Omaha poised to have first Black leader after mayor concedes race

By Associated Press

Omaha, Nebraska (AP) — Omaha’s first female mayor has conceded the city’s mayoral race to a man who is poised to become the community’s first Black mayor.

Voters in Omaha were set to 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 winner will lead Nebraska’s largest city, which makes up nearly a quarter of the state’s population.

The race between Mayor Jean Stothert and challenger John Ewing 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.

Stothert was trailing by nearly 11,000 votes in unofficial results late Tuesday night. At her election night event, Stothert said she called Ewing and conceded in the race, according to CNN-affiliate KETV.

“I called John Ewing, and I congratulated him,” Stothert said. “John Ewing is inheriting tonight a great city, and we leave a strong foundation for the city that we love. We are grateful and we are hopeful.”

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.

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 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.”

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