Lincoln Jounal Star-Jeff Fortenberry Eager to Represent New District

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Rep. Jeff Fortenberry says he's eager and excited to represent important new elements of his dramatically revamped congressional district.

But as he welcomes the addition of Columbus, Bellevue and Offutt Air Force Base, the 1st District congressman said he regrets "the painful loss of deeply held relationships" in communities like South Sioux City, Wayne and Beatrice.

The redistricting plan approved by the Nebraska Legislature will prompt some rebalancing of resources and effort, Fortenberry said.

Losing no time, Fortenberry met with people in Columbus Wednesday and will be at an Offutt advisory board picnic Friday.

But there won't be an immediate end to his contact with, or services to, portions of his district that have been transferred to the 3rd District or traded to the 2nd District. A congressman may not spend federal resources on areas that did not participate in electing him even though the new districts have been written into state law, Fortenberry said.

With that in mind, the Lincoln congressman said, he has talked to fellow Reps. Adrian Smith and Lee Terry about working cooperatively in some overlapping areas until House members are elected by voters in the newly constructed districts in 2012.

During an interview in Lincoln, Fortenberry acknowledged that he had the opportunity for some consultation and feedback during the congressional redistricting process.

"I thought incorporating Columbus and Platte County into the 1st District was a good idea," he said.

Fortenberry said he urged that Thurston County be returned to the 1st after it was shifted to the 3rd during a late stage of negotiation. He succeeded.

"Thurston County is home to two tribal areas," he said. "I didn't think it would be right to move it. I wanted that to be our responsibility."

The transfer of Bellevue and Offutt into his district "came as a bit of a surprise," Fortenberry said.

"I didn't weigh in on that, but I eagerly welcome it."

He said there is an interface between his new responsibilities in representing the home base of the U.S. Strategic Command and his membership on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, where he sits on the Middle East and South Asia subcommittee.

"National security and defense strategy are not foreign to us," he said.

The new 1st District is more urban -- Lincoln, Bellevue, Norfolk, Columbus and Fremont are five of the state's 10 largest communities -- and less agricultural.

"Columbus is an important addition," Fortenberry said. "There is synergy with Norfolk and Fremont" in what he described as an urban triangle.

Fortenberry said he will continue to serve on the House Agriculture Committee but remain open to opportunities as they arise.

The redistricting changes are reasonable, he said, and they create a more geographically concentric district.

Although he finds it personally difficult to lose counties and communities he has represented for more than six years, he said, "you have to let go."

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