Another year and another set of broken promises from Mayor Jean Stothert. In her state of the City address today she once again failed to show any improvement in her three key promises to the citizens of Omaha; crime, job creation, and eliminating the bar and restaurant tax.
Chair Vince Powers pointed to the most recent Violence Policy Center report that placed Nebraska and Omaha as having the second highest African American homicide rate in the nation. “Mayor Stothert promised that the news of the day would not be about another local shooting but sadly she presides over one of highest homicide rates in the nation, and the nine dead and over a dozen shootings in January of this year only underscores that terrible statistic,” said Powers. “In addition, she fell short of her 2014 benchmark for police by 17 officers, we have seen a spike in murders and property crime, and due to her inabilities both fire and police have been without contracts now for over a year.”
Another promise made by Stothert was job creation, but the most recent Bureau of Labor Statists report show that since Mayor Stothert’s first full month in office (July 2013 thru December 2014) the Omaha MSA has fewer jobs than when she took office. Today, Omaha is in jeopardy of losing two long standing, large employers, Kellogs and Woodman. A list of economic development projects the Stothert promised last year have fell through including, the Crossroads Mall development, Tranquility Park multi-sport complex project, and the North Omaha Industrial Park.
Finally Mayor Stothert promised that she would roll back the Bar and Restaurant tax, making that her number one priority in her campaign. “Here we are 18 months later and Jean Stothert continues to pocket the cash from the tax on bars and restaurants, with no end in sight” said Powers.
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