- The campaign of incumbent Mayor Jean Stothert criticizes Crystal Rhoades for alleged ties to opponent John Ewing.
- Spencer Head expresses concern about Ewing’s financial management, citing previous misappropriation to schools.
- Ewing and Stothert respond by emphasizing accountability and corrective actions.
We are a week away from the Omaha mayoral election, and tensions are high. Mayor Stothert’s campaign criticizes opponent John Ewing for his connection to county clerk Crystal Rhodes and raises concerns about financial mismanagement.
On Monday, incumbent Mayor Jean Stothert’s campaign criticized Douglas County Clerk of the District Court Crystal Rhoades for allegedly supporting John Ewing after she spoke against a street racing ordinance at a city council meeting on April 22.
“What we need here is additional enforcement to make sure our police force is staffed,” Rhoades told the crowd.
Stothert’s campaign claimed Rhodes works for Ewing and cited his “campaign rhetoric.” Rhodes denies this, claiming to have spoken as the county clerk. She is not employed by the Ewing campaign, but her husband, Ben, is the campaign manager.
Spencer Head, a county employee and sheriff’s office communications coordinator, held a press conference on Tuesday to criticize Ewing’s performance as treasurer.
In 2022, it was discovered that the county overpaid Omaha Public Schools while underpaying Elkhorn, Ralston, Millard, and Westside school districts by millions of dollars.
“John digs his heels in and says, ‘Well, we know we did not pay it correctly, but that is not my problem. “You guys can figure it out,” Head stated.
Head stated that he took Tuesday off and spoke as a private citizen. The misappropriation had been going on since 1968, long before Ewing became treasurer.
KMTV contacted John Ewing, who informed me that his office had corrected the “longstanding” error.
“When the Treasurer’s Office discovered the error, it acted quickly and responsibly, involving all relevant stakeholders, including OPPD, the affected school districts, and the City of Omaha.” “After collaborative discussions, a consensus was reached on how to properly address and correct the issue,” Ewing said in a statement.
Mayor Jean Stothert also weighed in on the subject.
“When something like that occurs, the director or leader of the department must accept full responsibility and state, ‘A mistake was made. I will accept responsibility and make the necessary corrections. “I am not going to point fingers and blame anyone else,” said Mayor Stothert.
Ewing also informed me that the Treasurer’s Office has put in place safeguards to prevent similar problems from occurring again.