LINCOLN- During a town hall this week, State Sen. Tony Vargas voices his disappointment on the amount of time during the 2023 legislative session spent on "fighting on defense." The South Omaha lawmaker said that measures aimed at transgender youths and abortion restrictions, for example, consumed time and also led to a kind of division among colleagues that he hadn’t witnessed before.

With all the bad still came good said Vargas. Among them was passage of legislation he pushed to help new mothers, food truck entrepreneurs and future economic development projects in South and North Omaha. And despite gubernatorial vetoes on such efforts as the Vargas-backed middle-income housing funds, he said he expects redemption next year — in his eighth and last session before he’s term-limited out of the Legislature.

Vargas said he hopes fellow lawmakers will take more time to recognize the consequences of passing certain laws. When asked whether he plans another run for Congress, Vargas said he had no comment. Most certainly, Vargas said, he will continue in the next legislative session to push for funding that helps create housing that’s financially accessible to the state’s workforce.

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