Rick Sheehy (born October 3, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 38th

lieutenant governor of Nebraska The lieutenant governor of Nebraska is the highest-ranking executive official in the State of Nebraska after the Governor of Nebraska, governor. According to the Constitution of Nebraska, Nebraska State Constitution, in the event a governor dies, ...

from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Republican Party since 2003, he is the longest-serving lieutenant governor in Nebraska history, with slightly over eight years of service. He was appointed to the office by Governor

Dave Heineman David Eugene Heineman (born May 12, 1948) is an American politician who served as the 39th governor of Nebraska from 2005 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 39th treasurer of Nebraska from 1995 to 2001 and 37th lieutenant gove ...

, having been previously elected as Mayor of

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

in 2000.

Early life, education and private career

Sheehy was born in

Hastings, Nebraska Hastings is a List of cities in Nebraska, city in and the county seat of Adams County, Nebraska, Adams County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 25,152 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Neb ...

and graduated from St. Cecilia High School. He attended the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the M ...

and later received certification as a paramedic from Central Community College in Hastings. Sheehy worked for

Rural Metro Rural Metro Fire, founded in 1948, is an American private fire department that provides fire protection and emergency medical services to individual homeowners and commercial businesses in unincorporated locations throughout the United States, pr ...

Ambulance for more than 20 years, starting as an emergency medical technician and becoming Rural/Metro's paramedic field supervisor. In 1987, he became the market general manager, a position he held until his appointment as lieutenant governor. In 1994, Sheehy was elected to the

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

. He served on the council for six years, for four of which (1996–2000), as president. He then served as Mayor of Hastings for four years. In 2003, he became a Republican.

Lieutenant governorship

In 2005, Governor

Mike Johanns Michael Owen Johanns ( ; born June 18, 1950) is an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Nebraska from 2009 to 2015. He served as the 38th governor of Nebraska from 1999 until 2005, and was chair of the Mi ...

resigned to serve as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture under President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

. Lieutenant Governor

ascended to the governorship, and then appointed Sheehy to succeed him as lieutenant governor. Soon afterward, Heineman named Sheehy as his running mate in his bid for a full term in 2006. The Heineman-Sheehy ticket was handily elected in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and was reelected in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. Sheehy is past Chairman of the

National Lieutenant Governors Association The National Lieutenant Governors Association (NLGA) is the non-profit, nonpartisan professional association for elected or appointed officials who are first in line of succession to the governors in the 50 U.S. states and the five organized ter ...

; he completed his term in July, 2012. He continued his work with the Association by serving on the executive committee. He also served on the Homeland Security Advisors Council for the

National Governors Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American Politics of the United States, political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 U.S. state, states, Territories of the United States, territories ...

. As lieutenant governor, Sheehy was Director of Nebraska's Homeland Security Department. He is a past board member of the Nebraska Rural Health Association, as well as a FEMA Disaster Response Team member. He was awarded the "Distinguished Service to the States" award by the

Council of State Governments The Council of State Governments (CSG) is a nonpartisan, non-profit organization in the United States that serves all three branches of state government. Founded in 1933 by Colorado state senator Henry W. Toll, CSG is a region-based forum t ...

for his efforts as an advocate for Nebraska, and his work on computerized health records and emergency preparedness.

Resignation

The ''

Omaha World-Herald The ''Omaha World-Herald'' is a daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, the primary newspaper of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. It was locally owned from its founding in 1885 until 2020, when it was sold to the newspaper ...

'' reported that Sheehy, who was then married, had been using his state-issued cell phone for years to make 2,000 late-night telephone calls to four different women. On February 2, 2013, Sheehy issued a two-sentence resignation letter. Later that day, Governor

held a press conference at the state capitol building to announce that he had accepted Sheehy's resignation. At the press conference, Heineman said, "We take our public trust very seriously. I had trusted him, and that trust was broken." Heineman's office subsequently released cell phone records corroborating the ''World-Herald''s reporting. The records showed Sheehy had been making calls to women other than his wife for at least four years. He was replaced by

Lavon Heidemann Lavon Lynn Heidemann (born October 24, 1958) is an American politician and farmer who served as the 39th lieutenant governor of Nebraska from February 13, 2013 to September 9, 2014 under Governor Dave Heineman. He is a member of the Republican P ...

Personal life

Sheehy married Connie Sheehy in 1983. The couple had two children before divorcing in 2012.Hammel, Paul.
"Nebraska Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy's wife files for divorce".''Omaha World-Herald''.
2012-07-20. Retrieved 2013-02-03.

References

External links