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Jasmine Harris announces run for mayor of Omaha
Jasmine Harris announced Tuesday she will make another run for mayor of Omaha in 2025, hoping to improve on her 2021 showing when she narrowly missed qualifying for the general election.
“We are facing a critical moment in the fight for our city’s future, and we need a mayor with a vision that includes all of us,” Harris said. “I’m running to be the mayor for the people of Omaha.”
Harris, director of public policy and advocacy at RISE, a local nonprofit that helps people reenter society after serving time in prison, announced her candidacy in downtown Omaha. She is 44 and a Democrat.
Harris becomes the third declared candidate for mayor in the officially nonpartisan Omaha city elections. Mayor Jean Stothert, the incumbent Republican, is seeking her fourth four-year term as mayor. Douglas County Treasurer John Ewing, a Democrat, launched his candidacy in May.
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Omaha City Council President Pete Festersen and State Sen. Mike McDonnell have been mulling bids but have not announced their intentions.
About 20 supporters, including State Sens. Terrell McKinney and Machaela Cavanaugh, cheered Harris’ announcement Tuesday in the venue space of Dry Spokes, a nonalcoholic cocktail bar.
“She is going to be, for the City of Omaha, an advocate for government oversight, for transparency,” Cavanaugh said while introducing Harris. “She’s going to make sure that we are spending our tax dollars on the right things, and not just on what is the glitzy, glamorous, flashy thing that’s going to perpetuate income inequality. She’s going to make sure that Omaha is for everyone, and not just for some.”
Harris finished third in the 2021 primary, behind Stothert and real estate businessman RJ Neary. Harris garnered 14% of the vote in the primary, just behind Neary’s 16%. The top two finishers advanced, and Stothert went on to defeat Neary in the general election.
Harris has a master’s degree in public health from the University of Nebraska Medical Center. She grew up near Fontenelle Park in northeast Omaha, attended Northwest High School and went to the University of Nebraska at Omaha before continuing her education at UNMC.
“A city’s budget shows its priorities, and the mayor sets those priorities,” Harris said.
“When I show you my budget as mayor, you’ll see where my priorities lie: public safety, healthy communities, affordable housing, providing economic opportunity and inclusive development that benefits everyone in our city,” Harris said.
She criticized the city’s planned streetcar, backed by Stothert, and the slow progress of the former Crossroads Mall redevelopment.
“We’re also faced with the increasing budget for the streetcar project that the majority of Omahans will not benefit from, and they did not get the chance to vote on it, but yet they will still burden the cost of paying for it anyway,” Harris said.
Stothert has vowed Omaha taxpayers will not have to pay for the streetcar, which is now estimated to cost $389 million to build and equip. The funding plan for the project relies heavily on tax-increment financing. The city is issuing bonds that are to be repaid by developers and other business property owners with revenue generated by real estate development in the streetcar corridor.
“Simply inviting developers into our city is not enough,” Harris said. “We must ensure that these projects work for everyday people and build up our neighborhood economies, but not just only in downtown, in the Dodge Street corridor,” Harris said.
She touted her experience in community development and in leadership at the growing RISE organization, and said she has demonstrated an ability to work effectively with state legislators on issues important to Omahans. Harris cited a student loan assistance program for residents going into mental health careers, and a 2022 override of then-Gov. Pete Ricketts veto of money for reentry services.
Festersen said Tuesday he will make a final decision soon.
“I don’t think the field is complete,” he said.
McDonnell could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Asked what separates her from the field of candidates, Harris said she’s not a career politician.
“It’s not a career move for me,” she said. “It’s just really putting people at the forefront.”
Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert says granting her a fourth term would keep the city 'moving forward'
Douglas County Treasurer John Ewing Jr. will run for Omaha mayor
Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of September 2024
chris.burbach@owh.com, 402-444-1057, twitter.com/CHRISBURBACH
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