By JOSHUA EICKMEIER
Alumni News staff
When he was a broadcasting major at NU, Mark Quandahl saw himself sitting behind an anchor’s desk on television, not behind a state senator’s desk in the state capitol.
Quandahl of Omaha, in his first term in the Nebraska Unicameral, said his broadcasting degree was supposed to help him become the next Dan Rather, but he said the skills he learned would also be useful in his job as a state senator.
Quandahl was appointed to fill Omaha’s District 31 legislative seat by then-Gov. Ben Nelson on Jan. 5. Kate Witek, former senator from the district, resigned after she was elected state auditor last November.
Gov. Mike Johanns and former Gov. Nelson cooperated to appoint Quandahl to fill the vacancy. Johanns said Quandahl cared deeply about the state and was impressive during his candidate interview.
Quandahl has a strong commitment to the state and is a hard worker, Johanns said.
Quandahl, who earned his broadcasting degree in 1984, said his broadcasting classes helped him be more comfortable with the media.
“I know that some people get very uptight about interviews,” Quandahl said.
Quandahl said his experience behind the camera as a broadcasting student helped to familiarize him with the interviewing process. Journalism classes also taught him to organize his thoughts and communicate more effectively when speaking in public Quandahl said.
Quandahl will finish the remaining two years of Witek’s term and is in the process of organizing a campaign committee in hopes of returning to the Legislature via election in the year 2000.
Quandahl said he thought long and hard about the effect his decision to join the Legislature would have on his wife and three children.
“I made a commitment to my family that I would do everything that I could to make sure being a state senator wouldn’t take away from my time with them,” Quandahl said.
He commutes from Omaha to the capitol every day during the work week. He also tries to make time to work in his law office on the weekends.
Kurt Brumbagh, Quandahl’s law partner, said he wasn’t surprised Quandahl applied for the vacated seat. After all, Quandahl had double-majored in political science and broadcasting at NU.
“I knew that he had an interest in public service,” Brumbagh said.
Brumbagh said Quandahl had a deep commitment to the public interest and was concerned about lowering taxes and decreasing government.
Quandahl’s appointment to the Legislature will put him in a position to make changes, Brumbagh said.
“It’s always easier to influence events on the inside than on the outside,” Brumbagh said.
Once this term is up, Quandahl said he didn’t know what his political future held and pointed to his unexpected seat in the Legislature as evidence of how uncertain life is.
“Two months ago I was sitting in my law office in Omaha, and if you would have asked me then, I would have told you I had no political aspirations,” Quandahl said in February. “Now I’m a state senator.