April 4, 2025 • 8 mins
Mayor Candidate John Ewing Talks His Strategy for May's Election
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
On Tuesday, big day in the city of Omaha, as
the mayoral primary took place. We did interviews with four
of the candidates, the top four finishers, and had a
chance to kind of investigate what they thought about the
city of Omaha and what they'd like to do is mayor.
We whittled that list down to two mayor Jean Stothard,
who spoke with yesterday on the show. You can find
that podcast on the Emery Songer podcast page. And today
(00:24):
we're blessed to be joined by the other of those candidates,
John Ewing, joining us on the phone line. John, thanks
so much for being on our show today.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Oh absolutely, Emory, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Before we get kind of into politic and policy talk,
I kind of want to ask you about just your
emotions on Monday, Tuesday and then into Wednesday, when you
knew you were advancing, kind of what was the thought
process as you were going through what I'm sure was
a very stressful day.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
You know, it really wasn't as stressful as most people think.
One of the things I've learned to do in forty
three years of public services you give the very best
you can and then you live with the results. And
we thought we had done a great campaign with our
ground game, and we believed that would carry us through
(01:09):
the day and it did.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Yeah, I looked at the results. I was actually I mean,
I don't have privy to any insider information, but I
was honestly pretty surprised at the split between yourself and
the second spot, and then Mike McDonald and Jasmine Harris
in third and fourth. Were you comfortable about kind of
where you were? Were you surprised by anything that you
saw on Tuesday night?
Speaker 2 (01:34):
I really wasn't emory. I really felt like we had
gotten our message out to the voters of this community,
and we worked hard to do that and it resonated
with them.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Yeah, it makes a lot of sense when you look
at things in the community, because the messaging is different
when you have a bigger race. How does this campaign
change for you, John, when you go from you know,
a race where you're basically just trying to get your
message out there amongst a group of people, and now
you know who your opponent is going to be for mayor,
(02:07):
how does that change in your campaign?
Speaker 2 (02:10):
I'm not sure it changes a lot for us. I
think what we do is we continue to talk about
the issues that are important to the people of Omaha,
and we just keep making sure they understand that I
am the guy who can deliver based on my time
as the Douglas County Treasurer and my time with the
Omaha Police Department, where I rose to the rank of
(02:33):
Deputy Chief.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Yeah, and you look at a lot of different things
that are happening in Omaha right now. By the way,
speaking with John Ewing advancing into the general election for mayor,
so let's go ahead and talk about your opponent, Mayor
Jean Stothard. She on our show yesterday talked about, you know,
we've had great momentum, and I've been the mayor for
twelve years that you know, we are responsible for that
(02:55):
momentum that you're seeing in Omaha right now. When you
hear a message like that and you talk about your
public service and you've been in the community an awful
long time and you've been serving as the Douglas County
Treasurer for a long time, what is your response to
kind of that sentiment from Mayor s Douthor that you know, hey,
if Omaha's you know, moving in this direction that everybody
around the country feels like Omaha's moving in. You know,
(03:17):
she's responsible for a lot of that momentum. How do
you respond to that?
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Well, when I listen to the people of this community,
they're talking about streets collapsing, They're talking about grinding up
streets instead of repairing them. They're talking about areas that
have been annexed where instead of the city repairing their
streets and bringing them up to code, they're expecting the
(03:44):
taxpayers to put the bill. They're also talking about the
fact that we are one hundred and thirty police officers short,
and they're concerned about public safety. So those are the
things that are what I would call the quality of
life issues that the people of this community are facing,
and that's what they're talking about.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
How would you address the shortage of police officers? Mayor
Stotht came in and talked to us yesterday and she
echoed that public safety is of the utmost importance and
mentioned that Chief Schmaterer of Omaha endorsed her ahead of
the primary. What would you say, as somebody who is
obviously very familiar in the world of public safety, what
(04:27):
would be kind of your response to affecting that problem
in a positive way and how you would address.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
That when you are one hundred and thirty police officers short,
then there are things that maybe should have been done
that haven't been done. And I will be working, based
on my former experience with the police department and the
things I've done in the Treasurer's office to increase recruiting
(04:57):
to reduce that shortage. To also look at reducing the
amount of money that police officers pay into the pinch
And fund so that we can do a better job
of retaining the officers that we do have. We have
a restaurant tax that isn't being fully utilized to shore
up the pinch In fund.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
We're speaking with John Ewing, who advanced into the general
election for mayor, which is going to be on May
the thirteenth. We talk about a lot of different things
that are happening in Omaha, and one of the things
that you know, we mentioned was the streetcar, and that
was a big talking point for another candidate, Mike McDonald,
who finished in third in this race. I had asked
you this question because it was such a hot topic here,
(05:43):
and you seem to echo that this project is going
to be a good project for the downtown area and
for Omaha as a whole. Are we kind of done
talking about the street car? Are we moving on to,
you know, other person in issues here or do you
think there's still something to be had with this issue
because it was still such a button issue before the primary.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Well, I think the next mayor is going to have
to do a great job of making sure that the
streetcar and the development around it is as successful as possible.
I think the voters of this community are still concerned
about the fact that there was no opportunity to vote,
and most of them believe that there wasn't promise to
(06:26):
be able to vote on whether or not the streetcar
would go.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Forward, and that was a sentiment that was also echoed
by Mike McDonald as well. But now that the project
is at least in the spot that it's in, did
you anticipate at this point the opportunity for that to
continue with nobody having to worry about how that project
could be adjusted into the future if public sentiment were
(06:50):
to be pulled or anything like that.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Well, I think at this point it has been rushed
to the point where it just needs to be able
to be implemented as successfully as possible.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Interesting. John Ewing joining us here last thing I want
to give you and we'll speak. I'm sure John in
between now in election day. But this it's an important election,
and we were talking about turnout and voter turnout, and
it felt like this was a really compelling election. There
were a lot of different points of view and different
things that were top of mind topics, and I anticipate
(07:25):
this being a pretty civilized campaign. I feel like you
and Gene Stoth both have you know, run mostly on
your own, you know, kind of what you can bring
to the table and not trying to kind of mud
sling and tear down decisions by other people. But you know,
from your perspective and you saw about twenty five ish
percent of people voted, how can you explain the importance
(07:46):
of what this election is so people recognize that their
voice needs to be heard on election day?
Speaker 2 (07:54):
To me, this election is about the future of this
city and whether or not we're going to be the
best city in the Midwest or we're going to be
a city that does just good enough. I want Omaha
to be a great city. I want Omaha to be
the greatest city in the Midwest, and I believe we
have the offer opportunity to decide that on May thirteenth.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Yeah, and there we go, and we will be speaking
between now and then with John Ewing and Mayor Jean
Stouthard as we count down the days to the election
on May thirteenth, John Ewing, thank you so much for
the time as always, congratulations on advancing on Tuesday, and
we will be chatting with you again, I'm sure very soon.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Hey, Marie, thank you for the opportunity and have a
great rest of your day.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Absolutely you as well, and raise honor
On Tuesday, big day in the city of Omaha, as
the mayoral primary took place. We did interviews with four
of the candidates, the top four finishers, and had a
chance to kind of investigate what they thought about the
city of Omaha and what they'd like to do is mayor.
We whittled that list down to two mayor Jean Stothard,
who spoke with yesterday on the show. You can find
that podcast on the Emery Songer podcast page. And today
(00:24):
we're blessed to be joined by the other of those candidates,
John Ewing, joining us on the phone line. John, thanks
so much for being on our show today.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Oh absolutely, Emory, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Before we get kind of into politic and policy talk,
I kind of want to ask you about just your
emotions on Monday, Tuesday and then into Wednesday, when you
knew you were advancing, kind of what was the thought
process as you were going through what I'm sure was
a very stressful day.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
You know, it really wasn't as stressful as most people think.
One of the things I've learned to do in forty
three years of public services you give the very best
you can and then you live with the results. And
we thought we had done a great campaign with our
ground game, and we believed that would carry us through
(01:09):
the day and it did.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Yeah, I looked at the results. I was actually I mean,
I don't have privy to any insider information, but I
was honestly pretty surprised at the split between yourself and
the second spot, and then Mike McDonald and Jasmine Harris
in third and fourth. Were you comfortable about kind of
where you were? Were you surprised by anything that you
saw on Tuesday night?
Speaker 2 (01:34):
I really wasn't emory. I really felt like we had
gotten our message out to the voters of this community,
and we worked hard to do that and it resonated
with them.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Yeah, it makes a lot of sense when you look
at things in the community, because the messaging is different
when you have a bigger race. How does this campaign
change for you, John, when you go from you know,
a race where you're basically just trying to get your
message out there amongst a group of people, and now
you know who your opponent is going to be for mayor,
(02:07):
how does that change in your campaign?
Speaker 2 (02:10):
I'm not sure it changes a lot for us. I
think what we do is we continue to talk about
the issues that are important to the people of Omaha,
and we just keep making sure they understand that I
am the guy who can deliver based on my time
as the Douglas County Treasurer and my time with the
Omaha Police Department, where I rose to the rank of
(02:33):
Deputy Chief.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Yeah, and you look at a lot of different things
that are happening in Omaha right now. By the way,
speaking with John Ewing advancing into the general election for mayor,
so let's go ahead and talk about your opponent, Mayor
Jean Stothard. She on our show yesterday talked about, you know,
we've had great momentum, and I've been the mayor for
twelve years that you know, we are responsible for that
(02:55):
momentum that you're seeing in Omaha right now. When you
hear a message like that and you talk about your
public service and you've been in the community an awful
long time and you've been serving as the Douglas County
Treasurer for a long time, what is your response to
kind of that sentiment from Mayor s Douthor that you know, hey,
if Omaha's you know, moving in this direction that everybody
around the country feels like Omaha's moving in. You know,
(03:17):
she's responsible for a lot of that momentum. How do
you respond to that?
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Well, when I listen to the people of this community,
they're talking about streets collapsing, They're talking about grinding up
streets instead of repairing them. They're talking about areas that
have been annexed where instead of the city repairing their
streets and bringing them up to code, they're expecting the
(03:44):
taxpayers to put the bill. They're also talking about the
fact that we are one hundred and thirty police officers short,
and they're concerned about public safety. So those are the
things that are what I would call the quality of
life issues that the people of this community are facing,
and that's what they're talking about.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
How would you address the shortage of police officers? Mayor
Stotht came in and talked to us yesterday and she
echoed that public safety is of the utmost importance and
mentioned that Chief Schmaterer of Omaha endorsed her ahead of
the primary. What would you say, as somebody who is
obviously very familiar in the world of public safety, what
(04:27):
would be kind of your response to affecting that problem
in a positive way and how you would address.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
That when you are one hundred and thirty police officers short,
then there are things that maybe should have been done
that haven't been done. And I will be working, based
on my former experience with the police department and the
things I've done in the Treasurer's office to increase recruiting
(04:57):
to reduce that shortage. To also look at reducing the
amount of money that police officers pay into the pinch
And fund so that we can do a better job
of retaining the officers that we do have. We have
a restaurant tax that isn't being fully utilized to shore
up the pinch In fund.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
We're speaking with John Ewing, who advanced into the general
election for mayor, which is going to be on May
the thirteenth. We talk about a lot of different things
that are happening in Omaha, and one of the things
that you know, we mentioned was the streetcar, and that
was a big talking point for another candidate, Mike McDonald,
who finished in third in this race. I had asked
you this question because it was such a hot topic here,
(05:43):
and you seem to echo that this project is going
to be a good project for the downtown area and
for Omaha as a whole. Are we kind of done
talking about the street car? Are we moving on to,
you know, other person in issues here or do you
think there's still something to be had with this issue
because it was still such a button issue before the primary.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Well, I think the next mayor is going to have
to do a great job of making sure that the
streetcar and the development around it is as successful as possible.
I think the voters of this community are still concerned
about the fact that there was no opportunity to vote,
and most of them believe that there wasn't promise to
(06:26):
be able to vote on whether or not the streetcar
would go.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Forward, and that was a sentiment that was also echoed
by Mike McDonald as well. But now that the project
is at least in the spot that it's in, did
you anticipate at this point the opportunity for that to
continue with nobody having to worry about how that project
could be adjusted into the future if public sentiment were
(06:50):
to be pulled or anything like that.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Well, I think at this point it has been rushed
to the point where it just needs to be able
to be implemented as successfully as possible.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Interesting. John Ewing joining us here last thing I want
to give you and we'll speak. I'm sure John in
between now in election day. But this it's an important election,
and we were talking about turnout and voter turnout, and
it felt like this was a really compelling election. There
were a lot of different points of view and different
things that were top of mind topics, and I anticipate
(07:25):
this being a pretty civilized campaign. I feel like you
and Gene Stoth both have you know, run mostly on
your own, you know, kind of what you can bring
to the table and not trying to kind of mud
sling and tear down decisions by other people. But you know,
from your perspective and you saw about twenty five ish
percent of people voted, how can you explain the importance
(07:46):
of what this election is so people recognize that their
voice needs to be heard on election day?
Speaker 2 (07:54):
To me, this election is about the future of this
city and whether or not we're going to be the
best city in the Midwest or we're going to be
a city that does just good enough. I want Omaha
to be a great city. I want Omaha to be
the greatest city in the Midwest, and I believe we
have the offer opportunity to decide that on May thirteenth.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Yeah, and there we go, and we will be speaking
between now and then with John Ewing and Mayor Jean
Stouthard as we count down the days to the election
on May thirteenth, John Ewing, thank you so much for
the time as always, congratulations on advancing on Tuesday, and
we will be chatting with you again, I'm sure very soon.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Hey, Marie, thank you for the opportunity and have a
great rest of your day.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Absolutely you as well, and raise honor
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