Sandhills rancher joins Legislature

Most senators spend a year or more planning their legislative campaigns.

Ellsworth Sen. LeRoy Louden needed just a few months.

Louden decided in July 2002 that he wanted to run for the Legislature. Since the filing date for candidates had passed, Louden and 27 friends and family members spent the next 1 ½ months circulating petitions to get his name on the general election ballot.

“It was intensive,” Louden said.

Once his name was on the ballot, the real work began. Louden and his wife, SharonAnn, spent many hours traveling District 49 and talking to residents about their concerns.

The best part of campaigning, Louden joked, was eating.

“I can tell you which church ladies have the best gravy, which serve the best turkey and which have the best pies,” he said.

Now that Louden is a senator, he’s passionate about tackling issues important to his district, such as property taxes and tourism.

“Anytime I can help people in my district, I jump at the chance,” Louden said.

Civic duty has been an important part of Louden’s life. He served as a school board member for 30 years, and still belongs to the Elks Club, the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the Nebraska Cattlemen.

Louden said his local involvement has made him a more effective senator because he understands his constituents concerns. Even though he represents one of the state’s largest districts, Louden knows people in every town.

However, Louden’s lifestyle has changed since he moved to Lincoln, which is nearly 400 miles away from his ranch in Ellsworth.

He relies on his sons, Lynn, Bryan and Jon, to operate the family’s 16,000-acre cattle ranch while he is away.

“If it weren’t for my three sons, I wouldn’t be down here,” Louden said. “There’s no way you can run a personal business and be down here.”

Louden also has a daughter, Dalene, and SharonAnn has two children, Jennifer and David.

Surprisingly, Louden said, living away from home has not been a difficult adjustment. SharonAnn is originally from Lincoln and has family living in town, and the couple travels home most weekends.

And the walk from their Lincoln apartment to the State Capitol is the same distance as his house to the barn, he said.

Louden is getting used to friends and family members regarding him as a “political expert” now that he is a senator. He fields the most questions from his 100-year-old mother, who faithfully watches the Legislature on television.

But Louden does not complain, because serving in the Legislature is like a hobby.

“You want to enjoy what you’re doing or it becomes a job,” he said.