Marvin to run for Legislature

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BY DEENA WINTER / Lincoln Journal Star

City Councilman Dan Marvin has worked on many of Lincoln Sen. DiAnna Schimek’s campaigns, but next spring he’ll be working on his own legislative campaign.

Marvin announced Tuesday that he intends to run for the District 27 seat that Schimek will leave next year because of term limits. She was elected in 1988 and has been re-elected every four years since.

Marvin served on the planning commission from 2002 to 2005, when he was elected to the City Council.

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City Councilman Dan Marvin

City Councilman Dan Marvin

He said he had been thinking about running for the Legislature for a while because he feels he could represent the city’s interests well on the state level.

“If I’m a strong voice for the city of Lincoln and the citizens of Lincoln, I think I can do more there than if I’m on the City Council,” he said.

The city needs a strong advocate in the Legislature for such things as developing a research corridor near the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and building a four-lane freeway south of Lincoln as scheduled, he said.

Marvin was heavily involved in the South Street makeover that’s  nearly finished, and he was instrumental in the council’s passage of a $27 million highway allocation bond last year to build streets and fix sidewalks.

Councilman Ken Svoboda had been hearing rumblings about the possibility of Marvin’s move, but was still a little surprised by the news, because, he said, “If you’re truly interested in the betterment of the city, I feel the best place to be is on the City Council.”

There, he said, “you’re one of seven. When you go to the Legislature, you’re one of 49.”

He said the council benefits from Marvin’s financial expertise; Marvin is an investment adviser.

“I feel Dan is certainly an attribute to the City Council,” Svoboda said. “I know he would be a great asset to the Legislature. I would certainly miss Dan and his financial mind that he brings to the council.”

Senators run without any party affiliation for the nonpartisan office, but Marvin is a Democrat.  Schimek, also a Democrat, is one of 15 state senators unable to seek another term next year because of a constitutional amendment limiting senators to two, four-year terms in a row.

Reach Deena Winter at 473-2642 or dwinter@journalstar.com.