Results vs. change: First Stothert-Ewing debate focuses on three-term mayor

OMAHA — Douglas County Treasurer John Ewing spent Omaha’s first general election debate Thursday framing his pitch for voters to retire three-term Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert and hire him.

His core argument: Omaha and its dynamic business community and neighborhoods are growing in spite of stale city leadership but would grow faster under his collaborative approach.

“I will get things done for the people of this community … and if you like what I’ve done as Douglas County Treasurer, you’re going to love what I’m going to do as your next mayor,” he said.

Stothert, seeking a modern-record fourth term, spent most of the Omaha Press Club and League of Women Voters debate touting the city’s performance in her nearly dozen years as mayor. The debate was moderated by WOWT anchor Brian Mastre.

Parks and urban core

She said the city, with help from private donors and developers, is purposefully rebuilding the urban core’s parks and public spaces to make the city more interesting and appealing.

“We need steady leadership,” she said. “We need initiative. We need commitment to continue this great momentum. We have to build a stronger city for tomorrow.”

Both candidates agreed that Omaha has grown as a destination for young professionals but disagreed over whether City Hall has been a help or a hindrance in that progress.

Ewing said the local private donors and developers he speaks with say they are working around a lack of trust with the city to build and maintain new parks and event facilities.

“We have that new park for a reason, and that is because the city neglected the former Gene Leahy Mall and did not take care of that facility properly,” Ewing said.

Stothert disagreed, saying no donors would invest millions of dollars in downtown Omaha without trusting the leadership of the city. She said business leaders like the track the city is on.

“What my opponent just said is absolutely false,” Stothert said. “It’s not a lack of trust that the private sector and the philanthropists would put in $400 million for a park.”

Public safety and streetcar

Ewing, a former deputy chief at the Omaha Police Department, said his former co-workers were performing well despite being short more than 100 people. He said he would help them recruit.

“I have the skill set to help them be able to recruit police officers and get to full staffing so that they can really focus on community policing and building relationships,” he said.

Stothert said Ewing and critics of the pace of police hiring don’t understand the negative impact that protests after George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis had on interest in police careers.

She dismissed Ewing’s criticism of the city’s public safety approach, pointing to crime stats she said show improvement. She credited police for working with community leaders.

“We will always be 5% higher [in pay] than any law enforcement agency in the state of Nebraska, and I feel like that will stop this cycle of everybody trying to catch up,” she said.

The two candidates largely agreed on the best path forward for the streetcar, saying they would like to eventually see plans that expand the route north and south to more of the city.

Ewing took a jab at Stothert for not letting the people vote on the project but has said the project is too far along to stop. He said Omaha needed to maximize development along the route.

“We have to ensure that it’s going to be the best possible use of our resources in this community as possible,” he said.

Stothert defended not going to a vote because the project did not raise taxes on Omaha residents and instead relies on a state-created incentive known as tax-increment financing.

She said it would spur more than $4 billion in private investment along the route from midtown Omaha’s University of Nebraska Medical Center to Mutual of Omaha’s downtown campus.

“It is a catalyst for economic development,” she said.

Traffic cameras, immigration and DEI

Both candidates also agreed on the positive impact of diversity and immigration on Omaha. Stothert and Ewing defended the city having a diversity, equity and inclusion officer.

One brief but interesting disagreement: traffic cameras. Ewing said he supported them for traffic infraction enforcement, while Stothert questioned their reliability and effectiveness.

Stothert won the five-way April primary with 27,245 votes. Ewing finished second with 24,605. The remaining candidates, including former State Sen. Mike McDonnell, earned 23,358 votes.

She said she would continue to focus her message on the priorities she said the people have prioritized: public safety, lower taxes and economic development.

“We work really, really hard, and we don’t take anything for granted,” she said, adding that she earned a higher percentage of the primary vote than she had in her first race.

Ewing said he saw something different in the numbers from April: voter fatigue with the mayor. Repeating his stump speech, he said the people of Omaha are ready for a change.

“What I learned from the primary is that 65% of the voters wanted a new mayor,” Ewing said. He later added: “The most important thing an elected leader can do is be responsive.”

Said Stothert: “Cities never stand still. They are either moving forward and growing or they are declining and falling behind. I want to keep Omaha moving forward.”