John Arch (politician)

John Arch
Speaker of the Nebraska Legislature
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 4, 2023
Preceded byMike Hilgers
Member of the Nebraska Legislature
from the 14th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 9, 2019
Preceded byJim Smith
Personal details
Born (1955-10-06) October 6, 1955
Sioux City, Iowa, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseBrenda Mengel (1978–present)
Children2
EducationGrace University (BA)
Western Seminary (MA)
University of Nebraska, Omaha (MBA)

John K. Arch (born October 6, 1955) is a politician in the U.S. state of Nebraska who has served in the Nebraska Legislature from the 14th district since 2019.[1][2]

He was elected to the Legislature in 2018 to represent Nebraska's 14th legislative district.

Personal life

Arch holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in History/Philosophy from the now defunct Christian college Grace University. He then obtained a Master of Arts in Clinical/Counseling Psychology from Western Conservative Baptist Seminary (now Western Seminary) located in Portland, Oregon. His final degree was obtained from the University of Nebraska Omaha, a Master of Business Administration.

Arch started his thirty-plus year career in the healthcare industry working in marketing and business development at Saint Joseph Center for Mental Health in Omaha, Nebraska. He eventually moved on to be the Executive Vice President of Health Care and Director of the National Research Hospital and Clinics at Boys Town Medical.[3]

Arch has been married for over four decades to his wife, Brenda. They have two sons and have lived in the Omaha Metro area since the 1990s.

Arch is very active in community involvement and has served on multiple boards. Currently, he serves as a board member on several organizations such as Prairie Health Ventures and Nebraska Purchasing Group Board Member. He is also a member of Overland Hills Baptist Church and Grace Life Bible Church where he is also a board member and teacher[4][5]

Electoral history

Nebraska's 14th Legislative District Election, 2022[6][7]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican John Arch (incumbent) 3,269 57.81
Democratic Cori Villegas 1,431 25.30
Democratic Rob Plugge 955 16.89
Total votes 5,655 100.00
General election
Republican John Arch (incumbent) 7,606 62.70
Democratic Cori Villegas 4,524 37.30
Total votes 12,130 100.00
Republican hold
Nebraska's 14th Legislative District Election, 2018[8][9]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican John Arch 3,462 60.02
Democratic Jeff Parris 2,306 39.98
Total votes 5,768 100.00
General election
Republican John Arch 7,625 55.82
Democratic Jeff Parris 6,035 44.18
Total votes 13,660 100.00
Republican hold

Nebraska State Legislature

As of 2025, Arch is the speaker of the Unicameral.[10] He also serves on the Reference Committee, Rules Committee, Executive Board, Legislative Oversight Committee, the Legislature’s Planning Committee, and Statewide Tourism And Recreational Water Access and Resource Sustainability Special Committee (created by Legislative Bill 406). [11][12]

Before assuming the role of Speaker, he had served on three committees: Health and Human Services, Urban Affairs, and General Affairs, and he was elected chair of the HHS Committee for the 107th Nebraska Legislature (2021–2022). He was an at-large member of the Nebraska Economic Development Task Force and served as chairman of the Youth Rehabilitation Treatment Center Special Oversight Committee.[1]

Arch semi-regularly keeps a senator's blog during active sessions on the Nebraska Legislature website. [13] As he is currently Speaker for the Unicameral, Arch updates the Nebraska Legislature webpage for the Speaker, which generally consist of anything procedural going on in the Unicameral.[14]

Abortion Rights

Arch is pro-life and against abortion. [2][15]

Gun Rights

Arch supports the Second Amendment. [2]

Education

Arch believes in restricting sex education standards in Nebraska public education. He is also against Critical Race Theory being taught in schools. [2]Arch introduced Legislative Bill 296 (LB 296), Require the State Department of Education to create a centralized education records system and employ registrars relating to students under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court and change provisions relating to graduation requirements and the State Department of Education Improvement Grant Fund, in 2025.

The bill, which passed in the Unicameral, creates a centralized education records system that will benefit those in juvenile court and detention. This centralized system makes sure that students can continue their education from where they left off before going through juvenile court.[16][17]

Taxes

Arch supported getting rid of taxes on military retirement pay as proposed in the 2019 Legislative Bill 387. The bill did pass in the Unicameral. [2][18][19]

COVID

Per Arch’s website, he “opposed government shut-downs and COVID-19 mandates to help keep Sarpy County open for business.”[20]


References

  1. ^ a b "Nebraska Unicameral Legislature". Sen. John Arch. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Vote Arch". 2021. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  3. ^ "New leader believes a healthy legislative culture is built in two ways — members taking the time it takes to understand the issues, as well as each other" (PDF) (Interview). Interviewed by Anderson, Tim. The Council of State Governments Midwestern Office. February 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  4. ^ "Vote Arch - About". Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  5. ^ "Meet our Experts - John Arch". Parenting from Boys Town. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  6. ^ Robert B. Evnen, "Official Report of the Nebraska Board of State Canvassers: Primary Election, May 10, 2022" (PDF), Nebraska Secretary of State, p. 31
  7. ^ Robert B. Evnen, "Official Report of the Nebraska Board of State Canvassers: General Election, November 8, 2022" (PDF), Nebraska Secretary of State, p. 21
  8. ^ John A. Gale, "Official Report of the Nebraska Board of State Canvassers: Primary Election, May 15, 2018" (PDF), Nebraska Secretary of State, p. 30
  9. ^ John A. Gale, "Official Report of the Nebraska Board of State Canvassers: General Election, November 6, 2018" (PDF), Nebraska Secretary of State, p. 17
  10. ^ "Sen. John Arch elected as new Speaker of Legislature". Nebraska TV. January 4, 2023. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
  11. ^ "Nebraska Senator Landing Page - Senator John Arch". nebraskalegislature.gov.
  12. ^ "LB406 - Create the Statewide Tourism And Recreational Water Access and Resource Sustainability Special Committee of the Legislature". nebraskalegislature.gov. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
  13. ^ "Sen. John Arch - District 14 Blog". Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  14. ^ "Speaker of the Legislature". Retrieved July 5, 2025.
  15. ^ Wendling, Zach (January 16, 2023). "Near-total abortion ban, pregnancy center tax credit could be in Nebraska's future". Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  16. ^ "LB296 - Require the State Department of Education to create a centralized education records system and employ registrars relating to students under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court and change provisions relating to graduation requirements and the State Department of Education Improvement Grant Fund". Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  17. ^ "LB 296 - Nebraska Legislature Bill". Fast Democracy. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  18. ^ "LB 387 Hearing". Nebraska Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  19. ^ "NE LB387 - 106th Legislature". Retrieved July 7, 2025.
  20. ^ "Vote Arch". 2021. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.