Kara Eastman, the President and CEO of Omaha Healthy Kids Alliance, recently announced she will be running against 2nd Congressional District Representative Don Bacon in the May primary next year.
Eastman explains she’s running because she doesn’t believe the current administration’s values represent Nebraska’s values.
She says she’s concerned about potential cuts to education and Medicaid as well as rollbacks to EPA regulations that protect kids from lead poisoning.
Eastman says she’s been thinking about the next phase of her career for a while and feels this is the next step.
"When I see that there are cuts to EPA programs or potential for cuts to EPA programs that directly impact the families that we at the Healthy Kids Alliance have seen for the last 11 years, I think that was the last straw for me where I just said this is not okay. Running the non-profit is a labor of love for me and I am in love with what I do but it’s not enough for me anymore and it’s time to take this to the next level."
Eastman is running as a Democrat and says though she’s not a politician, she is used to getting things done with national, local and state government.
She says she’s had lots of experience both talking and listening to people.
In the metro, Eastman has generated over $13 million in revenue to invest in healthy environments for kids.