The mayoral election is only 16 days away, and both candidates, incumbent Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert and Douglas County Treasurer John Ewing Jr., are campaigning across the city. On Saturday, both made campaign stops in South Omaha.
Mayor Stothert met with neighbors in the South Omaha business district to discuss her vision for the city’s future.
“My number one responsibility is keeping you all safe— the second one is managing the budget keep taxes as low as we can afford to live here as economic development and jobs, we want to make sure we have enough high paying good jobs all over Omaha and the last one is improving the tax paper experience,” according to Stothert.
She also highlighted her 12-year leadership experience.
“I think you all know when I say something I mean it I am never I never lie to you, I never say things that we do not mean and I think that is so important to continue on with the leadership that we have now that you know when you can trust,” responded Stothert.
Just an hour and a half later, John Ewing Jr. addressed a nearby audience, focusing on economic development, jobs, public transportation, and affordable housing, particularly in North and South Omaha.
“We have far too many people that are living in substandard places like city view, former legacy crossings, OHA and places like that— that are not fit for human habitation we can do better than that,” according to Ewing.
Ewing also promised to address a major community concern, potholes.
During her State of the City address, the Mayor stated that by the end of 2025, the city could have completed approximately 1,000 miles of road resurfacing, brick street replacement, and concrete replacement.
“It was literally like riding a roller coaster, going up and down dips trying to swerve to avoid the potholes so it is an issue throughout this entire community that we have to fix—that is just a basic quality of life condition,” Ewing recalled.
Both candidates concluded their visits to South Omaha with a mayoral forum at the Goodwill Training Center. Early voting begins on April 28th. The deadline to vote early in person is May 12th. Election day is May 13th.