May 10, 2017, "'Thank you for rehiring me': After defeating Mello in mayor's race, Stothert lays out vision for future," Omaha World-Herald,
Omahans can expect four more years of City Hall focus on public safety and the budget — and maybe a new riverfront — after Mayor Jean Stothert easily won re-election.
Stothert
won 53 percent of the votes to challenger Heath Mello’s 46 percent in
the final unofficial count, with a particularly strong showing in the
western part of the city.
“To the community I love, thank you for rehiring me,” she said. “I’ll work harder than ever to make you proud of our work.”
She said her focus during her second term will be public safety, the budget, workforce development, transportation, neighborhood support and making the city more welcoming. She also promised to reach out to the community leaders and elected officials who vocally opposed her. Most vocal of those was Sheriff Tim Dunning, who appeared in an anti-Stothert commercial, and the firefighters union, which spent thousands of dollars supporting Mello. Some prominent business leaders had also backed Mello.
“To the community I love, thank you for rehiring me,” she said. “I’ll work harder than ever to make you proud of our work.”
She said her focus during her second term will be public safety, the budget, workforce development, transportation, neighborhood support and making the city more welcoming. She also promised to reach out to the community leaders and elected officials who vocally opposed her. Most vocal of those was Sheriff Tim Dunning, who appeared in an anti-Stothert commercial, and the firefighters union, which spent thousands of dollars supporting Mello. Some prominent business leaders had also backed Mello.
Stothert, a Republican in an officially nonpartisan seat, kept the focus on local governance issues as Mello tried to harness anger over President Donald Trump.
Mello told his supporters that the results weren’t what they anticipated, but he urged young people not to give up and to be proud that their message was heard.
Stothert told a jubilant crowd that Mello was a “tough competitor” and that now it's time for the city to come together. She got big applause for promising to work on downtown, “including a new riverfront as our signature.”...
The election also got national attention: Former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders came to Omaha to campaign for Mello. Stothert brought Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker to attend a rally with her.
Mello is a former state senator who
pushed for legislation such as driver’s and professional licenses for
young people who were brought into the country illegally as children and
applying an equal-pay protection law to previously exempted smaller
businesses.
The 37-year-old
also made a name for himself as the first Omahan in years to be elected
by fellow legislators to the position of chairman of the Appropriations
Committee....
In his concession speech, Mello hinted
at the Democratic Party discord that surrounded the Sanders appearance
as Mello’s anti-abortion stance came under attack.
Russell [a campaign strategist] declined to call the Sanders appearance a mistake, but he said the debate struck a dissonant tone for Omaha voters at a time when Mello wanted to focus on such issues as potholes and the proposed streetcar project.
Mello, in his Tuesday night speech, said he was glad he highlighted the importance of such issues as climate change [ie., man-caused catastrophic global warming started by evil Americans in the 1700s Industrial Revolution, especially the Watt Steam Engine], segregation and the need for inclusion in the city. He said he sees work ahead in making Omaha a more welcoming, connected and innovative city....
Russell [a campaign strategist] declined to call the Sanders appearance a mistake, but he said the debate struck a dissonant tone for Omaha voters at a time when Mello wanted to focus on such issues as potholes and the proposed streetcar project.
Mello, in his Tuesday night speech, said he was glad he highlighted the importance of such issues as climate change [ie., man-caused catastrophic global warming started by evil Americans in the 1700s Industrial Revolution, especially the Watt Steam Engine], segregation and the need for inclusion in the city. He said he sees work ahead in making Omaha a more welcoming, connected and innovative city....
Stothert, 63, who previously served on the City Council and the Millard school board, had focused on the budget and public safety. She noted that she successfully negotiated contracts with every bargaining unit in the city and pushed for two property tax cuts."...
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Added: Bernie Sanders and Keith Ellison campaigned in Omaha on April 21 for democrat candidate Mello. Sanders: “The country is now looking at Omaha, Nebraska, as the first step.”...
4/21/17, "Bernie Sanders stumps for Heath Mello in Omaha, stirs national debate about definition of a progressive
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders told a cheering crowd in Omaha on Thursday that he thinks mayoral candidate Heath Mello is part of the Democratic Party of the future.
But
some Democrats don’t agree, and Sanders’ appearance at a rally for
Mello at Baxter Arena sparked a national debate about whether the party
needs to focus on progressive policies and reject Democratic politicians
like Mello who are opposed to abortion.
Sanders was in Omaha as part of a “Come Together, Fight Back, Vote Democrats” national tour aimed at promoting Democratic candidates in local races this year. Mello is running against incumbent Mayor Jean Stothert, a Republican, in what is officially a nonpartisan race.
Sanders was in Omaha as part of a “Come Together, Fight Back, Vote Democrats” national tour aimed at promoting Democratic candidates in local races this year. Mello is running against incumbent Mayor Jean Stothert, a Republican, in what is officially a nonpartisan race.
Sanders is an independent U.S. senator from Vermont who unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination for president. He laid out a vision for the country that he said involves a Democratic Party that “stand(s) up for voters in 50 states, not just the West Coast and the East Coast.”
“Omaha, are you ready for a political revolution?” he asked the crowd of about 6,000....
“The way we defeat money and power is by putting together a strong grass-roots coalition,” Sanders said. “The country is now looking at Omaha, Nebraska, as the first step.”...
Thursday’s rally included speakers from a variety of backgrounds....Deputy Democratic National Committee Chairman Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota called for unity.
“We have got to hang together, and you know, we’ve got to hug it out sometimes,” he said. “We’ve got to believe in unity, and unity means, it cannot be only my way.”
DNC Chairman Tom Perez was originally scheduled to appear at the Omaha rally, but Ellison filled in for him.
Nebraska Democratic Party Chairwoman Jane Kleeb said the switch was the result of a scheduling problem and that Perez was appearing Thursday in Georgia with congressional candidate Jon Ossoff."...
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Added:
"A national proxy political war is being waged in Omaha in the race for mayor....He did promise to stand up against D.C. (viz., Trump) and also stand up for immigrants (sanctuary city status?)."
April 21, 2017, "Dave Begley: Live from Omaha, it’s Keith and Bernie," Powerline
"Omaha attorney Dave Begley covered the appearances of presidential candidates in Iowa and Nebraska for us over the past two years. Yesterday Keith Ellison and Bernie Sanders came to town. The Omaha World-Herald was on hand for local readers. Dave reports:"
"A national proxy political war is being waged in Omaha in the race for mayor. This might surprise Power Line’s national readership, but it is true.
The Democrats desperately want an electoral win after their shocking loss to Donald Trump in November. You know all about the millions of dollars poured into a House race in Georgia, but the Omaha mayor’s race represents a far better opportunity for the Dems. While Hillary Clinton could not even get 35 percent of Nebraska’s vote, she won within the city boundaries of Omaha.
Democrats outnumber Republicans by 16,000 in Omaha. So if the Dems can turn out their people on May 9, incumbent GOP mayor Jean Stothert could be defeated by Democrat Heath Mello. The election is all about turnout.
The official theme of the event was: “Come together. Fight back.” The fighting back is obviously against President Trump and the evil GOP.
Minnesota’s own Keith Ellison spoke for 20 minutes. He was unimpressive. President Trump was referred to as “this guy.” He mouthed the usual Democrat banalities but he alleged that “democracy was on the line” because the Senate changed the 60-vote cloture rule for Supreme Court appointees in connection with the vote to confirm Justice Gorsuch.
Ellison then praised Nebraska for banning the death penalty. It is true that the Nebraska Unicameral did abolish the death penalty. After a citizen petition, however, voters restored it by nearly a 20 percent margin in the November referendum. That’s how direct democracy actually works, Keith.
Bernie Sanders was the star and he hasn’t changed from the first time I saw him. The crowd of about 5,000 true believers stood for his entire 35-minute speech. It was mostly a rehash of his losing campaign. You know the drill. Climate change, free college, single-payer health care, break up the banks, redistribution of wealth, class warfare, too much spent on defense, billionaire class rules America, overturn Citizens United, the GOP suppresses the vote, criminal law reform, rigged economic system, break up the big banks, tax Wall Street and paid family leave.
Senator Sanders claimed that the GOP wants to cut Social Security. False. He said that he would be introducing a bill establishing a national minimum wage of $15 per hour. Probably true.
The only change I could detect from last year’s campaign is that the Democrats intend to focus more on grassroots campaigning and organizing rather than catering to big donors. That might have helped in Wisconsin and Michigan, but we all know that the Russians stole those states for Donald Trump.
While Republican Jean Stothert has been a very good mayor, she hasn’t run a very good campaign so far. She didn’t get above 50 percent of the primary vote. Heath Mello presents himself as a young guy with a nice smile. His speech was substance free (he supports “unifying the city” and is running so that our children “don’t inherit a bad city”). He did promise to stand up against D.C. (viz., Trump) and also stand up for immigrants (sanctuary city status?). To my surprise I learned that climate change is an issue in this municipal election because “it is real.”
Mello’s campaign has made vague promises about the future and been very duplicitous about Mayor Stothert’s record. Mello is trying to pin the move of ConAgra’s headquarters from Omaha to Chicago on Stothert. The facts are that ConAgra made a big acquisition that didn’t work out, an activist hedge fund forced the CEO out and the new CEO moved the headquarters to his hometown of Chicago after he got big tax breaks from the Democrat mayor of Chicago. My view is that unless Jean Stothert goes full Trump on this Democrat, she could lose. Trump has set the standard for how to win and smart GOP candidates should follow it as best they can."
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Added:
"The Trump “resistance” must now look elsewhere to score a major post-November victory."
5/10/17, "Trump resistance flops again," Powerline, Paul Mirengoff
"In what may have been a mild upset victory, Omaha’s Republican mayor Jean Stothert defeated Bernie Sanders–backed Democrat, Heath Mello. The margin was 53-46.
Dave Begley, our man in Omaha (and Council Bluffs), wrote about the Omaha mayor’s race here. He called it “a national proxy political war” and noted that Hillary Clinton won more Omaha votes than Donald Trump. Moreover, registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by 16,000 in Omaha.
Thus, Mello’s defeat is a blow to “the resistance.” His campaign theme--“Come together. Fight back”--failed to carry the day.
Paul Crookston at NRO points out that Mello once supported a bill requiring abortion providers to notify women of the availability of ultrasounds. This didn’t bother Bernie Sanders. He backed Mello forcefully. Moreover, Mello’s rating from Planned Parenthood in 2015 was 100 percent.
Even so, it’s possible that Mello’s “heresy” on abortion prevented potential supporters from “coming together.” Or maybe Omaha just didn’t want a hard-left mayor.
In any event, as Crookston says, the Trump “resistance” must now look elsewhere to score a major post-November victory against the GOP."
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