About Mark

My parents were both Air Force officers. I grew up in Colorado. I earned a degree in economics at Whitman College, where I also played rugby and was a team captain.

I first came to Nebraska in 1983 as a young Air Force Judge Advocate. I served four years at Offutt AFB and for two of those years also served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for Nebraska. In 1986 the ABA honored me as the Outstanding Young Military Service Lawyer of the Year. One of my last acts on active duty was to travel to Nebraska’s death row to hand convicted serial killer John Joubert his dishonorable discharge from the Air Force. For calling out a potential abuse of power, Gov. Bob Kerrey honored me by making me a Nebraska Admiral. 

After leaving active duty I practiced law in Omaha for eight years, representing a major agricultural lender during the farm crisis of the late 1980’s. During that time, I was twice a finalist in the Nebraska Toastmasters State Humorous Speech Contest. I also took graduate courses in philosophy and logic at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. I attended the First Unitarian Church in Omaha for twelve years while living in Omaha. 

I returned to Colorado in 1995 and lived in a small town 8,236 feet above sea level. During my time in Colorado, I also served as a municipal judge. I also served three years on the Colorado Boxing Commission. I later relocated to Fayetteville, Arkansas, where I earned an advanced law degree (LL.M.) in agricultural law and served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Arkansas School of Law.

In 1996 my article on the Nebraska National Forest was the cover story for Camping and RV magazine. I wrote two mysteries published by Time-Warner. My first mystery was The Fractal Murders. Part of the story takes place in Nebraska. It was a Book Sense mystery pick.

During the pandemic I bought my Lemoyne home. I have long loved the Sandhills, so I made that  my primary home. Today I teach karate in Ogallala, though I still sometimes take on legal matters in Colorado.*

I left the Democratic party more than three years ago for several reasons. First, I disagreed with that party’s position on guns. Second, I felt the party was sometimes tone deaf and was becoming increasingly less hospitable to moderates and people from rural areas. Many Democratic leaders just don’t get that policies popular in New York City and San Francisco are not always popular elsewhere. I was frustrated by the party’s inability to control some of the nonsense such as the “Defund the police” rhetoric. Third, I was tired of belonging to a party that relied on corporate donors and often brought a knife to a gunfight.

I have three grown children. My companion, “Nurse Sheri,” is from Crete, Nebraska, and was the Nebraska State Pork Queen. I live in Lemoyne with my Irish Wolfhound, Solomon. I enjoy teaching karate and floating the Niobrara River. I have a bad popsicle habit.

*Not licensed in Nebraska

Why I’m Running

Did you ever hire a supposed expert only to realize you could have done the job better yourself? That’s how I feel about our political leaders.

There was a time when Democrats and Republicans could work together. But today’s two party system often forces us to choose between two extremes. It forces party members to keep quiet when they disagree with their party leaders. It discourages healthy discussion. There was a time when journalists sought the truth no matter what. Today’s giant for-profit media conglomerates often repeat what the politicians tell them. Too often truth is measured in clicks rather than facts. Controversy gets ratings; intelligent discussion does not.

We’re better than this.


Nebraskans want leaders who bring out the best in people rather than the worst.

Nebraskans are good people who just want to care of their families, pay their bills, and have some fun now and then.

It would be easier for me to ignore what is going on in America. I could sit on my deck with my pup, look out at the beautiful Nebraska Sandhills, and listen to music. But I am a veteran blessed with a tremendous education, unique communications skills, and diverse life experiences. I have three grown children. I fear my generation may be the first to leave its children an America that is worse than it was when I was young. I don’t want to die knowing I did not try.

I’m going to Washington to create “good trouble” for rural Nebraskans because today’s leaders often aren’t even asking the right questions. I’ll say things other politicians won’t say. I’ll ask questions other politicians won’t ask. I’m a 67 year-old karate instructor. The only thing I fear is growing old and wishing I had tried harder to use my blessings to help my country.


What Do You Think?

I want to know what you think about the issues facing America and rural Nebraskans.
Please email me at info@markfornebraska.org and tell me what’s on your mind.
If you like what you see, we’d love your help.

How Did We Get Here?

  • We encourage competition in business, but not in politics. Our current political system is a duopoly comprised of two parties, and the one thing they agree on is that they should make it difficult for independent and third party candidates to win.

    The two parties have created a primary system that often rewards the most extreme candidates in each party because the people who donate money are the ones with strong beliefs about an issue. Few candidates win primaries by claiming to be moderates who can reach across the aisle.

  • The Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United held that corporations have the same First Amendment rights as people and that they may therefore spend unlimited sums to support or oppose a candidate. Our Constitution gives people the right to vote – not corporations. Citizens serve in our armed forces – not corporations. But Citizens United effectively allows corporations to buy elections by spending unlimited amounts to support or oppose a candidate. Those who are supposed to represent us end up representing the large corporations and the billionaires.

    The problem is not just corporate money. The notion that individuals have a right to give unlimited donations to candidates in the name of free speech also threatens our democracy. Billionaires circumvent campaign contribution limits by forming PACs. Corporate titans handing out $1 million checks to voters is a perversion of our Constitution.

  • There is a concentration of media power in America like never before. There are fewer independent news sources, making it harder for diverse viewpoints to be heard.

    It wasn’t long ago that the networks kept their news departments separate from their for-profit programming. But those days are gone. Today media outlets compete for viewers and readers to make money. To increase their numbers, they sensationalize many stories. Everything is “breaking news” and we’re in a perpetual news cycle. The system does not allow candidates to offer reasoned responses to tough questions; rather, it encourages black and white thinking and forces politicians to speak in sound bites. The news stations reward the politicians who say the most outrageous things because outrageous statements attract viewers.

    Politicians use undefined words and meaningless phrases to divide us. Complex issues confront us, but today’s “sound bite” media paradigm prevents us from truly exploring those issues and trying to reach a consensus on how to address them. Rather than apply artificial labels to us and our neighbors, we should ask why politicians and the big money that funds them attempt to divide us and what we can do to promote intelligent discussion.

    The concentration of media power in the United States has been driven by deregulation, technological advancements, and corporate consolidations. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 significantly relaxed ownership restrictions, allowing media conglomerates to own more television and radio stations, as well as newspapers and cable networks. This led to a wave of mergers and acquisitions, resulting in fewer but larger media companies, and less competition. Subsequent regulatory changes, such as the FCC's 2017 decision to relax media ownership rules, further facilitated consolidation.

    The rise of digital platforms like Google, Facebook, and Twitter has shifted media consumption patterns. These platforms have become dominant in news distribution, often acting as gatekeepers for information, but they don’t do nearly enough to combat misinformation (much of it from Russian and Chinese bots) because that costs money.

    The result of all this is reduced competition, fewer diverse perspectives, greater misinformation, erosion of local journalism, and an unhealthy concentration of influence and political power.

  • The Founders created a Constitution with three co-equal branches of government. But in today’s highly partisan climate Congress abdicates its responsibility when the party that controls Congress also controls the White House. Fearful of a primary challenge, our representatives stop asking what is best for America, what is right, or what is constitutional.

  • Too many of us have rewarded politicians who attempt to dumb us down with simplistic thinking. It’s understandable to some extent because most of us are busy and just trying to support our families. It’s easier to repeat a four-word catchphrase like “Make America Great Again” than it is to ask what that means or to study complex issues such as climate change or cryptocurrency.

    Thomas Jefferson wrote, “A well-informed electorate is a prerequisite to democracy.” We must hold ourselves to a higher standard. One way to do this is for us to start questioning the simplistic thinking our leaders and the giant news conglomerates offer us, and for us to start asking better questions. For example: When was America great? What made it great? Who was it great for? If America is not great now, why is that? Is there a consensus on what would make America great again? If there is a consensus, what must we do to achieve those goals?

    We must resist the black and white thinking the billionaires and their politicians use to pit neighbor against neighbor. It’s not true that every American is either a “fascist” or a “socialist;” there are plenty of us in the middle. America’s founders dared to question authority and propose big ideas. We should, too.

    One thing we can do to help change things is to stop watching the primetime pundits, many of whom would fail a basic logic class and whose argumentation skills are weaker than those of most high school debate team members. These shows are not “news” – they are entertainment aimed at profiting by dividing us. Turn them off; the primetime political smack talking is ruining American politics and inspiring violence. Read a small-town paper or independent publication instead.