Merv Riepe

Mervin Merle Riepe (born July 16, 1942) is an American politician from the state of Nebraska.

Riepe was born July 16, 1942, in rural Griswold, Iowa.

He graduated from Griswold High School in 1960, then served as a hospital corpsman in the U.S. Navy from 1960 to 1963.

In 1964, he was named director of the Respiratory Therapy Department at Bergan Mercy Medical Center in Omaha.

He eventually served, at various times, as chief operating officer and interim CEO of Bergan Mercy; as president of Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs, Iowa; and as president of Children's Physicians, a joint venture of Omaha's Children's Hospital & Medical Center and Creighton University.

In 1968, he received a B.S. in finance from the University of Nebraska at Omaha; in 1970, an M.A. in health policy and management from the University of Iowa.

After leaving the navy, Riepe worked in the field of health-care management.

In 1974, Riepe married Janet Lee Anderson, a teacher at Benson High School in Omaha.

The couple produced one son.

Janet Riepe was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1978, and died of pneumonia arising therefrom in March 1996.

In an election during the 1990s, he ran as an announced candidate; in 2010, he ran as a write-in.

Joseph Hering, who described himself as a moderate Republican and a fiscal conservative, was an inventory control specialist for the city of Omaha; he had not previously run for office, but had served an internship in the Legislature in 1992 and 1993.

He stated that his priorities included the passage of a voter-identification law.

In the nonpartisan primary election, Riepe received 2468 of the 4194 votes cast, or 58.8% of the total.

Hosch came in second, with 1298 votes (30.9%); Hering received 428 votes (10.2%).

As the top two vote-getters, Riepe and Hosch moved on to the general election.

In November 1996, Riepe married Jody Gillispie.

Riepe made two unsuccessful attempts to win a seat on the Ralston Public Schools Board of Education.

After retiring from Children's Health Network in 2008, he worked as a health-care consultant.

Riepe, a Republican, stated that he was particularly concerned about health-care issues, and opposed to the proposed expansion of Medicaid in Nebraska under the provisions of the 2010 Affordable Care Act.

Greg Hosch, a Democrat, was the general manager of Horsemen's Park, an Omaha horse-racing track.

He had never sought office before, but had lobbied for the racing industry's interests at the Legislature.

He stated that he had no fixed agenda, but would work for economic development in the district.

In November 2013, Riepe announced that he would run for the District 12 seat in the Nebraska Legislature.

The district, located in southern Douglas County, included the city of Ralston and much of its school district, as well as parts of Omaha's Millard neighborhood.

In 2014, he was elected to the Nebraska Legislature, representing a district in the Omaha metropolitan area.

Under Nebraska's term-limits law, incumbent Steve Lathrop was ineligible to run in the 2014 election.

Three candidates entered the race.

Each questioned whether the other would place the state's interests ahead of his industry's. Riepe suggested that Hosch might push a measure to allow betting on historical videotaped races at Nebraska's racetracks; the Legislature had voted to place such a measure on the 2014 ballot, but the Nebraska Supreme Court had found that aspects of the ballot measure violated provisions of Nebraska's constitution relating to referendums, and had ordered its removal.

According to Riepe, the passage of such a measure would lead to decreased keno revenues for Ralston.

Hosch, meanwhile, suggested that Riepe might be inclined to represent the interests of the health-care industry rather than those of the Nebraska taxpayer, should the two come into conflict.

Over the course of the entire campaign, Riepe raised nearly $84,000 and spent over $88,000.

Major contributions included $3000 from the Nebraska Bankers State PAC, $3000 from the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce & Industry PAC, $1500 from the Associated General Contractors Highway Improvement PAC, and $1500 from the Nebraska Republican Party.

Hosch raised $62,000, and spent nearly $66,000.

Contributors included the Nebraska Horsemen & Benevolent Protective Association, which gave his campaign $7500; several other racing and casino organizations made smaller contributions.

A number of labor organizations also contributed to his campaign: the United Transportation Union PAC gave $4000, two International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers locals gave $3750, Firefighters for Better Government gave $2000, and the Nebraska AFL–CIO gave $1300.

The Nebraska Democratic Party gave Hosch over $2700, and the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys $2000.

Several organizations contributed to both candidates: the Nebraska State Education Association PAC gave each campaign $1250; the Nebraska Realtors PAC gave Riepe $2500 and Hosch $500; and the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce PAC gave Riepe $2000 and Hosch $500.

Turnout for the general election was approximately double that for the primary.

In 2018, he lost re-election to Democrat Steve Lathrop, but in 2022 after Lathrop decided not to seek re-election, Riepe was again elected to the Nebraska Legislature.