New senator steps up to the plate

Above: Sen. Bill Kintner suits up to umpire a baseball game.

Sen. Bill Kintner has spent his life involved in two games: baseball and politics. His Capitol office décor – a mixture of sports memorabilia and an homage to former President Ronald Reagan – leaves little doubt about where his heart lies.

“I was a foot soldier in the ‘Reagan Revolution,’” Kintner said, tracing his interest in politics and fiscal conservatism to his college days. After volunteering in the 1984 presidential race, he went on to lead several political campaigns, beginning with a congressional campaign in North Carolina when he was just 25 years old.

“I’ve worked on tons of campaigns over the years,” he said. “I just never thought I’d run myself.”

Kintner said it was his interest in reducing the size of government and making it more efficient in delivering needed services that led him to run for a seat in the Unicameral.

“Simply put, the government spends too much money,” Kintner said, noting that he visited a variety of state agencies before the legislative session began, to learn where and how citizen’s tax dollars are being spent.

Originally from Cincinnati, Kintner decided to take advantage of his greater level of job flexibility and make his home in Nebraska with his wife Lauren.

Never one to shrink from a challenge, Kintner manages to find time to work his “day job” as a market research sales professional, as well as occasionally putting in time as a sports writer and  baseball umpire for high school and college games.

A former high school baseball coach, Kintner joked that he has “gone over to the dark side” as an umpire – a position he clearly relishes.

“I still get to be involved in the game I love,” he said. “I still manage to get paid to have dirt under my feet.”