Senator Mike McDonnell says Omaha needs a mayor who listens

Republican Sen. Mike McDonnell announces his bid for mayor of Omaha on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)

OMAHA — Before kicking off his bid for mayor Thursday, Nebraska state Sen. Mike McDonnell, who became a Republican in April, shook hands and spoke with nonpartisan U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn.

In a crowd of more than 300 people at the former McDonnell Fire Hall, the two Omaha union leaders greeted each other warmly. Osborn said he was happy to support “a regular guy.”

“Mike came out…he was president of the Omaha Federation of Labor, and when you go on strike for 77 days (as Osborn and other workers at the Kellogg factory in Omaha were), he did everything he could to help us be successful ,” Osborn said.

Osborn lost an unexpectedly close race as a nonpartisan in an unusual challenge from Republican U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer. He lost by 7 percentage points in a state dominated by the Republican Party.

Labor shifts within the Republican Party

McDonnell hopes to surprise Omaha’s Republican Mayor Jean Stothert with the help of the Republican Party’s new job market. He joined a four-way jungle primary in which the top two vote-getters advance in the nonpartisan race.

McDonnell, who is term-limited to run again for the Legislature, said Omaha needs a mayor who will listen to working people on issues like the streetcar project, public safety and parks.

He said he would make good on Stothert’s unfulfilled promise to let residents vote on whether the city should build a streetcar project. She credited the project with helping keep Mutual of Omaha’s headquarters in the city.

McDonnell also said he would ensure Omaha returns to the basics of city government, providing better streets, reliable trash collection and economic development that works for all parts of the city.

McDonnell cut his political teeth as a friend and fire chief of former Democratic Mayor Mike Fahey and later clashed with Stothert.

“I’m not a perfect person,” McDonnell said. ‘I can promise you that I will listen to you. I will work hard. And I’ll tell you the truth. That is why I am announcing that I am running for mayor.”

What McDonnell would do

In a follow-up interview, McDonnell said he understands he will be attacked for his record, but that his run for mayor will be about doing what residents say they want.

He said this could be as simple as making sure the city mows the lawn and collects trash from city parks more often, or as complicated as replacing the streetcar project with self-driving taxis and other cheaper public transportation options.

He said he wants to help the city hire more police officers quickly enough to overcome the retirements caused by the city’s aging workforce.

“If you drive by 72nd and Dodge, I think that’s an example of what she’s done over the last 12 years,” McDonnell said of the long-delayed redevelopment of Crossroads Mall.

McDonnell compared Omaha to a 6-5 football team that should compete for championships and said voters will have to decide whether they want to settle for what they get or try for something more.

Competing candidates respond

Stothert’s campaign said it would show “why Mayor Stothert is the best person to lead Omaha, while sharing her track record of progress that has and will continue to build momentum for our future.”

Stothert is running for a record fourth term as mayor. She has focused much of her work on expanding the city’s police force, limiting city spending and revitalizing downtown.

She and McDonnell feuded when he was fire chief, over issues such as raising costs or driving up the cost of pension benefits by making older workers work more overtime in their senior years.

Jasmine Harris, a Democratic mayoral candidate, welcomed McDonnell to the race, saying she remains “focused on making Omaha a place for everyone … no matter their background or neighborhood.”

She echoes McDonnell’s criticism of Stothert for being out of touch with what Omaha residents value, which she says improves the cost and experience of living in the city’s neighborhoods.

Douglas County Treasurer John Ewing, another Democratic candidate for mayor, said McDonnell enjoys talking about streetcar results and tax increase financing, but as a member of the Legislature he did little on either issue.

Ewing called McDonnell “out of touch with the people in this community who don’t want politicians to make their health care decisions,” referring to McDonnell’s support for legislation to restrict abortion.

Big name and baggage

McDonnell arrives in the race with a big name and some baggage. He cast the decisive vote that allowed Nebraska to pass a stricter abortion ban in 2023, angering many local abortion rights advocates.

He also upset newly elected President Donald Trump by saying he would not vote for a switch to the state’s winner-take-all method of awarding Electoral College votes for presidential elections.

McDonnell had campaigned for the Legislature as a rare Democrat who opposes abortion rights. When he switched to the Republican Party last spring, he said he would protect the so-called “blue dot.”

His critics say he has betrayed both sides. They describe him as a transactional politician who is out for himself and the interests of the unions he represents.

His defenders say he’s exactly what’s needed in a somewhat right-wing city where most of the state’s Democrats live, someone who feels comfortable taking a stand and making a fuss about it.

They praised him for his work leading the Legislature’s Pension Committee and for helping to pass school choice legislation, though voters later repealed the measure.

Interesting crowd

McDonnell’s kickoff drew people from across the political spectrum, including GOP Secretary of State Julie Slama of Dunbar and Steve Halloran of Hastings and former state Sen. Burke Harr, a Democrat.

McDonnell’s cheerleaders included Fahey and Republican Douglas County Commissioner PJ Morgan, a former mayor. Both told the Examiner that McDonnell would make an exceptional mayor.

Fahey credited McDonnell for maintaining the state’s practice of awarding a single electoral vote to the presidential winner in each of the three congressional districts, which could have an impact in the swinging 2nd Congressional District.

Vice President Kamala Harris won the 2nd District this year. In other recent elections, the district supported President Joe Biden in 2020, Trump in 2016 and Mitt Romney in 2012.

“Mike is very open-minded,” Fahey said. “He is a very balanced man and I think he can make very good decisions most of the time. He has done an excellent job as fire chief.”

Morgan called McDonnell’s “brave stand” on abortion. Morgan said he “really respects” McDonnell’s position on the issue.

Tom Venzor, the executive director of the Nebraska Catholic Conference, was also in the crowd Thursday. The conference appreciated McDonnell’s willingness to fight his former party on the issue.

Democrats a wild card

Jane Kleeb, chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party, said Republicans are “dissatisfied with their current leadership” and want change in Omaha. She said she supported the candidacies of Democrats Ewing and Harris.

But her statement left room for the possibility, discussed during the legislative effort with McDonnell to save the “blue dot,” that the party could support him if he and Stothert are the two candidates who advance to the general election.

“Our party is prepared to do everything we can to ensure that Stothert does not win a fourth term,” Kleeb said.

The city’s primary election is April 1, with the general election six weeks later on May 13.

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