Omaha City Council

The City Council of Omaha, Nebraska, is elected every four years on a nonpartisan basis. The next election will occur in 2025. Omaha has a strong mayor form of government. Members are elected by district. Currently seven city council districts are represented across the City of Omaha.^[1]

Omaha City Council
Type
Type	Unicameral deliberative assembly of Omaha
Leadership
Mayor	Jean Stothert, (R) since June 2013
President	Pete Festersen, (D) since June 2021
Vice President	Aimee Melton, (R) since May 2023
Structure
Seats	7 officially non-partisan
Political groups	Democratic[lower-alpha 1] 4 / 7 (57%)   Republican[lower-alpha 1] 3 / 7 (43%)
Length of term	4 years
Elections
Voting system	First-past-the-post; Non-partisan Voting (primaries and special elections beginning 1957)
Last election	May 11, 2021
Next election	May 15, 2025
Meeting place
Omaha City Hall, Douglas
Website
city.council.city.of.omaha.org

Membership

City council members represented seven districts throughout the city of Omaha.^[2]

The city council is officially nonpartisan; party affiliations are for informational purposes only. However, registered Democrats hold a majority.

District	Councilman	Party
1	Pete Festersen	D
2	Juanita Johnson	D
3	Danny Begley	D
4	Ron Hug	D
5	Don Rowe	R
6	Brinker Harding	R
7	Aimee Melton	R

Additional seats

In 2006 the Nebraska State Legislature began deliberations on adding additional seats to the Omaha City Council.^[3] Due to the annexation of Elkhorn by Omaha, the city council has proposed new boundaries for the districts that would split Elkhorn between two districts. Legislative Bill 405, introduced by Elkhorn State Senator Dwite Pedersen, would increase the size of the Omaha City Council to 9 members and realign districts. However, this bill was tabled in March 2007 until the next legislative session.^[4]

First Omaha City Council

The first Omaha City Council was convened in 1857. It was composed of A. D. Jones, who resigned March 23, 1857; T. G. Goodwill, who died May 18, 1857; G. C. Bove, H. H. Visscher, Thomas Davis, William N. Byers, William W. Wyman, Thomas O'Connor, C. H. Downs, J. H. Kellom, for whom Kellom School was later named; and John Creighton, whom Creighton University was later named for.^[5]

The city council has long taken stances on issues. In 1859 a local newspaper reported that a, "...bill introduced in the Omaha City Council, for the abolition of slavery in this Territory, was called up yesterday, and its further consideration postponed for two weeks. A strong effort will be made among the Republicans to secure its passage; we think, however, it will fail. The farce certainly cannot be enacted if the Democrats do their duty."^[6]

Table of Recent Members

Election Year	Position 1	Position 2	Position 3	Position 4	Position 5	Position 6	Position 7
1957 [7]	W. P. Garvey	Albert L. Veys	A. V. Sorensen	Warren R. Swigart	James J. Dworak	Harry Trustin	Sam W. Reynolds[note 1]
							N.P. Dodge[note 2]
1961 [9]	Albert L. Veys	Warren R. Swigart	Harry Trustin	H. F. Jacobberger	Ernest A. Adams	William R. Milner	Arthur D. Bradley Jr.
1965 [10]	Robert G. Cunningham	Betty Abbott [note 3]	H. F. Jacobberger	Albert L. Veys	Arthur D. Bradley Jr.	Sam Vacanti	Lynn R. Carey
1969 [12]	H. F. Jacobberger	Warren R. Swigart	Albert Veys	Arthur D. Bradley Jr.	L. K. Smith	Betty Abbott	John Ritums
1973 [13]	John Hlavacek	John Miller	Bob Cunningham [note 4]	Monte Taylor	Steve Rosenblatt	Jerry Hassett	Betty Abbott
			Ray F. Slizewski [note 5]
1977 [16]	Steve Rosenblatt	Jerry Hassett	Richard Takechi [note 6]	Mary Kay Green	Tim Rouse	Leo Kraft	Warren Swigart
	District 1	District 2	District 3	District 4	District 5	District 6	District 7
1981 [18]	David Stahmer	Fred Conley [note 7]	Walt Calinger	Steve Tomasek	Connie Findlay [note 8]	Sylvia Wagner [note 9]	Bernie Simon
1983 [19]		Fred Conley		Steve Tomasek [note 10]		Sylvia Wagner
1985 [21]	Joe Friend		Walt Calinger [note 11]		Richard Takechi		Bernie Simon [note 12]
			Subby Anzaldo [note 13]				Allen Dinzole [note 14]
1987 [24]		Fred Conley [note 15]		Steve Tomasek		Jim Cleary
1989 [20]	Joe Friend		Subby Anzaldo		Richard Takechi		Steve Exon
1991 [25]		Fred Conley		Steve Tomasek		Lee Terry
1993 [26]	Joe Friend [note 16]	Brenda Council [note 17]	Subby Anzaldo	Paul Koneck	Richard Takechi [note 18]	Lee Terry	Frank Christensen
	Lormong Lo [note 19]				Cliff Herd [note 20]
1997 [33]	Lormong Lo	Frank Brown	Subby Anzaldo [note 21]	Paul Koneck	Cliff Herd	Lee Terry[note 22]	Marc Kraft
			Bob Sivick [note 23]			James Monahan[note 24]
2001 [38]	Marc Kraft	Frank Brown	Jim Vokal	Garry Gernandt	Dan Welch	Franklin Thompson	Chuck Sigerson
2005 [39]	Jim Suttle	Frank Brown	Jim Vokal	Garry Gernandt	Dan Welch	Franklin Thompson	Chuck Sigerson
2009 [40]	Pete Festersen	Ben Gray	Chris Jerram	Garry Gernandt	Jean Stothert	Franklin Thompson	Chuck Sigerson [note 25]
							Thomas Mulligan [note 26]
2013 [43]	Pete Festersen	Ben Gray	Chris Jerram	Garry Gernandt	Rich Pahls	Franklin Thompson	Aimee Melton
2017 [44]	Pete Festersen	Ben Gray	Chris Jerram	Vinny Palermo	Rich Pahls [note 27]	Brinker Harding	Aimee Melton
					Colleen Brennan [note 28]
2021[47]	Pete Festersen	Juanita Johnson	Danny Begley	Vinny Palermo [note 29]	Don Rowe	Brinker Harding	Aimee Melton
				Ron Hug [note 30]

1. March 10, 1958: Resigned from city council after moving out of city limits.^[8]
2. February 8, 1958: Selected by City Council to fill vacancy.^[8]
3. First woman elected to the Omaha City Council.^[11]
4. November 16, 1976: Appointed by City Council to become interim mayor.^[14]
5. December 14, 1976: Selected by City Council to fill vacancy.^[15]
6. First Japanese American elected to the Omaha City Council.^[17]
7. First African American elected to the Omaha City Council.^[18]
8. First time two women elected to the Omaha City Council simultaneously.^[18]
9. First time two women elected to the Omaha City Council simultaneously.^[18]
10. January 23, 1987: Became acting mayor after recall of Mayor Mike Boyle.^[20]
11. April 20, 1988: Appointed by City Council to become interim mayor.^[20]
12. February 6, 1987: Appointed by City Council to become interim mayor.^[20]
13. May 27, 1988: Selected by City Council to fill vacant District 3 seat.^[22]
14. March 24, 1987: Selected by City Council to fill vacant District 7 seat.^[23]
15. March 25, 1988: Became acting mayor because Bernie Simon was ill with cancer.^[20]
16. June 1, 1994: Resigned from office.^[27]
17. First African American woman elected to the Omaha City Council.^[28]
18. December 10, 1996: Resigned from City Council after being elected to Douglas County register of deeds.^[29]
19. May 17, 1994: First Hmong American to be appointed to a City Council in the United States.^[30][31]
20. January 7, 1997: Selected by City Council to fill vacant District 5 seat.^[32]
21. February 19, 2000: Resigned from city council to work for Mayor Hal Daub.^[34]
22. January 4, 1999: Resigned from city council after being elected to U.S. Congress.^[35]
23. February 15, 2000: Selected by City Council to fill vacant District 3 seat.^[36]
24. December 22, 1998: Selected by City Council to fill vacant District 6 seat.^[37]
25. March 1, 2010: Resigned after stroke and heart attack.^[41]
26. April 13, 2010: Selected by City Council to fill vacant District 7 seat.^[42]
27. January 5, 2021: Resigned from city council after being elected to Nebraska Legislature.^[45]
28. December 22, 2020: Selected by City Council to fill vacant District 5 seat.^[46]
29. August 1, 2023: Omaha City Council votes to kick jailed Vinny Palermo off the council, 6-0. ^[48]
30. September 12, 2023: Omaha City Council votes to appoint Ron Hug after kick jailed Vinny Palermo off the council, 6-0. ^[49]

Notes

1. City of Omaha elections are officially non-partisan; party affiliations are informational only.

References

1. Sloan, K. (2007) "Omaha council redraws borders," Omaha World-Herald. 2007-02-26. Retrieved 2007-03-11.
2. City of Omaha. "City Council." Retrieved 9/17/07.
3. Stoddard, M. (2007) "Bill to add two Omaha council districts advances", Omaha World-Herald. 2007-02-21. Retrieved 9/17/07.
4. "Briefs," Grand Island Independent. Retrieved 9/17/07.
5. (n.d.) Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska Douglas County Produced by Liz Lee for NEGenWeb.
6. A Daily Nebraskian newspaper editorial from 1859, as quoted in Bristow, D. (2002) A Dirty, Wicked Town: Tale of 19th Century Omaha. Caxton Press.
7. "Rosenblatt Wins; Garvey, Veys Top Council; 7th Place Undecided". Omaha World-Herald (Sunrise ed.). May 15, 1957. p. 1.
8. "Council Shift Next Month". Omaha World-Herald (Home ed.). February 10, 1958. p. 1.
9. "5 of Council Would Serve as President". Omaha World-Herald (Sunrise ed.). May 10, 1961. p. 1.
10. Howe, Woodson (May 12, 1965). "Cunningham Leads List; 4 Are New". Omaha World-Herald (Sunrise ed.). p. 1.
11. Kelly, Jean (May 12, 1965). "Betty Abbott's Future 'Has' to Include a Wig". Omaha World-Herald (Home ed.). p. 6.
12. "Four Re-elected to Council". Omaha World-Herald (Sunrise ed.). May 14, 1969. p. 1.
13. Thompson, David (May 16, 1973). "Voter Dissatisfaction Cited In Defeat of Five Incumbents". Omaha World-Herald (Metropolitan ed.). p. 1.
14. Kelly, Michael (November 16, 1976). "Mayor Cunningham: 'I Will Listen to You'". Omaha World-Herald (Metropolitan ed.). p. 1.
15. "New Council Pick Says He Plans To Study Issues". Omaha World-Herald (Sunrise ed.). December 15, 1976. p. 1.
16. Taylor, John (May 11, 1977). "Council's Names Familiar". Omaha World-Herald (Metropolitan ed.). p. 1.
17. Robert, John (May 26, 1977). "More Evidence, Please, Judge". Omaha World-Herald (Metropolitan ed.). p. 2.
18. Kotok, C. David (May 13, 1981). "New Council Makes History In Wake of District Elections". Omaha World-Herald (Sunrise ed.). p. 1.
19. Levenson, Bob (May 11, 1983). "Views Mixed on Results From Staggered Election". Omaha World-Herald (Metropolitan ed.). p. 1.
20. Flanery, James Allen (May 10, 1989). "Morgan Win Seen as End To Turbulent Time for City Boyle Theme Not Enough, Observers Say". Omaha World-Herald (Metropolitan ed.). p. 1.
21. Kotok, C. David (May 15, 1985). "Boyle Wins Re - Election; Council Gets 2 New Faces". Omaha World-Herald (Iowa ed.).
22. Gonzalez, Cindy (May 27, 1988). "Anzaldo Moves Into the Spotlight On City Council". Omaha World-Herald (Metro ed.). p. SD.
23. Collison, Kevin (March 25, 1987). "He'll Ask Simon's Help Councilman Dinzole Seeks District Title". Omaha World-Herald (Metro ed.).
24. Goodsell, Paul (May 13, 1987). "Jim Cleary Joins Conley, Tomasek On Council; Turn out Is Record Low". Omaha World-Herald (Iowa ed.).
25. Kotok, C. David (May 15, 1991). "Terry to Be Only New Face Council Little Changed After Vote". Omaha World-Herald (Metropolitan ed.). p. 1.
26. Mullen, Kris; de Zutter, Mary (May 12, 1993). "Twin Win: Morgan, Sales Tax Political Newcomers Defeat Exon, Tomasek in Council Races Ms. Council Gets 78 Percent of Vote To Win City Seat". Omaha World-Herald (Lincoln ed.). p. 1.
27. Brennan, Joe (April 5, 1994). "Friend Resigning, Says He Dreads City Council Job". Omaha World-Herald (Chaser ed.). p. 1.
28. Ruggles, Rick (February 17, 2000). "Photo Tribute Honors 6 Omahans". Omaha World-Herald (Metropolitan ed.). p. 17.
29. Janovy, Jena (December 4, 1996). "Takechi's Last Night Marked With Praise and Appreciation". Omaha World-Herald (Sunrise ed.). p. 20.
30. Brennan, Joe (May 17, 1994). "Lormong Lo Wins Seat on City Council". Omaha World-Herald (Chaser ed.). p. 1.
31. Szalewski, Susan (July 26, 2011). "Ex-councilman Lormong Lo loved adopted city". Omaha World-Herald (Sunrise ed.). p. 5B.
32. Kelley, Matt (January 7, 1997). "Cliff Herd Is Elected To Council Millard Man Also On School Board". Omaha World-Herald (Chaser ed.). p. 1.
33. "City of Omaha General (05/13/1997) Election Results" (PDF). Douglas County Election Commission. May 13, 1997. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
34. Ruggles, Rick (January 7, 2000). "Election Will Be Feb. 15 To Fill Anzaldo's Post". Omaha World-Herald (Metro ed.). p. 15.
35. Ruggles, Rick (November 11, 1998). "Terry Issues Apology For Implying Council Has Picked Successor". Omaha World-Herald (Sunrise ed.). p. 22.
36. Ruggles, Rick (February 16, 2000). "Sivick Gets Council Slot On 5 - 1 Vote". Omaha World-Herald (Sunrise ed.). p. 1.
37. "Monahan Fills Seat On Omaha Council". Omaha World-Herald (Chaser ed.). December 22, 1998. p. 1.
38. "City of Omaha General (05/15/2001) Election Results" (PDF). Douglas County Election Commission. May 15, 2001. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
39. "City of Omaha General (05/10/2005) Election Results Summary". Douglas County Election Commission. May 10, 2005. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
40. "City of Omaha General (05/12/2009) Election Results Summary". Douglas County Election Commission. May 12, 2009. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
41. Tysver, Robynn (February 11, 2010). "Sigerson resigns from City Council He says his speech hasn't improved enough since a stroke and heart attack". Omaha World-Herald (Sunrise ed.). p. 1A.
42. O'Brien, Maggie (April 13, 2010). "'Open-minded' Mulligan gets Sigerson's seat". Omaha World-Herald (Metropolitan ed.). p. 1A.
43. "City of Omaha General (05/14/2013) Election Results Summary". Douglas County Election Commission. May 14, 2013. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
44. "City of Omaha General (05/09/2017) Election Results Summary". Douglas County Election Commission. May 9, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
45. Ristau, Reece (November 13, 2020). "With Pahls bound for Legislature, council needs new member". Omaha World-Herald. p. 11.
46. Ristau, Reece (December 23, 2020). "New council member blogged on race, virus". Omaha World-Herald. p. 9.
47. "City of Omaha General (05/11/2021) Election Results Summary" (PDF). Douglas County Election Commission. May 11, 2021. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
48. Burbach, Christopher (August 1, 2023). "Omaha City Council votes to kick jailed Vinny Palermo off the council". Omaha World-Herald. p. 9.
49. Burbach, Christopher (September 12, 2023). "Omaha City Council appoints replacement for Vinny Palermo". Omaha World-Herald. p. 9.

See also

• Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission
• Government of Omaha