If you want to see coverage of the race between Ben Nelson and Pete Ricketts, then there are a variety of outlets you can turn to. But I thought I would write a little bit about a race down the ticket, the race for the most thankless job in city government - Douglas County Assessor.

The current Douglas County Assessor is Democrat Roger Morrissey. Honestly, the assessor’s race should be non-partisan, but that’s a post for a different day. Morrissey’s challenger is Republican Dena Kowal.

I’m going to comment on a very specific campaign tactic being used in the race. I’ll probably write more about the race down the road, but I’m going to focus on one specific issue that irks me.

Morrissey was elected back in 1998, and he inherited a mess. He was narrowly re-elected back in 2002.

As the Omaha World-Herald put it…

Morrissey, 62, was elected assessor in 1998 when Assessor Frank Bemis retired after 24 years in office. Bemis had come under fire for not updating valuations on a consistent basis, contributing to widespread inequities.

Now, we must understand the past to appreciate the current (and plan for the future). It’s time for a little history lesson from Professor Chief. And it goes something like this…

Frank Bemis was the county assessor from 1975-1999. He “retired” and didn’t seek re-election in 1998. Well, he’s lucky he retired because he wouldn’t have won re-election. At the time, he was coming under heat for how inaccurate valuations were in the county.

Back in 1999, the Omaha World-Herald wrote several articles and an editorial about the dire situation Morrissey inherited. At the time, the State of Nebraska wanted to implement a state-imposed increase in the valuations for all properties in Douglas County. In Nebraska, residential property is supposed to be assessed at 92-100% of market value.

The World-Herald’s review of 6,509 house sales from last year [1998] showed that the typical dwelling was assessed for tax purposes that year at just under 80 percent of its market value.

Last year, a similar newspaper study of 1997 sales and valuations showed that a typical house was valued at 84 percent of market value.

Omaha World-Herald - May 10, 1999

Bemis’ job performance was getting worse and worse each year, and the State of Nebraska wanted to step in. They wanted to tack an automatic 8% increase in the property valuations for almost all houses in the county. The Omaha World-Herald was opposed to this state action. They wrote an editorial to plead with the state to give the new assessor, Roger Morrissey, a chance to the clean up the mess.

Douglas County is in a class by itself. Bemis, with a staggering load of 134,000 individual parcels of property and the obligation to keep their valuations constantly current, had to deal with a much wider range of factors determining property value than is common in the likes of Howard or Box Butte County.

He had neighborhoods full of architect-designed homes and Gold Coast mansions, cottages, apartment complexes, variations by school district within the same urban area, property values determined by commuting factors and other amenities. All had to be assigned values that not only met the state’s 92 percent threshold but also were accurate in relation to one another.

To mention the size of the task is not to exonerate Bemis. Some people in the appraisal business say he didn’t try as hard as he should have. Bemis said he proceeded cautiously, hoping to minimize the impact of state policies that, he said, could tax elderly and low-income people out of their homes. Maybe good intentions, or finely honed political instincts, contributed to his getting behind.

So, you may be asking yourself… Professor Chief, you gave us an interesting history lesson, but what the hell are you talking about? Its 2006, why does this matter?

I’m glad you asked. Dena Kowal is endorsed by Frank Bemis. Yes, the same Frank Bemis.

In an endorsement letter on Kowal’s website, Bemis brags about his incompetence

I am writing in response to… an Aug. 26 news story that I was responsible for low valuations. I considered this a compliment. Mr. Morrissey will never, ever be so accused.

Yeah, it sucks when you do your job right. They can’t accuse you of low valuations. He goes on to say

Mr. Morrissey has been in office eight years and has raised the budget from my $1.6 million a year to his $2.7 million, for a total increase of $1.1 million.

Well, he had to spend money to fix a broken office. Inefficiency can come in many forms. A public official can spend a ton of money and do a so-so job. Or, they can spend very little money and do a crappy job. It seems like Bemis did the latter. Morrissey not only had to spend money to fix the problem, but he also had to increase the budget so the office was doing the job it was supposed to be doing in the first place.

Kowal has made this increase in the budget a campaign issue. Through direct mail, her website, and in her television commercials she is trying to take advantage of the issue. From her website…

In the eight years since my opponent took office the Assessor’s Office budget has increased over 65 percent (1.1 million dollars) from 1.6 to 2.7 million dollars.

Don’t fall for this political stunt. She’s trying to distort reality for her own political gain.

Now, you know the rest of the story. Paul Harvey… eh… chief, good day!