Pillen appoints two commissioners to Liquor Control, Medical Cannabis Commissions

LINCOLN — Gov. Jim Pillen announced two appointments Monday to the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission. The appointees will also serve on the Medical Cannabis Commission.

Pillen announced his appointment of Robert “Bud” Synhorst of Lincoln and James Elworth of Nebraska City as the newest members of the regulatory boards. The duo succeeds Bruce Bailey of Lincoln and Kim Lowe of Kearney, respectively, who resigned Sept. 29 at Pillen’s request.

Bailey and Lowe resigned following a federal indictment against the former executive director of the Liquor Control Commission they had worked with. Neither commissioner was implicated in the indictment alleging public corruption. The former director has pleaded not guilty.

Synhorst and Elworth will join retired District Judge J. Michael Coffey on the Liquor Control Commission, who joined the commission this summer. Coffey is a registered Democrat; the others are registered Republicans. 

Bailey, Lowe and a third commissioner not reappointed in May together brought decades of liquor industry experience to the regulatory board.

All three new appointments are subject to confirmation votes in the Nebraska Legislature in 2026 for staggered terms — Elworth to May 2027, Synhorst to May 2029 and Coffey to May 2031.

Pillen’s office immediately began accepting applications for the 1st and 3rd Congressional District seats after the resignations of Bailey and Lowe. Nearly 30 people had applied by an Oct. 17 deadline, according to a public records request.

Among other notable applicants were Craig Hubbard of Hastings, a member of his city’s planning and zoning commission; Mary Christensen of Lincoln, a palliative care nurse; Lanette Richards of Scottsbluff, executive director of Monument Prevention, which advocates for alcohol and marijuana prevention; Habib Olomi, a member of the Nebraska Board of Parole; James Smith, a former assistant attorney general for 30 years; Daniel Shukis, a retired deputy sheriff in Sarpy County; and Tom Safranek of Licoln, Nebraska’s former state epidemiologist for 31 years.

Newest state regulators

Synhorst is the owner of RobNik Strategies, a government affairs consulting firm. He is a former president and CEO of the Lincoln Independent Business Association and served on the State Board of Health between 2020 and 2024 at the appointment of former Gov. Pete Ricketts. Synhorst previously served as executive director of the Nebraska Republican Party and of the Alpaca Owners Association, which supports Alpaca breeders, fiber producers and exhibitors.

Synhorst’s experience in the liquor industry, if any, wasn’t immediately clear from his application.

As references, Synhorst listed State Sen. Carolyn Bosn of Lincoln, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers and Maureen Larsen, director of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development and former general counsel for Pillen.

Elworth retired in 2020 after 21 years with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, where he investigated, interpreted and enforced rule violations. He served as a former state assistant attorney general in the Drug and Violent Crime Unit between 1990 and 1997 and was a deputy county attorney in Lancaster County (1986-1990) and Dodge County (1983-1986).

Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission

Neither Synhorst nor Elworth mentioned medical cannabis in their applications, a medicine they will oversee regulations for with Coffey and two other at-large commissioners.

The Medical Cannabis Commission faces multiple legal threats, including an effort that will go before the Nebraska Supreme Court on Dec. 3 on whether the voter-led petitions were properly on the 2024 ballot. The opposition is led by former State Sen. John Kuehn of Heartwell, a former member of the State Board of Health, and the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office. 

Lancaster County District Judge Susan Strong rejected arguments alleging petition fraud last year. Earlier this year, she dismissed a second Kuehn-led case trying to challenge the laws’ constitutionality, which is also being appealed to the Nebraska Supreme Court.

The Nebraska AG’s Office has threatened to separately challenge the Medical Cannabis Commission’s constitutionality. That lawsuit hasn’t yet materialized.

The Medical Cannabis Commission is finalizing rules and regulations for licensed registered cannabis establishments. Commissioners will soon consider licensing transporters, product manufacturers and dispensaries. The commission issued two cultivator licenses in October.

The Liquor Control Commission and Medical Cannabis Commission are both scheduled to meet next the first week of December, the same week as Supreme Court oral arguments in the alleged petition fraud case.