and we need to ensure that we remove the negative stigma that gets associated with mental health. ? Third, we need to ensure that our small businesses and local farms are able to thrive. Agriculture and small businesses are the true backbone of our economy here in Nebraska and we need to ensure that we are fully supporting both sectors at the Legislature. We need to ensure that both of these vital sectors of our economy have the backing and support of the state legislature.
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
• What area of public policy are you personally passionate about? Why? ? The main concern I feel is most important in public policy is how does each policy affect the people in this district. I have a military background and all of my post-secondary education has been business related. The main aspect of business I learned at Creighton University was the companies that succeeded by considering all of the stakeholders of an organization, not just the shareholders of the organization. The same mindset can be used when establishing any regulation or law. How does this law affect the stakeholders of the law, which includes the people in the district? If the main focus of the laws and regulations were to focus on the people that are made to govern, it would change the aspect of many regulations. I have a people first mindset. If we have a well-educated and healthy populace, we will have companies very willing to come to our area, which in-turn, will increase our wage base. People first, companies second.
What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?
? What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official? ? Integrity First. This was the first core value while I was in the Air Force and I believe it should also be the most important principle for an elected official. You might not always agree with every constituent, but you should be able to face them and tell them exactly why you voted a certain way on a bill. Also, if you tell someone that you are going to do something, then you should have the integrity to follow through. ? Another Air Force core value that an elected official should have is Service before Self. Elected officials are elected by the people and should be there to represent the people. If the majority of people feel strongly about an issue in your district, then you should represent that majority. It isn't about the elected official, it is about the people being represented by that official.
What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?
? What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder? ? After serving in the Air Force for 23 years, I worked with people from every state and most of the United States territories. We did not care where someone was from, we did not care what religion someone worships and we did not care what political party they supported. We all worked together to accomplish the mission given to us. I have had years of training working in a non-partisan environment and I will work just as well in our non-partisan Unicameral. I can work with anyone to accomplish the mission and there will not be aisles in my mind, there will be 48 other senators that I will treat exactly the same way and that I will work with to accomplish the mission. ? Another quality that I possess is that I have excelled at every job I was given in the Air Force. In my first job of fuel systems craftsman, I worked multiple different types of aircraft and I worked hard to become an expert on many of those aircraft. When I cross-trained in the Air Force and was sent to the Defense Language Institute to learn the Arabic Language, I finished that school with very high marks. I then finished top of my class during intelligence training and finished my career as the Mission Supervisor on board the RC-135 RIVET JOINT. I worked very hard to accomplish the mission. All that being said my real quality here is that I have made mistakes as well. I was never perfect and I made mistakes. I will always admit my mistakes and I will strive to learn from them.
What legacy would you like to leave?
? What legacy would you like to leave? ? As an Air Force language analyst, the most important legacy I would like to change language education in the United States. In all of the countries I visited in the Air Force, children are learning multiple languages from the earliest days of their education, but this happens in very few schools in the United States. Children have a much easier time learning languages and I also believe the push to learn multiple languages expands the possibilities of learning other subjects differently throughout a child's educational lifetime. ? While in the Air Force, for over three years I was a Command Language Program Manager and I was responsible to the commander to ensure all squadron/wing linguists were maintaining their language abilities through obtaining study materials, coordinating recurring training events and scheduling annual tests. Linguists that grew up with multiple languages in their households had an easier time maintaining languages they learned in the military. There are years of data showing this trend. So, the most important legacy I would like to leave is improving language education in our public schools throughout the United States.
What is your favorite book? Why?
? What is your favorite book? Why? ? My favorite book is Shogun, by James Clavell. I have read this book many different times and it is truly a pleasure to read it each time, but it was that first time that made it so special. When I was much younger, I did not like to read at all. It was always a struggle when I was younger. Luckily, I had a teacher that recognized something in me and would not take no for an answer. She found a book that she felt I would enjoy. She did not give me Shogun to read as that would have been pretty cruel to do, but it is completely due to Mrs. Horsley in 9th grade that I fully enjoy reading to this day. She recognized and unlocked my curiosity and by the middle of my tenth year, I picked up Shogun to read. It took me a couple of months to read that first time, but I felt like I had accomplished the biggest goal of my life. I do not think I would be where I am today without Mrs. Horsley turning my life around and then having the courage to pick up one of the biggest books I could find in Shogun.
What is something that has been a struggle in your life?
? What is something that has been a struggle in your life? ? One of my main struggles in life has been controlling my finances. I did not grow up in a wealthy family. My parents worked very hard to ensure we had everything we needed, but it was a struggle for them. When I first joined the Air Force, I had more money than I had ever had and I did not save any of it. Then my wife and I had our young family with multiple children we really struggled and even qualified for WIC and food stamps (what has now become SNAP). We both worked multiple hours and even worked different shifts because we could not afford day care, but it was a constant struggle. I should have learned through all of that, but when I finally made a few more stripes and had a larger paycheck, I still did not save as much as I should have for a rainy day. Twice in my life I have overextended our finances and it was finally that second time that I learned from my mistakes and I now have it under control. It is a hard lesson to learn (for some) and I was definitely one of those people. For the last few years, I have tried to mentor younger Airmen in the Air Force by using my life examples to show the importance of good money management. Hopefully, I will help at least one or two Airmen from making the bad decisions I had made.
If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?
? If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of? ? The first committee I would like to be on is Government, Military and Veterans Affairs. While serving in the Air Force for 23 years, I have been stationed in multiple states and foreign countries. I have studied local, state and national governmental policies and I believe I can bring a fresh perspective to the Legislature. Both on Active duty and as a government contractor I have also worked with the Nebraska Air National Guard and I will always be a strong advocate for other veterans. ? The next committee is Transportation and Telecommunications. During my first job in the Air Force, while working with fuel systems at Edwards Air Force Base, California, I was state certified as First Responder, Operational and Hazardous Waste Cleanup Specialist. I was also the safety NCO at this shop and have a strong knowledge of Material Safety Data Sheets and Occupational, Health and Safety standards, so I have a strong knowledge of some of the materials that are transported by rail and truck on Nebraska Roads. My second job in the Air Force revolved around communications technology and I have a background in multiple forms of communications devices. I believe both jobs have set me up well to have an understanding of the issues presented to this committee. ? The third committee I would like to serve would either be Education or Health and Human Services. I do not have a strong background in either subject, but I have a passion to ensure that we are providing the best education and healthcare possible to everyone in our great state. For the issues I am not familiar with, I will put in the extra time to ensure I can make appropriate decisions that will benefit those in Nebraska and are also fiscally responsible.
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See also
External links
Footnotes
