Statue of Capitol Cat in limbo as commission questions Cameron’s historical value

Plans to memorialize Cameron the Capitol Cat’s years of service in the Nebraska Legislature are in limbo after the Nebraska Capitol Environs Commission expressed doubts about his ability to withstand the test of time.

State Sen. Jana Hughes and former Sen. Anna Wishart hope to place a bronze statue, to be crafted by Ben Victor, of Cameron as close to the Nebraska Capitol building as possible.

“I think we can all remember the day we met Cameron,” Wishart told the commission on Friday.

Wishart guessed the first sightings of Cameron at the Capitol date back to 2018. He lived with his caretaker, Diana McGinnis, near the Capitol and wandered to the building almost daily. While McGinnis has since moved to an assisted-living facility due to illness, and Cameron departed with her, he continues to enjoy the same fame he garnered as the Capitol’s unofficial greeter and ambassador.

“This cat, it was like he knew that it was his job to be a presence at the capitol,” Wishart said. “He would check in for work and he would check out for work. You always knew where he was because he was always surrounded by people.”

A GoFundMe has currently collected more than $4,000 for a potential statue, which Hughes said will be paid for with private funds. The statue and its ongoing maintenance are estimated to cost around $35,000, Hughes said. Initial designs show a lifesize likeness of the actual cat sitting on a plinth, placed between Goodhue Boulevard, which is the primary road approaching the building from the south, and the employee parking lot, just across the street from the Capitol.

“This is whimsical,” Capitol Environs Commission Chair Kile Johnson said. “But it looks like it was put together in a professional manner.”

The proposal came to the commission after Hughes took up the idea in May, which ping-ponged from state office to state office as she inquired about where the statue might be placed. Capitol grounds are out, since the building and its immediate surroundings are considered a finished product. The senators still hope to place the statue within the Capitol Environs District, overseen and protected by state- and city-appointed commission members, including former Sen. David Landis.

“Just like the floor of the Legislature, we don’t all agree,” Landis told Hughes and Wishart. “I don’t agree.”

Landis said the statues included both in and around the Capitol building are placed there because of the significance of their lives and accomplishments. While many of the real people the statues commemorate and those who knew them have passed beyond living memory, Landis said they deserve to be remembered. The statues are placed on the environs to instruct the public about their lives.

“This is a well-loved cat,” Landis said. “But when the time runs out and those of you who loved this cat have passed by, what is the historical significance of the cat?”

Commission members one after the other voiced their agreement with Landis, saying that the cat cannot be seen as comparable to statues of important historical figures like Ponca tribal chief Standing Bear, who advocated for his tribe’s right to live on their own land and won against the U.S. Government.

Courtney Wittstruck, a public commenter, said Cameron’s significance was more than the love visiting fourth grade classes had for him. While intense debates were going on within the Capitol, Cameron greeted everyone, regardless of party or political view, the same, Wittstruck said.

“He became a small but meaningful symbol of the best of Nebraska: kindness, friendliness and compassion,” Wittstruck said, adding that a plaque should go with the statue to emphasize the symbolism. “It’s a reminder that we are all Nebraskans and that, at the end of the day, we have more in common than we have differences.”

Bob Ripley also spoke, having been present for the commission to award him a plaque at the Capitol. He worked to protect the historical significance of the Capitol for more than 40 years as Capitol administrator before resigning amid accusations that he took those efforts too far. Ripley agreed with commissioners that the cat would alter the “gravitas” of the environs, suggesting that a bronze likeness instead be placed in the gardens on the grounds of the governor’s mansion.

Collin Christopher, a staff planner with the city of Lincoln, said the commission's design standards outline allowances for public art, which the standards say can enliven and enrich pedestrian experiences and engage the public. He read the standards, which say the commission encourages adding public art to the environs district.

“I think it’s important to not compare this to a piece that goes in the (Nebraska) Hall of Fame, but (to) a public work of art,” Christopher said.

Commission members will review the proposal again at its meeting next month. They instructed Hughes and Wishart to consider alternative locations and develop the design so that small children can easily reach the cat itself.

Hughes and Wishart say they are open to both location and design changes, and even recommendations from the public. They hope Cameron’s supporters will attend the commission’s September meeting to support the statue going up near the Capitol. Neither was disheartened after the commission adjourned.

“We just don’t know where he is going to land,” Hughes said. “But he’ll land on his feet.”