Williams among 13 outgoing senators who offer advice for the future

LINCOLN - On the final day of the Nebraska legislative session on April 20, outgoing senators gave farewell speeches focused on upholding the nonpartisan nature of the institution and offered advice to returning and future senators.

Thirteen lawmakers are leaving: 11 are term limited while two — Sens. Steve Lathrop of Omaha and Tim Gragert of Creighton — are not seeking reelection. In November, 24 of the 49 legislative seats will be decided by voters.

Sen. Matt Williams, District 26, is one of those 13. He represented the counties of Buffalo, Custer and Dawson until redistricting placed those counties in different districts and District 36 was located in Sarpy County.

When he first got to the Legislature, Williams of Gothenburg recalled a friend who told him, “Democracy works if you’re willing to engage in thoughtful compromise.”

“I didn’t understand that quite as well eight years ago as I do today … and that’s what we do a lot in here,” Williams said.

Three core values help Williams in life. These include recognizing the importance of people in success and that little can be done alone, doing what is right and with a sense of responsibility and always striving to do better.

In a recent radio interview, a radio host asked Williams what he is most proud of after eight years. Rather than specific policy, Williams said it’s that he’s never sacrificed his character.

Williams also recalled a lesson he learned 12 years ago that, when faced with adversity, humans either quit, blame or step up. In his service, no one’s ever quit or gone home.

“Sometimes we’ve blamed and we’ve recognized it’s never done us any good when we do that, but, at the end of the day, there’s only one choice, and that’s stepping up and accepting responsibility of working together for positive change,” Williams said.

As people reflect on their service, Williams said to focus on the future rather than on the past.

“[I] encourage each one of us to not let our memories of the past be more important than our dreams for the future,” Williams said. “And I choose to dream big, and I challenge each one of us to dream big.”

Williams also gave a special shoutout to his apostle friends, his rocks: Sens. Mark Kolterman of Seward and John Stinner of Gering.