State Senator Holding True to Campaign Promises

“We promised my constituencies that we would talk to them, that it wasn’t just going to be their vote and that meant engage the community in ways that we know works and know hasn’t been done as much in the past,” says Nebraska State Senator Tony Vargas, adding “I like to follow through on my campaign promises.”
Vargas, who focused on civic health during his campaign, is about to participate in his second session and is spending focused time on connecting with his voters. “We have a couple different things that we do, one of them the Citizen Advisory Committee of 15-20 individuals in District 7, my district of South and Downtown Omaha that provide advisement on different issues and help me find connections to different parts of the community to make sure we are staying informed,” says Vargas.
In addition to the advisory committee, Vargas committed to four community forums or town halls during his tenure. Vargas just hosted his third community forum in late August at St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church, where he and his wife are parishioners. Over 100 residents participates alongside other elected officials from the area. “This is coming out of a need for people to get to know me better, understand what our office does and what we don’t do, and also find a space for them to connect to other elected officials that have a crossover with my district,” says Vargas.
Vargas is committed to hearing what his constituents have to say so he is completing a canvass of the neighborhoods he represents. “We also committed to talking to people at the doors again,” says Vargas. Holding true to yet another campaign promise Vargas, his interns and staff members are out knocking on doors so they can complete a community survey that will affect how his office forms their priorities for the upcoming session. “My hope is by that the end of this year we will have knocked on 10,0000 doors in the community and we will continue to add to that and we will have a large number of people’s opinions to inform not only legislation but how I make decisions on appropriations and where our funding sources go. I am trying to think of high level ways of how we can take a strategic direction in the Nebraska Legislature,” says Vargas.
Vargas has gained national recognition for his service to the community. In fact, Vargas was just awarded one of the ten JCI USA Top Outstanding Young Americans award during a reception in St. Louis, MO on September 23rd. The award recognizes outstanding individuals who are making positive impacts on their communities through action.
Senator Vargas says that he is excited for his next session, although it will be a short one, he says he will focus on finding common lines with other senators from across the state. “I really want to make sure we are focusing on bi-partisan initiatives. I am also interested in working on some legislation I have worked on in the past year,” says Vargas.
Vargas says that voting access and rights are very important to him and is excited to keep working on a bill that introduced automatic voter registration which he says will improve the civic health of Nebraska. Additionally, Vargas says he will continue to fight for families in Nebraska by focusing on a payday lending bill. “It would essentially reform the pay day lending industry to ensure that working families are not being taken advantage of by a system that will continue to put them into debt and simultaneously pay day lenders will continue to have a revenue where they can make a profit but not on the backs of those that need help the most in our state,” says Vargas.
Vargas mentions he is ready to tackle the next session and will make sure to keep his constituencies in mind. “It is a short session so there is a lot to be done which is why we will be working on a more comprehensive policy agenda with my office along with the community feedback from the town halls and the information we have collected from the surveys we completed in the community,” says Vargas.