John Stinner
John Stinner | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 11, 1951 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Politician, banker |
| Years active | 1988–present (banking), 2014–present (politics) |
| Known for | Member of the Nebraska Legislature from District 48 |
John Stinner (born October 11, 1951) is a politician from the United States, representing Nebraska. In 2014, he won election to the Nebraska Legislature for District 48, which encompasses Scotts Bluff County. Stinner is affiliated with the Republican Party.
Early life and career
Born on October 11, 1951, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Stinner completed his secondary education at Montour High School in 1969. He then accepted an athletic scholarship to play football at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where he contributed to national championship victories in 1970 and 1971. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration in 1973, followed by a Master of Arts in economics in 1976.
Following his studies, Stinner began his professional career in Lincoln as a CPA at Peat Marwick Mitchell. He subsequently held positions as senior lender and chief internal auditor at First Commerce Bancshares. In 1988, alongside other investors, he co-founded Gering State Bank located in the western Nebraska city of Gering. The institution was rebranded as Valley Bank and Trust Co. in 1997 and later expanded into Colorado in 2011 under the name Western States Bank. By 2016, the bank maintained eight branches across six communities in western Nebraska—Gering, Scottsbluff, Bayard, Ogallala, Grant, and Wauneta—in addition to three branches situated in Fort Collins and Loveland, Colorado.
Stinner dedicated ten years to serving on the Gering School Board between 2001 and 2004 and from 2007 onward, including five years as board president.
In 2013, he was appointed chairman of the Nebraska Bankers Association (NBA), an organization that offers education, financial services, advocacy, and industry support to nearly all commercial banks and savings institutions throughout Nebraska. From 2011 to 2015, the NBA invested $740,000 in lobbying activities, ranking fifth among state organizations in lobbying expenditures.
2014 election
At the beginning of 2014, Stinner declared his candidacy for the Nebraska legislature representing District 48, which includes Scotts Bluff County along with the cities of Gering and Scottsbluff. The seat was open due to incumbent John Harms being term-limited.
Despite the officially nonpartisan nature of the race, Stinner ran as a Republican against Mike Meister—a Democrat from Scottsbluff who is an attorney and Army veteran with previous unsuccessful campaigns for Nebraska Attorney General and Governor. Both contenders concurred on the importance of reforming the state's tax code and endorsed infrastructure enhancements such as completing the Heartland Expressway—a proposed multilane highway traversing the Panhandle region. Meister supported Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act; Stinner favored alternative health service models. Regarding minimum wage policy, Meister advocated for an increase while Stinner remained undecided, citing inconclusive data.
In the primary election, Stinner garnered 75.2% of votes compared to Meister’s 24.8%, allowing both to advance to the general election where Stinner prevailed with 70.2% of the vote.
Personal life
Stinner entered into marriage in 1972; together with his spouse Rita, they are parents to two children.