Popps announces her candidacy for the District 47 seat

Peggy Popps of Sidney has announced her candidacy for District 47 State Senator.

The 47th District is comprised of 10 counties in the Nebraska Panhandle: Arthur, Banner, Box Butte (West of 385/87), Cheyenne, Deuel, Garden, Keith, Kimball, Morrill and Sioux.

Popps said the driving force for her decision to launch her campaign is because "the Unicameral needs a dose of good common sense from Western Nebraska. I feel that political conversations have taken a circular path that hasn't led to any real solutions."

For the past 17 years, Popps has worked in the corporate office at Cabela's in Sidney in both marketing and retail operations. Popps also serves on the company's corporate safety committee, emergency response team and the employee foundation fundraising committee.

She is also a coordinator for Region 21 Emergency Management CERT program. Prior to working for Cabela's, Popps was a law enforcement officer in Sidney.

"Civic engagement goes hand-in-hand with public service, and I'm prepared to serve the families of the 47th District," Popps said "My background in advocating for conservative political values, promoting property tax relief and economic growth in western Nebraska and volunteering for our communities makes me uniquely qualified to represent the 47th District in Lincoln."

Popps is the chair of Cheyenne County's Republican Party. In 2012, she was elected as a delegate from Nebraska to the Republican National Convention where she served on the Rules Committee for the Convention.

She has served on both the Nebraska Republican state central committee and its executive committee. In 2008, Congressman Adrian Smith awarded Popps the Nebraska 3rd District Volunteer of the Year Award.

Knowing that property taxes are the number one issue for all Western Nebraskans, Popps stated she will support policies that lower the tax burden on hardworking families so more of your money goes toward your family budget, not the government.

"We must control our expenses, slow the size of government and allow revenue to grow," she said. "In addition, we need to lower the value of agricultural land for taxation purposes, reform the way we fund schools and reduce personal property tax."