2025 Omaha Mayoral election

[nebport5]

Apparently Jean will be running for another term as mayor. Not really surprising.

[Garrett]

I'd say it's mildly surprising after all of the stuff she went through early in this term, but good for her. As I said before, even as a pretty firm progressive, I'd vote for her if I lived in Omaha.

[Athomsfere]

I guess we get another bout with Stothert in a bit.

https://omaha.com/news/local/government ... 95936.html

I'm still disappointed Neary didn't really run. I hope we can get someone with a little more vision and true commitment to multimodal transit.

[Garrett]

Also this will be the 2025 Mayoral election, not 2024.

[Coyote]

LIVE: Omaha mayor election announcement

https://www.youtube.com/live/oYy4dqEg3a ... hRKfueuA4u

Mayor Jean Stothert is making an announcement Tuesday morning about her re-election status.

[Athomsfere]

Yep.

I wish we did it in the "on" year. Maybe more people would show up.

[NEDodger]

Best mayor in Omaha’s history, and it’s probably not close. Keep it going!

[almighty_tuna]

She will be tough to beat this cycle. There are a lot of projects in progress along with GLM/HOA that are complete to tout. Any challenger, regardless of party, would need to show up with some pretty significant clout and vision to have a chance. Plenty of room to improve in areas, but I can't hate on how far things have come in the last few years - there's a lot of positive momentum.

[Athomsfere]

She will be tough to beat this cycle. There are a lot of projects in progress along with GLM/HOA that are complete to tout. Any challenger, regardless of party, would need to show up with some pretty significant clout and vision to have a chance. Plenty of room to improve in areas, but I can't hate on how far things have come in the last few years - there's a lot of positive momentum.

My only real gripe is everything seems to be happening in spite of her, not because of her. And I think we could do much better.

I mean 30 years of rail studies, and we do it only because we can do it for free. Where is that burden for our endless sprawl?

Pushing back against the bike lane. Not even lanes. The one decent lane...

Sure it could be worse too. The next person (if she were defeated) could try to roll some of this back. Like the streetcar, or be a 15 minute city conspiracy theorist or a hard Pillen/ Ricketts shill.

I certainly don't envy her though. It's a largely thankless job that will always have critics regardless of anything you might do.

[NEDodger]

She will be tough to beat this cycle. There are a lot of projects in progress along with GLM/HOA that are complete to tout. Any challenger, regardless of party, would need to show up with some pretty significant clout and vision to have a chance. Plenty of room to improve in areas, but I can't hate on how far things have come in the last few years - there's a lot of positive momentum.

My only real gripe is everything seems to be happening in spite of her, not because of her.

And this is based on….what, exactly?

The RiverFront
The Kiewit Luminarium
A new Central Library
An expansion of Joslyn
The ORBT system
The streetcar
Mutual Tower
A new soccer stadium/riverfront development

If all of this was just so easy to have happen and didn’t require her involvement, why isn’t this as prevalent in other cities? Were the Buffets, Stinson, Scotts, Moegans Bay and all the rest just….not as rich during the Fahey/Suttle administrations?

[Louie]

Omg, the 15 minute conspiracy theorists are insane.

[Busguy2010]

Best mayor in Omaha’s history, and it’s probably not close. Keep it going!

Oh wow, I thought she had once stated this current term would be her final run. Well I'm glad she'll run again, with the hot streak she's been on, I want to see that continuity. Nobody will touch her in the next election.

And I have to agree with you!

[windsor]

This is fantastic news. She has done a lot of great things during her time in office.

[Greg S]

She will be tough to beat this cycle. There are a lot of projects in progress along with GLM/HOA that are complete to tout. Any challenger, regardless of party, would need to show up with some pretty significant clout and vision to have a chance. Plenty of room to improve in areas, but I can't hate on how far things have come in the last few years - there's a lot of positive momentum.

My only real gripe is everything seems to be happening in spite of her, not because of her. And I think we could do much better.

I mean 30 years of rail studies, and we do it only because we can do it for free. Where is that burden for our endless sprawl?

Pushing back against the bike lane. Not even lanes. The one decent lane...

Sure it could be worse too. The next person (if she were defeated) could try to roll some of this back. Like the streetcar, or be a 15 minute city conspiracy theorist or a hard Pillen/ Ricketts shill.

I certainly don't envy her though. It's a largely thankless job that will always have critics regardless of anything you might do.

Can you elaborate about everything happening in spite of her? Provide insight on what leads you to believe that? I don't think that many things could possibly happen in spite of her. I know some don't like her because she's a Republican (and I am not a Republican).

[Athomsfere]

And this is based on….what, exactly?

The RiverFront
The Kiewit Luminarium
A new Central Library
An expansion of Joslyn
The ORBT system
The streetcar
Mutual Tower
A new soccer stadium/riverfront development

If all of this was just so easy to have happen and didn’t require her involvement, why isn’t this as prevalent in other cities? Were the Buffets, Stinson, Scotts, Moegans Bay and all the rest just….not as rich during the Fahey/Suttle administrations?

From what I can see, this momentum started before Stothert's administration.

I already mentioned the streetcar system, 30 years of studies saying we should build it and hemmed and hawed her way through it. It should have been done year one, not year 7.

Chancellor Gold seemed to understand this before Stothert. The city danced around what it should have been doing sooo long. We should already be adding upgrades or looking at heavier rail (LRT, Commuter).

The ORBT missed a critical piece: Dedicated lanes. Again, we should already be adding BRT lines to North O / South O.

The Central Library location is still a massive blunder, IMO. Crossroads and the Civic site too. Maybe they should have been broken up? IDK, just not in love with most of the projects and I feel a better mayor would be further ahead rather than trying to play catchup.

And of course the bike lanes. Where are they?
This is what a good mayor can work towards, IMO:

[Athomsfere]

Can you elaborate about everything happening in spite of her? Provide insight on what leads you to believe that? I don't think that many things could possibly happen in spite of her. I know some don't like her because she's a Republican (and I am not a Republican).

She just hasn't been aggressive enough for what would truly change the city for the better.
From what I can see, the momentum started before her tenure. She was in the right place at the right time, and could have done so much more.

---EDIT---

I'm about as left as you can get, but I really don't care what her affiliation is. Just her policies, approach, and the effects.

[skinzfan23]

I try not to get into politics a lot, but there is no question that the city has been better under her. Like all things in life, mostly based on hard work but also a little luck.

One thing I will never forget about her is when she walked out during the time with the riots and wanted to explain the city's stance on things and one of the protestors spit on her during the time of covid. She definitely didn't have to do that but that is a brave leader.

I really hope that she can help the amazing amount of projects going on in Omaha currently. I have always thought Omaha was ahead of peer cities in it's offerings, and just about every project announced/completed in the past 5 years is just going to set Omaha ahead of the pack even further.

[nebugeater]

Also this will be the 2025 Mayoral election, not 2024.

Updated the main thread
Thanks

[HskrFanMike]

Can you elaborate about everything happening in spite of her? Provide insight on what leads you to believe that? I don't think that many things could possibly happen in spite of her. I know some don't like her because she's a Republican (and I am not a Republican).

She's been shown to be vindictive enough over the years that nothing happens in city government without her blessing.

That being said, she is badly losing the messaging argument on the streetcar. Badly. And when they start demolishing interstate overpasses, they are going to be incensed even further. And many of those people are also the ones that she used to defeat Jim Suttle 11 years ago.

[Athomsfere]

Can you elaborate about everything happening in spite of her? Provide insight on what leads you to believe that? I don't think that many things could possibly happen in spite of her. I know some don't like her because she's a Republican (and I am not a Republican).

She's been shown to be vindictive enough over the years that nothing happens in city government without her blessing.

That being said, she is badly losing the messaging argument on the streetcar. Badly. And when they start demolishing interstate overpasses, they are going to be incensed even further. And many of those people are also the ones that she used to defeat Jim Suttle 11 years ago.

Messaging was one I meant to call out too.

Her methodology to sell the street car has been an obviously practiced: "I promised I would not raise taxes to build the street car without a vote first ...".

That's an OK point.
But really, the benefits to a good multimodal system are so huge... She shouldn't need to sell the least important part of the plan, especially at the expense of time lost.

[Coyote]

Jean Stothert announces reelection campaign for Omaha mayor

[Coyote]

Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert running for reelection



Jean Stothert announced that she is running for reelection as Omaha's mayor in 2025.

[Coyote]

Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert announced Tuesday morning her intention to run for a fourth term.

[NEDodger]

Can you elaborate about everything happening in spite of her? Provide insight on what leads you to believe that? I don't think that many things could possibly happen in spite of her. I know some don't like her because she's a Republican (and I am not a Republican).

She's been shown to be vindictive enough over the years that nothing happens in city government without her blessing.

That being said, she is badly losing the messaging argument on the streetcar. Badly. And when they start demolishing interstate overpasses, they are going to be incensed even further. And many of those people are also the ones that she used to defeat Jim Suttle 11 years ago.

Messaging was one I meant to call out too.

Her methodology to sell the street car has been an obviously practiced: "I promised I would not raise taxes to build the street car without a vote first ...".

That's an OK point.
But really, the benefits to a good multimodal system are so huge... She shouldn't need to sell the least important part of the plan, especially at the expense of time lost.

To 99 percent of the city, that’s the major point. No one wants to see taxes raised higher. The vast majority of this city will not be riding the streetcar, and she had to address that.

[almighty_tuna]

Coyote, my brother in development, we don't need three youtube links of the same speech from Channel 7.

[Athomsfere]

To 99 percent of the city, that’s the major point. No one wants to see taxes raised higher. The vast majority of this city will not be riding the streetcar, and she had to address that.

99% of the city won't drive on 168th and Fort. So we shouldn't build infrastructure out there?

Or we only shouldn't build good infrastructure in vibrant areas?

[NEDodger]

To 99 percent of the city, that’s the major point. No one wants to see taxes raised higher. The vast majority of this city will not be riding the streetcar, and she had to address that.

99% of the city won't drive on 168th and Fort. So we shouldn't build infrastructure out there?

Or we only shouldn't build good infrastructure in vibrant areas?

A. Infrastructure at 168th and Fort isn’t costing 400 million.
B. There are other options downtown. It’s not “streetcar or zero ability to maneuver anywhere”

If you don’t understand that, I don’t know what to tell you.

The biggest opposition to the streetcar is cost and perceived uselessness. Explaining “multi modal utopia” isn’t a game plan to win that fight.

[Athomsfere]

To 99 percent of the city, that’s the major point. No one wants to see taxes raised higher. The vast majority of this city will not be riding the streetcar, and she had to address that.

99% of the city won't drive on 168th and Fort. So we shouldn't build infrastructure out there?

Or we only shouldn't build good infrastructure in vibrant areas?

A. Infrastructure at 168th and Fort isn’t costing 400 million.
B. There are other options downtown. It’s not “streetcar or zero ability to maneuver anywhere”

If you don’t understand that, I don’t know what to tell you.

The biggest opposition to the streetcar is cost and perceived uselessness. Explaining “multi modal utopia” isn’t a game plan to win that fight.

A. ROI per dollar for the streetcar is MUCH higher than 168th and Fort. Especially when you consider the loss leader that streets are compared to decent transit and their shorter service life.
B. Sure there are: LRT, another version of a tram system, BRT, bike lanes... Where are all of the other options?

Downplaying the streetcars importance isn't winning over anyone either. And I really don't care a lot if some parasite in Elkhorn doesn't understand the utility of it. Even if only 1% of the metro uses it once a week, that's 10,000 riders. We don't have anything else that small of investment, covering that little of the city in isolation that is that good of an investment.

[NEDodger]

To 99 percent of the city, that’s the major point. No one wants to see taxes raised higher. The vast majority of this city will not be riding the streetcar, and she had to address that.

99% of the city won't drive on 168th and Fort. So we shouldn't build infrastructure out there?

Or we only shouldn't build good infrastructure in vibrant areas?

A. Infrastructure at 168th and Fort isn’t costing 400 million.
B. There are other options downtown. It’s not “streetcar or zero ability to maneuver anywhere”

If you don’t understand that, I don’t know what to tell you.

The biggest opposition to the streetcar is cost and perceived uselessness. Explaining “multi modal utopia” isn’t a game plan to win that fight.

A. ROI per dollar for the streetcar is MUCH higher than 168th and Fort. Especially when you consider the loss leader that streets are compared to decent transit and their shorter service life.
B. Sure there are: LRT, another version of a tram system, BRT, bike lanes... Where are all of the other options?

Downplaying the streetcars importance isn't winning over anyone either. And I really don't care a lot if some parasite in Elkhorn doesn't understand the utility of it. Even if only 1% of the metro uses it once a week, that's 10,000 riders. We don't have anything else that small of investment, covering that little of the city in isolation that is that good of an investment.

A person is a “parasite”, huh? I’m not going to debate with someone who simply has hatred for others.

[Athomsfere]

A person is a “parasite”, huh? You wonder why people like you are laughed at and derided. What a puke.

Personal insults? Whatever. Doesn't chafe my hide.

But yes, if someone wants to siphon the health of the city to the least maintainable method of constructing a city, not pay their fair share and finally try and block actual good things: I'd call those people at best a parasite.

[NEDodger]

A person is a “parasite”, huh? You wonder why people like you are laughed at and derided. What a puke.

Personal insults? Whatever. Doesn't chafe my hide.

But yes, if someone wants to siphon the health of the city to the least maintainable method of constructing a city, not pay their fair share and finally try and block actual good things: I'd call those people at best a parasite.

Got it - hate those on welfare and disability too, amirite?

“At best a parasite”. Go say that to the face of someone who lives out there, Internet Tiger.


Edit: And for someone who wants a big empty walkway tunnel under Dodge Street to call roads a waste of money….cute.

[Athomsfere]

A person is a “parasite”, huh? You wonder why people like you are laughed at and derided. What a puke.

Personal insults? Whatever. Doesn't chafe my hide.

But yes, if someone wants to siphon the health of the city to the least maintainable method of constructing a city, not pay their fair share and finally try and block actual good things: I'd call those people at best a parasite.

Got it - hate those on welfare and disability too, amirite?

“At best a parasite”. Go say that to the face of someone who lives out there, Internet Tiger.


Edit: And for someone who wants a big empty walkway tunnel under Dodge Street to call roads a waste of money….cute.

What makes you think I haven't. I have some great friends that I will call out for.

And those on welfare is different. At least they haven't chosen it. I escaped that.

Those with disabilities are different. Again, not something they chose. And a vibrant city helps all. The parasites hurt us all.

The Subway? Its cool, and an artifact of an era. What's your point there?

[NEDodger]

Moving back to the mayoral announcement…

[Coyote]

Moving back to the mayoral announcement…

Agreed, moving on , How about this announcement…

[HskrFanMike]

Messaging was one I meant to call out too.

Her methodology to sell the street car has been an obviously practiced: "I promised I would not raise taxes to build the street car without a vote first ...".

That's an OK point.
But really, the benefits to a good multimodal system are so huge... She shouldn't need to sell the least important part of the plan, especially at the expense of time lost.

It's a weak point, because critics can point to the cost and say that the money should have been spent to lower property taxes instead. She should be pointing out how it reduces the need for parking downtown. She made the absurd point several years ago that there was "too much" parking downtown, as if parking by the old Civic was a great option for people in the Old Market. She can then point that then that allows more real estate to be developed, which is still a weak argument right now with two huge vacant lots along Capitol Ave. from proposed redevelopments that never even broke ground.

Please, Omaha Democrats: find a candidate and let Jean move to St. Louis.

[Coyote]

Omaha Mayor running for fourth term



Jean Stothert announced her plans to run for her fourth term as Omaha's Mayor in 2024.

[Brad]

Coyote, my brother in development, we don't need three youtube links of the same speech from Channel 7.

LOL!

[Greg S]

Can you elaborate about everything happening in spite of her? Provide insight on what leads you to believe that? I don't think that many things could possibly happen in spite of her. I know some don't like her because she's a Republican (and I am not a Republican).

She's been shown to be vindictive enough over the years that nothing happens in city government without her blessing.

That being said, she is badly losing the messaging argument on the streetcar. Badly. And when they start demolishing interstate overpasses, they are going to be incensed even further. And many of those people are also the ones that she used to defeat Jim Suttle 11 years ago.

Messaging alone wasn't going to change the vast majority out west that were against it.

The development downtown is unlike any we have seen in my lifetime. The two closest times would be late 70's when they built the Central Park Mall, twin towers ana library, or when Daub was mayor and we got CHI and the First National/UP Development.

Her predecessors sometimes talked about the streetcar but never came up with a plan to go forward with it. I really doubted we'd ever get one.

[djc311]

My mom is a major Republican and can't stand Stothert.

What ever happened to her "temporary restaurant tax"?

[NEDodger]

You mean the restaurant tax implemented by Jim Suttle, that had to be done because Mike Fahey screwed up pension negotiations with the police and fire unions? That restaurant tax?