Omaha decides between electing its first Black mayor or reelecting its first female one

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Voters in Omaha will make history Tuesday by either reelecting the city’s first female mayor to a rare fourth term or electing the community’s first Black mayor.

The race between Mayor Jean Stothert and challenger John Ewing has primarily revolved around local issues like street repairs and garbage service, but in the final stretch the campaign touched on more national, hot-button issues such as President Donald Trump’s administration and transgender rights.

The winner will lead Nebraska’s largest city, which makes up nearly a quarter of the state’s population.

In campaigning for a fourth term, Stothert has portrayed Omaha as a city on a hot streak with a revitalized riverfront, plans moving ahead on a streetcar line and progress repairing city streets.

“I have plans and can talk about them, and they are working,” Stothert told the Omaha World-Herald.

If reelected, she would have the longest tenure as mayor in more than a century.

Ewing, the county treasurer, said the mayor hasn’t focused enough attention on core issues like filling potholes, hiring more police officers and building more affordable housing.

“People just feel like she’s had her time, and it’s time for somebody new,” Ewing said.

Although the mayor’s office is nonpartisan, the candidates have made it clear to voters that Stothert is a Republican and Ewing is a Democrat. Omaha is among the few spots in conservative Nebraska where Democrats have a reasonable chance of winning elected offices.

Despite a focus on bread-and-butter issues like city services, the candidates have issued more partisan messages as the election neared.

A Stothert TV ad says, “Ewing stands with radicals who want to allow boys in girls’ sports.”

Ewing responded that he hasn’t dealt with such transgender issues as treasurer and told KETV he wouldn’t respond to hypothetical questions.

Ewing has aired ads that connect Stothert to the Trump administration, showing the mayor on a split screen with Trump and saying “Let’s say no to the chaos and elect a mayor who will actually get things done.”