Nebraska Lawmaker Jerome Warner Dies

Jerome Warner, a state senator for 35 years who was known as the dean of the Nebraska Legislature, died Sunday after a lengthy battle with prostate cancer. He was 69.

Born on Nov. 23, 1927, on the farm near Waverly where he lived most of his life, Warner was reared on politics. He was 10 when his father, Charles, was elected as the first speaker of the nation’s only one-house, nonpartisan Legislature. Jerome Warner served as speaker from 1969-1971.

Warner was the force behind state aid to make schools less dependent on property taxes. He helped cut state spending when the farm crisis struck Nebraska in the 1980s and revenue from state income and sales taxes fell.