Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Mayor oald race comes down now in the general
the Mayor stothar At the incumbent and John Ewing, the
top two finishers yesterday and joining us for a few
minutes this morning is another contender, Jasmine Harris, who finished
fourth in the race with nine point nine percent of
the vote. Jasmine, thanks for getting up early and coming
(00:20):
on here. We really appreciate a good morning.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Thanks.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Good morning, Gary.
Speaker 4 (00:24):
How are you well?
Speaker 5 (00:25):
And what is it like?
Speaker 1 (00:27):
I've never run for office, you have a couple of
times now, and this was a more high profile run
for you.
Speaker 5 (00:32):
This time.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Put a lot into it, a lot of energy, and
you come away. I'm sure disappointed. But what's your biggest
takeaway after yesterday?
Speaker 3 (00:41):
My biggest takeaway one, I'm going to thank all the
supporters and the voters who voted for me. It's not
the results that we wanted, but what this shows me
as I look at the results is that people do
want change. You know, there was sixty two sixty three
percent of voters who voted that want someone else in
that office, and more than forty percent when it was
(01:01):
aligned with what myself and John we're talking about. So
I think that's the biggest takeaway is that even though
it wasn't me, people do want change here in Omaha.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
It sounds to me from what you just said, like
you will be a Ewing supporter in the general.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
Is that fair?
Speaker 2 (01:19):
It's fair to say, Okay, what is.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Your issue primarily with Maristothard after three terms?
Speaker 3 (01:29):
You know, I just think Omaha needs a different direction.
I really believe that once you get comfortable in that
seat for too long, you continue to make the same
decisions over and over and again. It was for me
it was business as usual. Then we need someone to
take Omaha in a different direction as far as the
future and making sure that people are centered and that
(01:52):
people have their voices heard. You know, take it to
again the streetcar and know we're tired of talking about it,
and people feel like they didn't have of saying that, So,
you know, I think that's what my main issue was,
was that we need someone in that seat who's actually
going to listen to the people and do what people
need done to ensure that their lives are better.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
Do you believe that?
Speaker 6 (02:14):
Do you believe that is the central issue now Jasmine,
the streetcar issue? Is there anything else that John Ewing
may use in a campaign against her.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
You know, I know he ran on you know, fiscal
responsibility and things like that, so you know it may
turn to that. I hope he continues to center the
people and ensures that he's addressing the issues that people
have forward. You know, public safety is always going to
be one of those things. So I think that'll come
up time and time again, especially with the police officers
(02:46):
wanting to hire more folks.
Speaker 5 (02:49):
You know, it's interesting. We have.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
A very much improving crime rate in the city of Omaha.
The stats just can't out. We had Forbes designate oma
on twenty twenty four as the number one city in
America to move to. And yet you're seeing a lot
of things under the surface. I gather that you think
are not well. All is not well?
Speaker 5 (03:14):
Yes, all right?
Speaker 6 (03:18):
I would you elaborate on that, Jasmine. If you look
at the crime stats. You look at the crime stats,
they're very appealing, but you say, no, what about public safety?
Speaker 4 (03:29):
Has the mayor failed in doing?
Speaker 2 (03:31):
For me?
Speaker 3 (03:31):
It's the prevention piece. You have a lot of people
who don't believe the crime stats. Right, I'm a statistics person,
I'm a data nerd.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
You don't be you don't believe them.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
No, I'm not saying I don't believe it. But what
I'm saying most people aren't data nerds, so they see
the numbers, but for them, crime is still real, and
so what they're saying is, no, the crime is too high,
violence is too high, but they don't see that things
are decreasing. For me, it's about the prevention piece, And
like I've always talked in my you know, along the
campaign trail, and what I still believe and what I'll
still continue to work for and towards is addressing the
(04:05):
mental health issues and the underlying causes of crime. Even
though our stats are dropping, we can help people before
they even get to the point where clime is being committed.
And you know, I'll still continue to stand by that wholeheartedly.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Yeah, I think you've emerged as an important voice in
city issues. So what's next for you? Are you just
going to continue with the role that you have or
would you like to do something more, something different.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Today I'm going to rest, like I said, that's a
grueling right to run, and tomorrow I'm back down at
the legislature doing the work that I do. You know,
That's where I'm at right now and focusing on, you know,
removing barriers for people who've been impacted by the criminal
legal system so that way they can come back. You know,
that for me is another part of that prevention when
(04:52):
they come back, what can we do to prevent them
from going back into incarceration, what can we do to
prevent them from committee any other crimes? Right so, you know,
that's the work that's in front of me. That's what
I'll continue to do and we'll see, you know, I
will continue to be that voice and hold everyone to task.
As they said that, you know the things that they
(05:12):
wanted to do during this race, and I want to
make sure that people see that through and that you know,
they get what they want from the next mayor.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Very good, interesting days ahead, Jasmin, thank you so much
this morning. Appreciate the time.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
Thanks Garry having one.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
You too, Jasmine Harris. The Republican incumbent Jeans Stothard finishes
first in a crowded field of five in the mayoral
PRIMARYA Now it's on to face John Ewing and the
general americ Congratulations and good morning.
Speaker 7 (05:41):
Good morning. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
That's significant. I think what about you, the fact that
this city is becoming bluer and bluer all the time.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 7 (05:52):
I think it is significant. But you know, when I
became mayor first in twenty thirteen, everybody knows I'm a
Republican and everybody knows I'm a concern. It is, but
I also said I will be the mayor for everyone.
I said, I didn't carry your political party or your gender,
are whatever. And I think I've showed that I've concentrated
on the things that mean a lot to people every
(06:15):
single day, public safety, roads, economic development, and I hope
that's what showed. I think we've made a difference, and
I'm proud of the progress we've made. And I think
that that resonated yesterday that people realize that we've done
a lot and we've you know, we've had a lot
of successes. We've got a great team working here and
(06:37):
the results are obvious, and I hope people that's what
they saw and that's what the vote turned out yesterday.
But we're at halftime now, is what I consider. You know,
we still have six weeks to go now till May
thirteenth for the general and we sure are not going
to let up. I think the important thing now is
for me to gather all the Republican votes and then
(06:58):
the Democrat votes too, because we need to move forward
with all the progress that we have achieved.
Speaker 6 (07:04):
This is the most competitive race you've had since the
first one, when you beat back a number of other
Republicans to win that race in the primary area and
then defeat Jim Subtle in the general election.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
Gene.
Speaker 6 (07:16):
But unlike that year twenty thirteen, the opposition is not
made up of Republicans. It's made up of Democrats, which
means that you'd have to be awfully optimistic to think
that those people who voted for Jasmine Harris or Mike
McDonald are going to vote for you, unlike twelve years
ago when Dan Welsh's people would vote for you and
(07:36):
Dave Nabbadey's people would vote for you. What is your
strategy to expand this electoral map.
Speaker 7 (07:43):
Well, you know, the thing is is we're going to
just continue doing what our strategy was from the beginning,
and that is work all over Omaha, work on the
get out to vote. You know that thing is what
that's what really concerned me is twenty five percent voter
turnout a lot had you know, there's two hundred and
ninety four thousand voters in Omaha, and we had a
(08:04):
twenty five percent turnout, so that you know that that
is part of our strategy too, but just looking at
how those votes turned out, working in those areas that
you know we need to work on, and that's what
we did in the beginning. But I will continue running
a positive campaign focused on the issues that affect our
citizens directly. And I think that's the three big ones
(08:26):
are public safety, lower taxes, and safe roads, and those
aren't Democrat or Republican issues, and I think those resonate
with people no matter what their political party is, and
so we will cont Today it's just another day for
us and my team to continue on with campaigning. We're
not letting up at all. There was a lot of
negative commercials about me that one of my opponents did,
(08:50):
Mike McDonald, and you know those, a lot of those
were very misleading and untrue, and I think people recognize that,
and so we will just continue on. I've always run
a positive campaign and we're going to do it again
and hopefully, you know we will. The end will be
in sight soon. So that's our plan and we will
(09:10):
continue on with what we have been doing. But the
voter turnout is a concerned West Omaha because that in
two of the three West Omaha City Council districts they
were unopposed and so that voter turnout was low. And
that's one of our strategies is we really got to
work on getting a bigger voter turnout.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Joined for a few minutes here by Mary Jane's author.
John Ewing will not be as strident as Mike McDonald
on the street car issue, but it will be something
of an issue. But I saw an interview with John
last night at his campaign headquarters where he seemed to
hint that Omaha needs a lot of improvement in the
(09:51):
I guess what we should call the lifestyle slash parks
area of Omaha that has been he thinks neglected. What
would you say about that?
Speaker 7 (10:02):
You know, I didn't hear what he said, so it's
hard for me to comment on it. I have heard
John say a lot of things that show me he's
quite misinformed about what's going on. He did say the
roads have been neglected for years, and it makes me
think he's not aware of the two hundred million dollar
road bond issue that we passed in may A twenty
(10:23):
twenty and that it was reissued this past November. You know,
we spent almost an additional four hundred million since I
have been mayor on the roads because of these bond issues.
That's a thousand lane miles, and we have been rehabilitating those.
Our parks are also, you know, important to me. We
have two hundred and fifty six parks in Omaha, but
(10:46):
one of our biggest areas that we invested in with
our ARPA money was our parks because people identified that
that was important. Look what we're doing up in North
Omaha with Levi Carter Park up there. That's forty five
million in a city owned park, building a new facility
at Levi Carter. We're redoing Tranquility. We're doing some major
(11:08):
work on some of our parks all over Omaha. And
so I'm not sure what he's talking about, or maybe
he's just unaware of what we are currently doing. But
you know, it's a lot different managing a big city
that's to write under five hundred thousand people. I am
the one that develops and creates the budget. It's a
(11:30):
one point five billion dollar budget. I've lowered the levee
or tax levee five times, almost twelve percent since I've
been mayor. So you know, doing that takes a lot
of experience to do that, and we've done it, and
I've hoped the taxpayers realize that I have managed that
budget quite well. Some of these comments that Mike McDonald
(11:51):
were making were just they were just untrue and they
were very, very misleading, and hopefully people saw that and
the votes certainly show that.
Speaker 5 (11:59):
What was that chat? He called you right now? How'd
that go?
Speaker 1 (12:02):
No?
Speaker 7 (12:03):
He did not. Apparently he called the other candidates. He
sent me a text message.
Speaker 4 (12:09):
He did not call What was in the text message?
Speaker 7 (12:11):
It just said congratulations.
Speaker 5 (12:13):
That's it.
Speaker 7 (12:13):
That's all it said. It just said, this is Mike McDonald,
congratulations on moving on to the general election.
Speaker 4 (12:19):
So he didn't ask for a job in your administration.
Speaker 7 (12:24):
No, And you know, he really really pushed and pushed
on this issue of the Omaha Police Department being understaffed.
I mean that was a big deal with his campaign,
and the Omaha Police Officer union did the same thing.
But you know, they neglected to talk about the nine
point eight million dollar raise I gave them last year.
(12:46):
And I worked with the union and that's what we identified.
We thought it was salary, and I gave him a
huge raise. And just recently, Todd Schmuter and I came
up with a additional plan and we're going to give
another huge rais and guarantee that we're going to be
five percent higher than any law enforcement agency in the
state of Nebraska, and a lot of other initiatives we're
(13:08):
going to do. So we have a plan in place
and we're going to go forward with it. Let's think
our plan is good.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Let's talk often between now and May thirteen.
Speaker 5 (13:16):
Deil, I'll be available, Okay, thank you.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Mayor Jeans Douthart sure to welcome John Ewing back to
the program, who finished runner up to the incumbent mayor
in the city primary yesterday, and I will now move
forward with Jean stotther to the general election May thirteenth. John,
congrats and good morning.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Thank you very much, Gary, and good morning to you
as well as well as your listeners.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Thirty seven percent for mayor of Stott, thirty two percent
of the vote for you, very competitive in a crowded field.
You've got to feel good about how this, how this
came about, and a lot of us going into yesterday,
John thought we basically had a toss up race among
the top read possibly for but it didn't turn out
(14:02):
that way.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
No, we were very confident going in Gary because we
had done a lot of work, and I believe also
that the citizens of this community recognize the public service
that I've given them for forty three years, and they
like good government and that's what I've tried to deliver
throughout my working career.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
How positive or negative do you think this campaign will
be between you and the mayor?
Speaker 2 (14:32):
Well, I'm going to be positive. I'm going to certainly
be talking about my record. I'm going to talk about
her record. I don't do negative campaigning, I never have.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
I don't mean personally negative, John, I don't mean personally negative.
I mean what negatives do you think you need to
highlight of the mayor's sure?
Speaker 2 (14:50):
Well, I think the two things that I think we
need to always talk about is what I consider broken
promises on the street call and also the restaurant tax.
And then secondly, I want to highlight my record versus
her record, because I certainly believe that the best indicator
(15:11):
of future performance is recent past performance, and I've delivered
on every promise that I made to this community when
I ran for Douglas County Treasurer, and quite honestly, we're
getting better every day because I've been able to surround
myself with some great leaders to make sure that we
deliver the type of government services that people deserve in
(15:34):
Omaha and Douglas County.
Speaker 6 (15:38):
Have you had discussions with Jasmine Harris or Mike McDonald
yet about an endorsement.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
We have had some discussions with Mike McDonald and his
team about support, and they seem very willing to support
our efforts. We have not had any comments or any
interaction between Jack as Men in our campaign or Terry
Brewer in our campaign, but members of my team will
(16:06):
be reaching out to both of them as well well.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
She told us this morning that she'll be supporting you.
She's leaning your direction.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Yeah, well, that's fantastic. We will certainly be reaching out
to her later this morning. We didn't want to do
it last night because it was a little bit late
by the time I got done with all the interviews.
Speaker 5 (16:27):
John.
Speaker 6 (16:28):
One of the things that is invariably going to be
a part of this race. It has to be because
it's the largest issue in town, and that is the
streetcar project. Gene has been an outspoken cheerleader for it.
You have been skeptical about it. You've made it clear
we can't change it. We're going to get it. But
if I'd been mayor, would have been put to a
vote or something like that. What promises about the streetcar
(16:51):
has she broken that you will no doubt illuminate over
the next six weeks.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
Well, everybody wants to words on things, but the reality
is most of the people in this community believed that
she was promising to take the streetcar to a vote
during her reelection campaign, and that's certainly what I believe
(17:16):
as well. So that's my biggest issue with the streetcar.
I understand the numbers. I see how fast it was
rushed to get to this point where it can't be
turned around. As mayor, one of the things I always
have to do is I have to look at what's
best for this city, and I don't believe you stop
a project and cost the taxpayers millions of dollars. So
(17:41):
my goal then as the next mayor, would be to
do everything I can to ensure that we get the
economic development that's been talked about, as well as looking
at how we can ensure that the street car and
all of the development and everything else around it is
done as well as hostible.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Do you think it's a slam dunk, John Ewing, that
you'll get the endorsement of the two major public sector
unions in Omaha, the police and fire.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
I don't assume anything about those organizations. They have to
make their own decisions. I know they supported Mike McDonald.
I hope they will support me now, but I don't
make any assumptions about what other people are going to do.
I do my very best to try to earn any
endorsements that are possible, and then I just live with
(18:34):
whatever decisions they make, so I don't have any animosity
or any problems with the decisions they've made. I hope
they make the decision this support me because I'm going
to be the first true public safety mayor.
Speaker 6 (18:52):
As a former police officer, that stands to reason. You
have won a lot of elections in this county, mostly
general elections, you know, presidential years, off presidential years, but
even numbered years. Can you give us an indication of
how much support you've had from Republicans and from Independence
(19:13):
in your runs for County treasure.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
The thing that I have had is significant support from Democrats, Republicans,
and non partisans in my electoral career. After yesterday, I
have received over seven hundred thousand votes from the people
of this community in my electoral career, and the last
(19:40):
two times that I ran, in twenty eighteen and twenty
twenty two, I had the highest vote total in the
county in twenty eighteen by over two thousand votes and
in twenty twenty two by over fifteen thousand votes. I
have always had Republicans come to me and say, we
have appreciate the work you do. You're one of either
(20:03):
the only Democrats I support or one of the few
Democrats I support because I appreciate how you lead. So
I've always had significant support, and I believe I'll have
that again this time as well.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
I don't remember the specifics, John, because it was getting late,
but I said one of your interviews last night, my
impression was that you you indicated that you believe several
areas in our civic life have suffered from neglect under
Mayor's author Did I hear that right?
Speaker 5 (20:35):
Yes? What specifically do you mean?
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Well, I believe the basic services have not had the
attention they deserve, and they haven't had the necessary adjustments
that you have to make when things aren't going well.
And one of the things I highlighted last night was
street repair. If you look at what Omaha has done,
(21:00):
and they have been using the wrong formula for street
repair with too much silica in it for a number
of years, and an adjustment hasn't been made. And I
don't believe that's the way you lead. I believe you
look at the results of what you're doing and then
you make adjustments so that you can be more effective
(21:21):
as a leader.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
Hey, it's great to have you on this morning, and again, congrats,
and we'll be in touch a lot, i'm sure between
now and the election.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Well, thank you very much. I look forward to talking
to you all at any time I can, and that's
what I've always done. I've always been accessible to the media.
I believe it's important that the people of Omaha understand
who I am, what I stand for, and I'll always
answer any questions that are put to me.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
Very good, John Ewing here on kavab's Morning News and
again May thirteenth General. Lots to do between now and then,
including a debate, we believe here on the news radio
eleven ten KF A b
The Mayor oald race comes down now in the general
the Mayor stothar At the incumbent and John Ewing, the
top two finishers yesterday and joining us for a few
minutes this morning is another contender, Jasmine Harris, who finished
fourth in the race with nine point nine percent of
the vote. Jasmine, thanks for getting up early and coming
(00:20):
on here. We really appreciate a good morning.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Thanks.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Good morning, Gary.
Speaker 4 (00:24):
How are you well?
Speaker 5 (00:25):
And what is it like?
Speaker 1 (00:27):
I've never run for office, you have a couple of
times now, and this was a more high profile run
for you.
Speaker 5 (00:32):
This time.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Put a lot into it, a lot of energy, and
you come away. I'm sure disappointed. But what's your biggest
takeaway after yesterday?
Speaker 3 (00:41):
My biggest takeaway one, I'm going to thank all the
supporters and the voters who voted for me. It's not
the results that we wanted, but what this shows me
as I look at the results is that people do
want change. You know, there was sixty two sixty three
percent of voters who voted that want someone else in
that office, and more than forty percent when it was
(01:01):
aligned with what myself and John we're talking about. So
I think that's the biggest takeaway is that even though
it wasn't me, people do want change here in Omaha.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
It sounds to me from what you just said, like
you will be a Ewing supporter in the general.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
Is that fair?
Speaker 2 (01:19):
It's fair to say, Okay, what is.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Your issue primarily with Maristothard after three terms?
Speaker 3 (01:29):
You know, I just think Omaha needs a different direction.
I really believe that once you get comfortable in that
seat for too long, you continue to make the same
decisions over and over and again. It was for me
it was business as usual. Then we need someone to
take Omaha in a different direction as far as the
future and making sure that people are centered and that
(01:52):
people have their voices heard. You know, take it to
again the streetcar and know we're tired of talking about it,
and people feel like they didn't have of saying that, So,
you know, I think that's what my main issue was,
was that we need someone in that seat who's actually
going to listen to the people and do what people
need done to ensure that their lives are better.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
Do you believe that?
Speaker 6 (02:14):
Do you believe that is the central issue now Jasmine,
the streetcar issue? Is there anything else that John Ewing
may use in a campaign against her.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
You know, I know he ran on you know, fiscal
responsibility and things like that, so you know it may
turn to that. I hope he continues to center the
people and ensures that he's addressing the issues that people
have forward. You know, public safety is always going to
be one of those things. So I think that'll come
up time and time again, especially with the police officers
(02:46):
wanting to hire more folks.
Speaker 5 (02:49):
You know, it's interesting. We have.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
A very much improving crime rate in the city of Omaha.
The stats just can't out. We had Forbes designate oma
on twenty twenty four as the number one city in
America to move to. And yet you're seeing a lot
of things under the surface. I gather that you think
are not well. All is not well?
Speaker 5 (03:14):
Yes, all right?
Speaker 6 (03:18):
I would you elaborate on that, Jasmine. If you look
at the crime stats. You look at the crime stats,
they're very appealing, but you say, no, what about public safety?
Speaker 4 (03:29):
Has the mayor failed in doing?
Speaker 2 (03:31):
For me?
Speaker 3 (03:31):
It's the prevention piece. You have a lot of people
who don't believe the crime stats. Right, I'm a statistics person,
I'm a data nerd.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
You don't be you don't believe them.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
No, I'm not saying I don't believe it. But what
I'm saying most people aren't data nerds, so they see
the numbers, but for them, crime is still real, and
so what they're saying is, no, the crime is too high,
violence is too high, but they don't see that things
are decreasing. For me, it's about the prevention piece, And
like I've always talked in my you know, along the
campaign trail, and what I still believe and what I'll
still continue to work for and towards is addressing the
(04:05):
mental health issues and the underlying causes of crime. Even
though our stats are dropping, we can help people before
they even get to the point where clime is being committed.
And you know, I'll still continue to stand by that wholeheartedly.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Yeah, I think you've emerged as an important voice in
city issues. So what's next for you? Are you just
going to continue with the role that you have or
would you like to do something more, something different.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Today I'm going to rest, like I said, that's a
grueling right to run, and tomorrow I'm back down at
the legislature doing the work that I do. You know,
That's where I'm at right now and focusing on, you know,
removing barriers for people who've been impacted by the criminal
legal system so that way they can come back. You know,
that for me is another part of that prevention when
(04:52):
they come back, what can we do to prevent them
from going back into incarceration, what can we do to
prevent them from committee any other crimes? Right so, you know,
that's the work that's in front of me. That's what
I'll continue to do and we'll see, you know, I
will continue to be that voice and hold everyone to task.
As they said that, you know the things that they
(05:12):
wanted to do during this race, and I want to
make sure that people see that through and that you know,
they get what they want from the next mayor.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Very good, interesting days ahead, Jasmin, thank you so much
this morning. Appreciate the time.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
Thanks Garry having one.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
You too, Jasmine Harris. The Republican incumbent Jeans Stothard finishes
first in a crowded field of five in the mayoral
PRIMARYA Now it's on to face John Ewing and the
general americ Congratulations and good morning.
Speaker 7 (05:41):
Good morning. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
That's significant. I think what about you, the fact that
this city is becoming bluer and bluer all the time.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 7 (05:52):
I think it is significant. But you know, when I
became mayor first in twenty thirteen, everybody knows I'm a
Republican and everybody knows I'm a concern. It is, but
I also said I will be the mayor for everyone.
I said, I didn't carry your political party or your gender,
are whatever. And I think I've showed that I've concentrated
on the things that mean a lot to people every
(06:15):
single day, public safety, roads, economic development, and I hope
that's what showed. I think we've made a difference, and
I'm proud of the progress we've made. And I think
that that resonated yesterday that people realize that we've done
a lot and we've you know, we've had a lot
of successes. We've got a great team working here and
(06:37):
the results are obvious, and I hope people that's what
they saw and that's what the vote turned out yesterday.
But we're at halftime now, is what I consider. You know,
we still have six weeks to go now till May
thirteenth for the general and we sure are not going
to let up. I think the important thing now is
for me to gather all the Republican votes and then
(06:58):
the Democrat votes too, because we need to move forward
with all the progress that we have achieved.
Speaker 6 (07:04):
This is the most competitive race you've had since the
first one, when you beat back a number of other
Republicans to win that race in the primary area and
then defeat Jim Subtle in the general election.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
Gene.
Speaker 6 (07:16):
But unlike that year twenty thirteen, the opposition is not
made up of Republicans. It's made up of Democrats, which
means that you'd have to be awfully optimistic to think
that those people who voted for Jasmine Harris or Mike
McDonald are going to vote for you, unlike twelve years
ago when Dan Welsh's people would vote for you and
(07:36):
Dave Nabbadey's people would vote for you. What is your
strategy to expand this electoral map.
Speaker 7 (07:43):
Well, you know, the thing is is we're going to
just continue doing what our strategy was from the beginning,
and that is work all over Omaha, work on the
get out to vote. You know that thing is what
that's what really concerned me is twenty five percent voter
turnout a lot had you know, there's two hundred and
ninety four thousand voters in Omaha, and we had a
(08:04):
twenty five percent turnout, so that you know that that
is part of our strategy too, but just looking at
how those votes turned out, working in those areas that
you know we need to work on, and that's what
we did in the beginning. But I will continue running
a positive campaign focused on the issues that affect our
citizens directly. And I think that's the three big ones
(08:26):
are public safety, lower taxes, and safe roads, and those
aren't Democrat or Republican issues, and I think those resonate
with people no matter what their political party is, and
so we will cont Today it's just another day for
us and my team to continue on with campaigning. We're
not letting up at all. There was a lot of
negative commercials about me that one of my opponents did,
(08:50):
Mike McDonald, and you know those, a lot of those
were very misleading and untrue, and I think people recognize that,
and so we will just continue on. I've always run
a positive campaign and we're going to do it again
and hopefully, you know we will. The end will be
in sight soon. So that's our plan and we will
(09:10):
continue on with what we have been doing. But the
voter turnout is a concerned West Omaha because that in
two of the three West Omaha City Council districts they
were unopposed and so that voter turnout was low. And
that's one of our strategies is we really got to
work on getting a bigger voter turnout.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Joined for a few minutes here by Mary Jane's author.
John Ewing will not be as strident as Mike McDonald
on the street car issue, but it will be something
of an issue. But I saw an interview with John
last night at his campaign headquarters where he seemed to
hint that Omaha needs a lot of improvement in the
(09:51):
I guess what we should call the lifestyle slash parks
area of Omaha that has been he thinks neglected. What
would you say about that?
Speaker 7 (10:02):
You know, I didn't hear what he said, so it's
hard for me to comment on it. I have heard
John say a lot of things that show me he's
quite misinformed about what's going on. He did say the
roads have been neglected for years, and it makes me
think he's not aware of the two hundred million dollar
road bond issue that we passed in may A twenty
(10:23):
twenty and that it was reissued this past November. You know,
we spent almost an additional four hundred million since I
have been mayor on the roads because of these bond issues.
That's a thousand lane miles, and we have been rehabilitating those.
Our parks are also, you know, important to me. We
have two hundred and fifty six parks in Omaha, but
(10:46):
one of our biggest areas that we invested in with
our ARPA money was our parks because people identified that
that was important. Look what we're doing up in North
Omaha with Levi Carter Park up there. That's forty five
million in a city owned park, building a new facility
at Levi Carter. We're redoing Tranquility. We're doing some major
(11:08):
work on some of our parks all over Omaha. And
so I'm not sure what he's talking about, or maybe
he's just unaware of what we are currently doing. But
you know, it's a lot different managing a big city
that's to write under five hundred thousand people. I am
the one that develops and creates the budget. It's a
(11:30):
one point five billion dollar budget. I've lowered the levee
or tax levee five times, almost twelve percent since I've
been mayor. So you know, doing that takes a lot
of experience to do that, and we've done it, and
I've hoped the taxpayers realize that I have managed that
budget quite well. Some of these comments that Mike McDonald
(11:51):
were making were just they were just untrue and they
were very, very misleading, and hopefully people saw that and
the votes certainly show that.
Speaker 5 (11:59):
What was that chat? He called you right now? How'd
that go?
Speaker 1 (12:02):
No?
Speaker 7 (12:03):
He did not. Apparently he called the other candidates. He
sent me a text message.
Speaker 4 (12:09):
He did not call What was in the text message?
Speaker 7 (12:11):
It just said congratulations.
Speaker 5 (12:13):
That's it.
Speaker 7 (12:13):
That's all it said. It just said, this is Mike McDonald,
congratulations on moving on to the general election.
Speaker 4 (12:19):
So he didn't ask for a job in your administration.
Speaker 7 (12:24):
No, And you know, he really really pushed and pushed
on this issue of the Omaha Police Department being understaffed.
I mean that was a big deal with his campaign,
and the Omaha Police Officer union did the same thing.
But you know, they neglected to talk about the nine
point eight million dollar raise I gave them last year.
(12:46):
And I worked with the union and that's what we identified.
We thought it was salary, and I gave him a
huge raise. And just recently, Todd Schmuter and I came
up with a additional plan and we're going to give
another huge rais and guarantee that we're going to be
five percent higher than any law enforcement agency in the
state of Nebraska, and a lot of other initiatives we're
(13:08):
going to do. So we have a plan in place
and we're going to go forward with it. Let's think
our plan is good.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Let's talk often between now and May thirteen.
Speaker 5 (13:16):
Deil, I'll be available, Okay, thank you.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Mayor Jeans Douthart sure to welcome John Ewing back to
the program, who finished runner up to the incumbent mayor
in the city primary yesterday, and I will now move
forward with Jean stotther to the general election May thirteenth. John,
congrats and good morning.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Thank you very much, Gary, and good morning to you
as well as well as your listeners.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Thirty seven percent for mayor of Stott, thirty two percent
of the vote for you, very competitive in a crowded field.
You've got to feel good about how this, how this
came about, and a lot of us going into yesterday,
John thought we basically had a toss up race among
the top read possibly for but it didn't turn out
(14:02):
that way.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
No, we were very confident going in Gary because we
had done a lot of work, and I believe also
that the citizens of this community recognize the public service
that I've given them for forty three years, and they
like good government and that's what I've tried to deliver
throughout my working career.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
How positive or negative do you think this campaign will
be between you and the mayor?
Speaker 2 (14:32):
Well, I'm going to be positive. I'm going to certainly
be talking about my record. I'm going to talk about
her record. I don't do negative campaigning, I never have.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
I don't mean personally negative, John, I don't mean personally negative.
I mean what negatives do you think you need to
highlight of the mayor's sure?
Speaker 2 (14:50):
Well, I think the two things that I think we
need to always talk about is what I consider broken
promises on the street call and also the restaurant tax.
And then secondly, I want to highlight my record versus
her record, because I certainly believe that the best indicator
(15:11):
of future performance is recent past performance, and I've delivered
on every promise that I made to this community when
I ran for Douglas County Treasurer, and quite honestly, we're
getting better every day because I've been able to surround
myself with some great leaders to make sure that we
deliver the type of government services that people deserve in
(15:34):
Omaha and Douglas County.
Speaker 6 (15:38):
Have you had discussions with Jasmine Harris or Mike McDonald
yet about an endorsement.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
We have had some discussions with Mike McDonald and his
team about support, and they seem very willing to support
our efforts. We have not had any comments or any
interaction between Jack as Men in our campaign or Terry
Brewer in our campaign, but members of my team will
(16:06):
be reaching out to both of them as well well.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
She told us this morning that she'll be supporting you.
She's leaning your direction.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Yeah, well, that's fantastic. We will certainly be reaching out
to her later this morning. We didn't want to do
it last night because it was a little bit late
by the time I got done with all the interviews.
Speaker 5 (16:27):
John.
Speaker 6 (16:28):
One of the things that is invariably going to be
a part of this race. It has to be because
it's the largest issue in town, and that is the
streetcar project. Gene has been an outspoken cheerleader for it.
You have been skeptical about it. You've made it clear
we can't change it. We're going to get it. But
if I'd been mayor, would have been put to a
vote or something like that. What promises about the streetcar
(16:51):
has she broken that you will no doubt illuminate over
the next six weeks.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
Well, everybody wants to words on things, but the reality
is most of the people in this community believed that
she was promising to take the streetcar to a vote
during her reelection campaign, and that's certainly what I believe
(17:16):
as well. So that's my biggest issue with the streetcar.
I understand the numbers. I see how fast it was
rushed to get to this point where it can't be
turned around. As mayor, one of the things I always
have to do is I have to look at what's
best for this city, and I don't believe you stop
a project and cost the taxpayers millions of dollars. So
(17:41):
my goal then as the next mayor, would be to
do everything I can to ensure that we get the
economic development that's been talked about, as well as looking
at how we can ensure that the street car and
all of the development and everything else around it is
done as well as hostible.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Do you think it's a slam dunk, John Ewing, that
you'll get the endorsement of the two major public sector
unions in Omaha, the police and fire.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
I don't assume anything about those organizations. They have to
make their own decisions. I know they supported Mike McDonald.
I hope they will support me now, but I don't
make any assumptions about what other people are going to do.
I do my very best to try to earn any
endorsements that are possible, and then I just live with
(18:34):
whatever decisions they make, so I don't have any animosity
or any problems with the decisions they've made. I hope
they make the decision this support me because I'm going
to be the first true public safety mayor.
Speaker 6 (18:52):
As a former police officer, that stands to reason. You
have won a lot of elections in this county, mostly
general elections, you know, presidential years, off presidential years, but
even numbered years. Can you give us an indication of
how much support you've had from Republicans and from Independence
(19:13):
in your runs for County treasure.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
The thing that I have had is significant support from Democrats, Republicans,
and non partisans in my electoral career. After yesterday, I
have received over seven hundred thousand votes from the people
of this community in my electoral career, and the last
(19:40):
two times that I ran, in twenty eighteen and twenty
twenty two, I had the highest vote total in the
county in twenty eighteen by over two thousand votes and
in twenty twenty two by over fifteen thousand votes. I
have always had Republicans come to me and say, we
have appreciate the work you do. You're one of either
(20:03):
the only Democrats I support or one of the few
Democrats I support because I appreciate how you lead. So
I've always had significant support, and I believe I'll have
that again this time as well.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
I don't remember the specifics, John, because it was getting late,
but I said one of your interviews last night, my
impression was that you you indicated that you believe several
areas in our civic life have suffered from neglect under
Mayor's author Did I hear that right?
Speaker 5 (20:35):
Yes? What specifically do you mean?
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Well, I believe the basic services have not had the
attention they deserve, and they haven't had the necessary adjustments
that you have to make when things aren't going well.
And one of the things I highlighted last night was
street repair. If you look at what Omaha has done,
(21:00):
and they have been using the wrong formula for street
repair with too much silica in it for a number
of years, and an adjustment hasn't been made. And I
don't believe that's the way you lead. I believe you
look at the results of what you're doing and then
you make adjustments so that you can be more effective
(21:21):
as a leader.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
Hey, it's great to have you on this morning, and again, congrats,
and we'll be in touch a lot, i'm sure between
now and the election.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Well, thank you very much. I look forward to talking
to you all at any time I can, and that's
what I've always done. I've always been accessible to the media.
I believe it's important that the people of Omaha understand
who I am, what I stand for, and I'll always
answer any questions that are put to me.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
Very good, John Ewing here on kavab's Morning News and
again May thirteenth General. Lots to do between now and then,
including a debate, we believe here on the news radio
eleven ten KF A b
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