Lincoln attorney J.L. Spray was elected chairman of the Nebraska Republican Party at a meeting of the party's governing state central committee in Kearney.

Spray, who was selected without opposition, succeeds Mark Fahleson of Lincoln, who has been party chairman since 2009.

A former Lancaster County GOP chairman, Spray has been a delegate to four Republican national conventions.

Spray has pointed to the priority need for the party to help identify and recruit candidates for a 2014 state election that will include an open governorship, an open U.S. Senate seat, all major state constitutional offices and 17 open legislative seats.

Please, mark your calendars!

Robert "Bud" Synhorst, an experienced fundraiser in Nebraska and the Midwest, has been named executive director of the Nebraska Republican Party.

"Robert's experiences with the University of Nebraska athletic department and several nonprofit organizations (gives) him the experience and contacts needed to do a tremendous job for Nebraska Republicans.

Spray said Synhorst had been active in Republican politics for many years.

Synhorst is a past executive director of the Mary Lanning Healthcare Foundation and formerly was executive director for the Metropolitan Community College foundation in Omaha as well as an athletic development officer at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Synhorst succeeds Jordan McGrain as Republican executive director.Senator Johanns Community Coffee

Osborn said that although he has enjoyed his time in the private sector since not running for re-election as state treasurer in 2010, public service will always be part of his makeup.

"You just can't sit back. This country is too important to do that," he said.

The problems facing the United States call for individuals who will put their country above their own political careers. That's why Osborn said he's more than willing to do.

"I have seen what is happening to this country that we al love so much because of the destructive ways of Washington," he said. "We are all called to do our part to turn this around and to ensure our freedoms and our way of life not only for ourselves, but for our children."

Osborn said the nation's financial crisis needs to be resolved, and one way to get back on the path toward fiscal solvency is to pass a strong balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

"We must do this right away. And we also need to have an honest conversation about what role and responsibilities our government should have on our lives, and what are our responsibilities as citizens," he said.

Osborn said he's frustrated and concerned with numerous actions and decisions by the Obama administration.

"The Obama administration is riddled with failure," he said, referring to health care reform, economic stimulus efforts, the inability to secure the nation's borders, the IRS scandal and the seizing of records of a free press.

The Republican field of candidates for U.S. Senate could be a crowded one, but Osborn said what will set him apart is performance - what he accomplished in cutting the budget in the state treasurer's office; in increasing transparency of the state government; and in helping military veterans create jobs and businesses in the private sector.

"Talk is cheap, but I've done it," he said.

Osborn became a national celebrity in 2001 when a Navy surveillance plane he was piloting over the South China Sea collided with a Chinese fighter plane. He successfully landed his crippled plane on a Chinese island, and he and his 23 crew members then spent 11 days in captivity before being released. Osborn was later awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Following the 9/11 attacks, he voluntarily extended his tour and served in Afghanistan. He left the Navy in 2005 and was elected state treasurer in 2006.

Osborn said he believes he can be effective in the Senate, if elected, despite the partisanship that often hinders action.

"In the military, you learn how to work with all kinds of different people," he said. "I'm going to be direct and honest and going to get things done."

Please, mark your calendars!