Jean Bauer Supports Lisa Betz-Marquez
This letter is written in endorsement of Lisa Betz-Marquez for District 1, Scotts Bluff County Commissioner. I have known Lisa nearly all my life and have watched her in her career throughout the years. Lisa can be counted on to do a few things no matter what situation she finds herself in. First, Lisa will ask questions and conduct investigations to make every effort to understand the issue, stakeholders, possible obstacles, and of course, possible solutions. Second, Lisa will voice her findings from her own questions and investigations, and then provide sound, reasonable solutions to the issue. Lisa can be counted on to vote her conscious on any issue, rather than be counted on to “go along” with the vote or to “second” the vote.
In recent days, much has been made about Lisa’s party affiliation. Quite honestly, none of the County offices should be partisan. I’ve been in County government for 28 years and served with very fine people from all sides of the political aisle. The one thing we all had in common, no matter what the party affiliation, is we wanted what was best for our County, our employees, our constituents and our neighbors. While there definitely is a place in our State and Federal government for party alignment, serving at a local level is quite the opposite. Local leaders are simply trying to do what is best for our community, and I have yet to enter a discussion which centered around party affiliation until now. It has become an issue now because the people bringing it to light have nothing else to attack her on. Let’s concentrate on the issues before our County and how we can solve them. I can assure you that none of the issues before the County involve whether you are a Democrat, Independent, or a Republican. However, if you want to check the record, you will find that Lisa’s party affiliation was Independent. When choosing to run for a partisan office, such as County Commissioner, if you choose to run as an Independent, there is quite a process to go through, including collecting an exorbitant amount of signatures on a petition to even be placed on the ballot. When Lisa filed for office, I spoke with her about this very issue. She told me that while she felt alignment with being an Independent, she definitely leaned more “right” with the Republican party. In the last year, Lisa and I have had several discussions concerning party affiliation. At that time, I did not have any idea how Lisa was registered to vote. Lisa commented to me that “I think you would be surprised to learn that we agree more politically than you believe we do”.
The opposition would have you believe that Lisa evolved into a Republican in a matter of a few weeks to file as such against her competition. I’m here to tell you that is not the case at all. I think when someone graduates from high school and moves into their college years, we all have had a different view of the world and how we believe we fit into that world. However, as we evolve into our adulthood and move into our 30’s and 40’s, those beliefs can change quite a bit, even by 180 degrees. By filing for this office as a Republican, Lisa shortened the timeline for campaigning and getting her message out. If she was truly affiliated with the Democratic party, it would be to her advantage to file as such spreading the campaign season over the course of nine months, rather than two.
The County constituents deserve to have someone who is not afraid to voice their opinions and vote for the best interests of their constituents, rather than what one or two other commissioners have convinced this person to vote for. In serving in County government, it is clear there has been a “voting block” on the Board for the last few years. One member of that voting block was recalled in 2025, and now another member is up for election.
I am proud to put my support behind Lisa as the District 1 County Commissioner. She will do right by the people she represents and move this County forward for years to come.