LINCOLN, Neb. ( Nebraska Examiner ) - A new vacancy on the three-member Nebraska Liquor Control Commission came at the request of Gov. Jim Pillen, which the former commissioner in that seat said happened because the governor wanted more “cannabis experience” on the regulatory board.

Former Commissioner Harry Hoch Jr., speaking with the Nebraska Examiner, confirmed this week that he was told he would not be reappointed to another six-year term to the Liquor Control Commission after his term expired May 24. Hoch said he had put in a request to be reappointed but withdrew it after talking with Dave Lopez, Pillen’s chief of staff, so his last day was May 24.

Hoch said the “nice” conversation with Lopez “basically boiled down to [that] I wasn’t going to be reappointed, because the governor

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