Soper announces run for Legislature

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By NANCY HICKS / Lincoln Journal Star

Tami Soper, a Lincoln native who works in the state Legislature,  announced she will be a candidate.

Soper is seeking the District 21 seat now held by Carol Hudkins of Malcolm.

Hudkins, whose term runs through 2008, cannot run for a fifth term because of a recent constitutional change that limits state senators to two terms.

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Tami Soper

Tami Soper

The district includes northeast Lincoln, northeast Lancaster County and a portion of Saunders County.

“This district, in my opinion, is a snapshot of the state,” she said, both urban and rural.

“And the senator who represents this district will have to keep in mind that balance between what benefits the urban part of the state and what benefits the rural part of the state,” Soper said in a telephone interview Wednesday. 

Soper, a Democrat, has a longtime interest in politics. She is legislative aide to Omaha Sen. Gwen Howard. She has run, unsuccessfully,  for the Lincoln City Council and Lancaster County clerk’s office as Tami Robinson, her maiden name.

“I grew up in a family where public service was a value,  whether it was in the military, sitting on boards, volunteering,” she said.

Soper says she has a particular interest in health and human service issues, because of her background working in those areas. 

Access to health care, particularly for the self-employed, is particularly important in  District 21, she said.

She is also interested in re-evaluating education funding to make sure it is based on need, not just on available resources.

Making sure economic development opportunities are available is also important, she said. Economic development helps maintain the “good life” in Nebraska, Soper said. 

Soper, 40, a Lincoln High graduate, has an associate degree from Southeast Community College and is a student at Doane College in Lincoln.

She served six years in the Nebraska Air National Guard, has worked for public and private health and human service organizations and is an active community volunteer, according to her news release.

Soper and her husband, Shawn, have four children.

Reach Nancy Hicks at 473-7250 or nhicks@journalstar.com.