South Omaha District 5 Legislative race offers gamut of political and life experiences

OMAHA  — A trio of contenders hoping to win the South Omaha District 5 race in the Nebraska Legislature represents a range of political and life experiences.

Only one has held an elective office; she’s currently on the Omaha School Board. Another is a relative newcomer to politics, while the third is hoping that his fifth run for public office is a charm.

They reflect a gamut of generations: One candidate is in her 60s, one is in his 50s and the other is in his 30s.

The three are Margo Juarez, Gilbert Ayala and Flint Harkness — and they’re vying for the seat filled for the past eight years by Mike McDonnell, who is term-limited.

Two will advance

Ayala is Republican and Juarez and Harkness are Democrats, though the legislative race is officially nonpartisan, and the two with the most votes in the May 14 primary, no matter their party affiliation, will move on to the general election.

Despite the Legislature’s nonpartisan nature, politics were especially spotlighted in this district this year as lifelong Democrat McDonnell flipped to Republican. His April switch followed a censure by Democrats on the state party’s leading committee because McDonnell enabled passage of a stricter abortion ban and limits on gender-affirming care for minors.

The Nebraska Examiner asked the candidates issues-oriented questions. Their responses are below.

The three also spoke in interviews about why they are running.

Juarez

Juarez, 66, is  the current public office-holder, having been appointed to the Omaha School Board in 2021 and elected in 2022.

Born and raised in South Omaha, Juarez followed her then-husband’s career trajectory that moved the family to Utah, Colorado and Oregon. She returned in 2014 and lives with her 100-year-old mom. Her two adult children also are in Omaha.

Retired from her own federal government career, Juarez’s past positions include auditing pension plans for the Internal Revenue Service and processing claims for a Social Security Administration need-based disability and retirement program.

Juarez still works a few mornings a week at a city recreation center. Interactions with work clients, OPS students and elderly care programs inspired her run for the Legislature, she said, as she wants to be a voice for her district and its underrepresented populations. 

That includes, she said, property owners, renters, families living in government-subsidized housing, trans youth and racial and ethnic minorities.

Of the Legislature’s recent allocation of state dollars for K-12 private education, Juarez said, that “irks me.” She added, “Private schools don’t accept everyone, bottom line.”

Juarez favors more focus on mass transportation options, suggesting a commuter train between Omaha and Lincoln. She said she used public transportation to get from city to city in Utah for work and believes many in Omaha and Lincoln would use such a train for professional reasons as well as concerts and entertainment.

She sees it as a driver of economic development. 

“I don’t understand why we are so far behind,” said Juarez.

Ayala

Ayala, 54, said his determination — along with door-knocking and sign-posting — has ratcheted up on his latest and fifth shot at a public office.

“I think I’m underestimated because I lost four times, but I learned,” he said.

Ayala said he is running as a conservative, a “pro-life” supporter of Second Amendment gun rights, a Donald Trump fan and a believer in small government.

“I don’t think government fixes too many things,” he said. “Most problems are in the mirror.” 

When it comes to property taxes, he proposes freezing all rates for two years and raising them by 1% annually for the next four years. “This would slow down the growth of government and force elected officials to really look at cutting non-essentials.”

After that six-year experiment, Ayala said, a “new Nebraska Legislature elected by the people could then decide what to do.”

Ayala chose to move his family to Omaha from El Paso, Texas, 12 years ago when they were “looking for a change.” 

He said he analyzed different places and pinpointed Husker land in part for its low unemployment rate. He said he bought a South Omaha house with cash, which he still lives in with his twin 19-year-old boys and second wife.

Ayala said his first wife died after complications from COVID-19.

His sons were homeschooled, he said. He believes opponents of recent Nebraska legislation that devoted public dollars for private education are blowing the matter out of proportion.

“It’s only $10 million,” Ayala said. “They’re trying to make a big stink out of it.”

Ayala said he saved enough in various jobs, including car sales and restaurant management, to be mostly retired. He said he still works part-time at a Hardee’s restaurant to help pay taxes.

Harkness

Harkness, 35, said his interest in the Legislature as well as a previous bid for Omaha School Board are rooted in his work as a teacher of special education students.

Currently with Bellevue Public Schools, Harkness believes he can bring the Legislature a perspective from someone in touch with students and fresh out of a pandemic that changed how schools function. 

He said he’s been alarmed by “culture wars” playing out in the Legislature and believes he’d bring to the debate a calm voice with real-time examples.

“You don’t really have that perspective there of somebody who’s actually in a classroom,” Harkness said, differentiating himself from legislators who are retired or former teachers.

He referred to pivotal votes by McDonnell, including the lawmaker’s support to restrict gender-affirming health care for trans youth, and said he would have voted differently. 

Harkness said he believes that legislation and other certain high-profile acts of the Legislature have been divisive and will drive away young talent. Fixing property tax burdens will require attracting workers to build a broader tax base, he said.

“You can’t lower taxes if you don’t have more people in the state to help chip in,” Harkness said.

Asked about priorities, Harkness said that as a lawmaker he would work to ensure that public schools are funded and staffed “properly” and that the state is not shifting money to private schools.

Born in Humboldt, Nebraska, Harkness said he spent his youth in various cities including Winnebago and Plattsmouth. He met his wife, Shylo, an Omaha native, while teaching kids with behavioral challenges at Alpha School, which serves as an “alternative” program for many Omaha metro school districts. 

The couple have a son, William.

In their own words: 

Q: How would you want the State of Nebraska to address property taxes, if at all, and how would you pay for your approach?

Ayala:

I am not a big fan of property taxes. I would freeze property valuations to where they are at right now, for two years. I would also freeze all property tax rates for two years.  After the two years, I would put in a law that property tax bills would increase by only 1% per year. This 1% increase would be in place for four years. I believe this would slow down the growth of government and force elected officials to really look at cutting non-essentials in their budget.

Harkness:

Like many in Nebraska, my family has seen an increase in the cost of housing, a good portion of which is due to the increase in our property taxes. To address this issue, for real, the state needs to 1) Pay for the things it mandates for our schools and local communities 2) We need to look at how we evaluate the value of our houses 3) We need to increase housing to help stabilize the housing market. 

Juarez:

Property taxes should be reduced. I think at age 90, any homeowner should not have to pay property taxes any longer. The revamped homestead exemption did not help me. Why can’t retirees gradually have reduced property taxes? Of course, the higher income households should continue to pay. The future casino income should offset the reduction of property taxes. In addition, other revenue losses should be addressed. For example, employers who pay cash to temporary employees or employers who don’t pay employees at all such as immigrants.

Q: What spending would you prioritize in the Legislature and why? What spending do you think the state could cut and why?

Ayala:

I’m a believer in smaller government. I would impose a 1% cut on all government budgets —  50% of all leftover monies would be given back to the people equally per adult person. The other 50% would go to the rainy day fund. The check would go to each person so they could get some of their taxes given back to them directly. I would enact this for four years only, then see if the voters like the way things are run and they can elect their representatives accordingly to continue or make changes.

Harkness:

Investing in education is one of the most important things a state can spend its money on. We need to continue to shift more of the cost of educating our children to the state instead of local communities. We also need to invest in health care and mental health care. Citizens cannot be productive members of society if they are not physically and mentally healthy. Finally, I think we need to invest in infrastructure. We need to work to help local communities fund improvements to roads. Infrastructure should also include housing, energy production and technology improvements. 

Juarez:

I would like the state to evaluate mass transportation options. A study to evaluate a commuter train from Omaha to Lincoln. Add a commuter train to the airport if the land is available. What about a commuter train to the area of town in Omaha where employees are used the most? Would such a train run from downtown to out west? What about one from South Omaha to North Omaha? I think there are many benefits of mass transportation: environmental, enhanced safety, reduced insurance costs for car owners, and helping those who can’t even afford a car.

I am not in favor of building more prisons. I would rather evaluate who could be released when prisons are overcrowded. Also, the state needs to update the technology at the Capitol so citizens can participate via zoom or similar technology.

Q: What would you like to see the state do to encourage economic development, growth, workforce development and housing?

Ayala:

Economic development really requires government to get out of the way. We need to create more private sector workers and cut the number of government workers. An employer will only hire someone if he thinks that he will make more money by hiring the person. When the government hires someone, the people are being taxed to keep that person on the payroll. The private sector is much more efficient and open to making improvements.

Housing can only be fixed by the private sector. Housing costs have gone up because government has limited the amount of new housing construction through unneeded regulations.

Harkness:

Again, I have to bring up investing in education. An educated and well-trained workforce can adapt and thrive in any economic environment. We need to encourage the building of affordable housing so that people can afford to live where they work. 

Juarez:

What products could we provide to our bordering countries that we are not exporting right now? Are there product needs we could meet for other countries abroad? I think this review would encourage more economic development. 

I support immigration to meet our workforce needs. I would like to evaluate letting DACA students serve in law enforcement. How can we help smaller towns attract new employment and build the necessary housing? I wish we had more assisted living facilities to meet the needs of our elders. Would the developmentally disabled adults be better served living in their own housing community?

Q: What policies would you prioritize at the state level in K-12 and higher education, and why would you emphasize them?

Ayala:

Voters are very disappointed in the schools. The voters know that the schools are not doing a good job. Parents need to make sure their kids go to school to learn. Unfortunately many parents don’t do what it takes to make sure their children focus on learning at school. We need to move our schools from government run organizations and towards business run schools. Let the free enterprise sector manage the schools with public funding. 

Harkness:

Simply put, we need to continue to make funding schools at the state level a priority. This funding should be for K-12 and beyond. We also need to stop pushing laws to micromanage schools over culture war issues. I trust locally elected school boards, administration, teachers and parents to make decisions at the local level. Finally, we need to do more to relieve the struggles of poverty. I am a big believer in Maslow before Bloom. This means until children are having their basic needs met, have safe homes and feel supported by the adults in their lives we can not expect them to thrive in school. 

Juarez:

I want to see greater academic outcomes for all students in the state who are not achieving at their grade level. What changes do we need to make in education to meet their needs? What do we need to do to retain our teachers, veterans and new hires? Why are we not evaluating the academic outcomes of private schools? 

Q: What issues are you hearing from voters in your district that need to be addressed? 

Ayala:

People feel that the government is not competent to do anything correctly and efficiently.  They all talk about corruption. They trust the military, but that’s about it. That’s what I hear from people when I knock on their doors. They are hostile to politicians and don’t trust them. People left and right are not trusting of their government.

Harkness:

Living in Nebraska it is impossible to not hear a voter bring up property taxes. Schools, roads, and the overall cost of day-to-day life are all regular topics. One area that hasn’t been brought up yet in your questions but voters tend to bring up, is a general frustration over how our government is not listening to them. This is something I hope to fix.

Juarez:

They have been all over: property taxes, books available in our public schools that are not appropriate, imposing policy on families with trans children that are unreasonable and unnecessary; protecting our water resources in the state, employers who do not pay immigrant employees for their work, employers who pay cash and avoid paying employment taxes, DACA students not being allowed to serve in law enforcement.