(LINCOLN, NE) - There's been an abrupt change at the top of Nebraska politics and it has some people saying not again. Lieutenant Governor Rick Sheehy hastily resigned after the Omaha World–Herald asked him about thousands of phone calls he made to four women on his state issued cell phone.
He served eight years in the position until he resigned abruptly Saturday after the Omaha World-Herald called him Friday about the 2,300 calls he made to four women on a state-issued cell phone.
At a news conference Saturday, Governor Dave Heineman showed his utter frustration.
"Got a knot in my stomach. I'm deeply disappointed. He's done a lot of good things for the state, but that trust was broken and he's resigned," said Gov. Heineman.
The latest wrongdoing simply adds to the low opinion many people have about politicians these days.
"Power and greed. I mean when you get to a position that he's in, you can do anything. You can get away with anything. He's been getting away with things for years as a lot of politicians do. I can do anything is what his mindset is," said Tim Heck.
"They think they can get away with it and nobody gets caught. It looks like everybody else is doing all kinds of stuff and stupidity is the correct word," said George Zeitner.
"They're just not thinking and they probably think that they're not going to get caught. They're not as sneaky as what they think," said Anna Paulsen.
With Sheehy out of the office, Nebraska will likely have a stark change at the capitol.
"This is just the tip of the iceberg and it means that we're going to have a Democrat as the governor in 2014, probably the Attorney General too as more of this unravels," said Vince Powers, the head of Nebraska's Democratic Party.
Right now, the Republican party is figuring out if the new lieutenant governor will be able to run next year or if someone else is a better candidate.
"Without him in the race I think it opens everything up, on our side certainly," said Nebraska Republican Party Chair, Mark Fahleson.
Although Republicans aren't yet naming anyone who could fill Sheehy's spot, both parties are already claiming victory, confident their roster of candidates has what it takes.
Governor Heineman will begin the process of finding a new Lieutenant Governor Monday.
