Politics & Elections

Gretna will have a new Mayor in November.

Unofficial results from the Sarpy County Election Commission show Jim Timmerman and Kip Edmonds were the top two vote-getters in Tuesday’s primary election. Incumbent Sally McGuire finished in fourth place, with 11-percent of the vote.

In late April, State Auditor Mike Foley released an audit critical of how former Gretna City Administrator Colleen Lawry used city funds. McGuire fired Lawry May first, and Lawry has since been charged with felony theft. Authorities say Lawry misused money intended for the Gretna senior citizens fund for herself.

November’s general election will feature a former Nebraska Governor and a current State Senator in the race for U.S. Senate.

Democratic Senate candidate Bob Kerrey and GOP candidate Deb Fischer won their respective primaries Tuesday night. Kerrey entered the Senate race one day before the primary election filing deadline. He previously served as a U.S. Senator from Nebraska.

State Senator Deb Fischer, of Valentine, narrowly defeated Attorney General Jon Bruning in the GOP primary. Fischer recently finished her second term in the Unicameral. In an interview Tuesday night with the AP, Fischer characterized the Senate race as “the focus of the entire nation.”

With Nebraska’s primary election approaching, the candidates for the Second Congressional District are talking jobs, the economy, and federal spending.

The primary election is next Tuesday. Second District Congressman Lee Terry is running for his seventh term in the U.S. House. Terry’s campaign chairman, Dave Boomer, says the Congressman is focusing his campaign on spending and fiscal accountability.

One of Terry’s opponents is financial adviser Brett Lindstrom. Lindstrom says he’s focused the issue of leadership, and the U.S. unemployment rate. Lindstrom says that rate doesn’t take in to account the number of underemployed Americans.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney says the Keystone XL pipeline project should be built. 

Romney spoke at a campaign rally Thursday afternoon in Omaha. The rally comes five days before Nebraska’s primary election. During his ten-minute speech to an overflow crowd, Romney talked about jobs, health care, and domestic sources of energy. He says all sources of power should be considered, including the Keystone XL pipeline. 

Romney has the backing of Governor Dave Heineman, who introduced Romney. Heineman says this year’s election comes down to the economy, jobs, and health care. "And President Obama is wrong on every one of those issues. We need someone in the White House who understands the economy, knows how to create jobs, and we know who can do that."

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will campaign Thursday in Omaha.

A news release from Romney’s campaign says the former Massachusetts Governor will speak Thursday afternoon at a rally at Rick’s Café Boatyard. The stop comes five days before Nebraska’s primary election.

In 2008, President Obama won the electoral vote tied to Nebraska’s Second Congressional District. Senator John McCain won Nebraska’s First and Third Congressional District votes.

Russia’s Ambassador to the U.S. says two decades after the Cold War, relations between the two countries remain complex.

Sergey Kislyak discussed international relations during a forum Thursday night at UNO. Kislyak has served as Ambassador since 2008, and says the relationship between the U.S. and Russia has improved steadily over the past few years.

He says both nations are dealing with many of the same issues. “We have in common a lot of the biggest challenges that you face. Security challenges are the same, terrorism, inter-ethnic conflicts, inter-religious intolerance, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, narcotics, and one can continue, it’s a long list of problems.”

The Douglas County Election Commission will reopen some of the 179 polling places closed prior to this year’s primary election.

Election Commissioner Dave Phipps says the polling places will reopen before the November general election. How many polling places will reopen has yet to be determined. Primary election turnout, along with general election results from the past two presidential elections, will determine which polling places reopen.

Phipps says the decision to reopen some polling places was made following public criticism. He says his office should’ve done a better job notifying voters in areas where polling places were being closed.

The federal deficit was on the minds of the GOP candidates for Nebraska’s Second Congressional District at a debate Friday. The Omaha Press Club and League of Women Voters sponsored the debate.

Incumbent Congressman Lee Terry has three challengers. One is financial advisor Brett Lindstrom. UNO mathematics professor Jack Heidel and former Douglas County Republican Party Chairman Glenn Freeman are also running for Congress. 

One issued debated by the candidates was the federal deficit. Lindstrom said with the U.S. deficit at $15.6 trillion and climbing, government officials need to look toward additional places to cut.