{"id":9300,"date":"2013-03-01T17:48:11","date_gmt":"2013-03-01T23:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/?p=9300"},"modified":"2017-04-06T13:08:38","modified_gmt":"2017-04-06T19:08:38","slug":"bolz-wins-race-to-the-capitol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/?p=9300","title":{"rendered":"Bolz wins race to the Capitol"},"content":{"rendered":"

Above: Sen. Kate Bolz competes in a 2009 sprint triathlon.<\/em><\/p>\n

Like most candidates, Lincoln Sen. Kate Bolz walked door to door last fall, talking with constituents and getting her name out in her district. She admits, however, she had a significant advantage when it came to the campaign trail.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy two nieces, Grace and Alysa, campaigned with me,\u201d she said. \u201cThey were good little campaigners. I\u2019m convinced that I received at least a few votes because of my helpers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bolz, a sixth generation Nebraskan, earned a bachelor\u2019s degree from Nebraska Wesleyan and a master\u2019s degree in social work from the University of Michigan. She cites her work in nonprofit advocacy, combined with a natural passion for public service, as her reason for seeking election.<\/p>\n

During her time as associate director for the Emerson National Hunger Fellows Program in Washington, D.C., she said she found her focus was back home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember following the term limits debate when I was working in Washington, D.C.,\u201d she said. \u201cI found myself wishing I could be a part of that conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a member of the Legislature\u2019s Appropriations Committee, Bolz will help craft the state\u2019s budget proposal. She said her experience in social work gives her a unique perspective.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal is to make sure I\u2019m a good steward with taxpayers\u2019 money,\u201d she said. \u201cWe must also remember the needs of our special populations and the impact our decisions have on them.\u201d<\/p>\n

She says her constituents are most concerned about providing services for elderly and vulnerable citizens. Bolz also intends to ensure the high quality of the public school system, \u201ca real source of pride for me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Outside of the Legislature, Bolz likes to keep active. She is an avid runner and has completed in triathlons and the 2011 Lincoln Half Marathon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought all the cheering from the crowd when I crossed the finish line inside Memorial Stadium was just for me,\u201d she laughed.<\/p>\n

Bolz belongs to a local book club and, once she has time, she would like to become more active in the arts. Despite her personal pursuits, Bolz admits that the role of a legislator does not end when she leaves her office at the end of the day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t really think there is a line between your life as a senator and your life as a citizen,\u201d she said. \u201cI think you\u2019re doing a good job if you take your role of senator into your personal life.\u201d<\/p>\n

She says the thing she expects to enjoy most in her new role as senator is participating in floor debate. The number of passionate people who have approached her with genuine concerns and ideas are her driving inspiration.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere needs to be an openness in our dialogue on the floor,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m energized by the exchange of ideas. That\u2019s the exciting part.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Like most candidates, Lincoln Sen. Kate Bolz walked door to door last fall, talking with constituents and getting her name out in her district. She admits, however, she had a significant advantage when it came to the campaign trail.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21358,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[167,18],"tags":[84],"class_list":["post-9300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-senator-features","tag-sen-kate-bolz"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/MeetBolz_blog2017.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9300"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9300\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21689,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9300\/revisions\/21689"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}