Focus on State Board of Education
For the in-between time between election cycles
State Board of Education
We move on from colleges to see how voters can affect education in Nebraska. Voters elect the State Board of Education, which oversees the Department of Education. The Board is responsible for appointing the commissioner; establishing and publishing laws, rules, reports, and programs; performing studies and investigations; approving programs for teachers, handicapped students, veterans, or other groups of students with particular needs; and more. Eight members represent 8 districts covering the state. The group is non-partisan and unpaid. More information about their duties can be found on VIP’s job description for the Board.
The Board has many ways to involve the public. They are required to have 2-day meetings, four times a year, but sometimes meet more often. Their agendas are posted ahead of time, including documents on items to be discussed. Per State Board of Education Board Operating Policy, current as of December 2025, meetings are to include 90 minutes for public comment (which can be extended if the board chooses). Citizens with concerns regarding items on the agenda, or other topics that the board can act upon, have the opportunity to speak to the Board for up to 5 minutes. Those who cannot attend can submit written comments up to 24 hours before the meeting. Rules for public comment, both spoken and written, can be found here.
Parts of their meetings are broadcast live over the internet, and these parts of those meetings are posted on NDE’s YouTube channel. Minutes of previous meetings are also posted, including voting records.
In the past, citizens have had a large effect on the State Board of Education through public comment, taking advantage of both the opportunity to speak within the meetings and submit written feedback.
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For example, the State Board of Education planned to vote in the fall of 2021 on comprehensive health education standards, including general health topics like hygiene and nutrition, but also sex education and LGBTQ+ topics. Hundreds of citizens expressed their opinions on both sides of the controversy—some opposing the standards, emphasizing their different values regarding sexuality and the role of parents in teaching these topics; and others supporting them, in concern for students making bad decisions, feeling isolated, or bullying others due to ignorance. The public comment and controversy was so intense that the Board created a second draft of the standards, which pleased no one; and then cancelled the vote in September 2021. They stated that the amount of time needed to draft a satisfactory curriculum took away from the need to address other priorities (such as COVID-related issues). They said that they would take it up again, and confirmed their intent to do so in a vote in 2022.
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A more recent controversy involves a mistake in distributing $30.5 million to school districts. Omaha Public Schools received tens of millions of dollars more than it should have, and two other districts were also overpaid. Other districts were left short. The mistake was caught later, in an audit, and Board of Education members are discussing ways to avoid this problem in the future.
The Board’s members have been changing in recent years. In 2024, half of its members (Patsy Koch Johns, Lisa Fricke, Patti Gubbels, and Jacquelyn Morrison) decided not to seek re-election. In fact, in September 2024, 3 months before the end of her term, District 4 Board member Jacquelyn Morrison resigned, without giving her specific reasons.
For some, reasons involved the more polarized political environment, which has begun to be reflected in the board in ways that it previously was not, making it difficult to focus on more neutral but also critical issues like teacher shortage and special ed students. Another issue is the tens of thousands of dollars it takes to run for the Board, which is not a paid position, in addition to forcing candidates to be more political in their campaigns, discussing controversial topics such as “parents’ rights and banning or restricting books that discuss sex and specifically LGBTQ sex.”
More changes are coming this year; Deborah Neary, vice president of the Board, has announced that she will not run for a third term this year. Kirk Penner, appointed in 2021 by Gov. Ricketts, has also decided not to run this year.
However, in spite of the “culture war” topics that have heated up in recent years, the board more often has agreement as it deals with topics of concern to anyone who cares about education: “literacy, chronic absenteeism, and teacher and staff recruitment and retention.” These topics and many more are of concern to parents, teachers, students, and anyone else who cares about the state of education in Nebraska. The Board could benefit from public input about these topics, in addition to the controversial ones.
Citizens can have a powerful impact on the Board of Education—not only by providing the spoken and written comments that the Board encourages, but also by voting! Being aware of the positions of incumbents running for reelection can allow voters to compare their actions with the claims made by challengers to make a more informed decision. VIP encourages voters to take advantage of the publicly-available information, including meeting agendas with voting records and recordings of past meetings, as they research candidates for these influential positions.
Following find some example questions to get you thinking about what you might want to ask an office holder:
Example Idea #1: What do you propose to address the teacher shortage? Pesonally I would like to recommend.....
Example Idea #2: What role do you think testing should play in measuring student success?
Example Idea #3: Given only 25% of Nebraska eighth graders are proficient at reading, would the board consider moving back to a phonics-based approach to teaching reading?
Example Idea #4: How can local school districts and families better work together to determine book choices for school libraries in their districts?
Example Idea #5: What experience in education do you bring to the position?
Contact information for connecting with the office holders follows:
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State Board of Education https://www.education.ne.gov/stateboard/members/ P.O. Box 94987 Lincoln, NE 68509-4987
District 1 - NW Lancaster County Kristin Christensen kristin.christensen@nebraska.gov (402) 640-4435 (cell) District 2 - Cass, Johnson, Nemaha, Otoe, Sarpy Counties Maggie Douglas maggie.douglas@nebraska.gov (402) 707-6209 (cell)District 3 - Burt, Colfax, Cuming, Dodge, Douglas, Madison, Platte, Stanton, Washington Lisa Schonhoff lisa.schonhoff@nebraska.gov (913) 327-5541 (cell) District 4 - Eastern Douglas CountyLiz Renner liz.renner@nebraska.gov (402) 968-1102 (cell) District 5 - Butler, Clay, Fillmore, Franklin, Gage, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lancaster, Nuckolls, Pawnee, Polk, Richardson, Saline, Saunders, Seward, Thayer, Webster, York Kirk Penner kirk.penner@nebraska.gov (402) 694-5295 (landline)District 6 - Adams, Antelope, Boone, Buffalo, Cedar, Cuming, Dakota, Dixon, Greeley, Hall, Howard, Knox, Merrick, Nance, Pierce, Thurston, Wayne, Wheeler Sherry Jones Sherry.Jones@nebraska.gov (308) 258-3184 (cell)District 7 - Arthur, Banner, Blaine, Box Butte, Boyd, Brown, Chase, Cherry, Cheyenne, Custer, Dawes, Dawson, Deuel, Dundy, Frontier, Furnas, Garden, Gosper, Grant, Harlan, Hayes, Hitchcock, Holt, Hooker, Kearney, Keith, Keya Paha, Kimball, Lincoln, Logan, Loup, McPherson, Morrill, Perkins, Phelps, Red Willow, Rock, Scotts Bluff, Sheridan, Sherman, Sioux, Thomas, Valley Elizabeth Tegtmeier Elizabeth.Tegtmeier@nebraska.gov (308) 534-4530 (landline)District 8 - Central Douglas County Deborah Neary deborah.neary@nebraska.gov (402) 215-9139 (cell)
Blog research and writing by Vickie Hecker. Vickie is a state employee, but her postings on this site do not speak for the views of the state, its customers, clients, suppliers, or employees. Any links to state sites are provided for informational purposes only. |
Encouraging Candidate Responses - Cities Primary 2021
Finding Facebook Pages
If the candidates on your ballot have not answered the questionnaire for Voter Information Project (www.voterinformation.org), please use the Facebook page and/or Website lists to ask them to. If they hear from many voters, they will more likely see the importance of answering.
If the candidates on your ballot have answered - a thank you on their Facebook page would be great encouragement.
By Race:
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Lincoln Airport Authority |
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Nicki Behmer |
https://www.facebook.com/votenickibehmer/ |
http://votenickibehmer.com/ |
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Jason Krueger |
https://www.facebook.com/Jason-B-Krueger-for-Airport-Authority-105247854985562/ |
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John Olsson |
https://www.facebook.com/OlssonForLincolnAirport |
http://johnolsson.com/ |
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Tracy Refior |
https://www.facebook.com/Refior-for-Lincoln-Airport-Authority-112605110875323/ |
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Lincoln City Council - At Large |
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Tom Beckius |
https://www.facebook.com/TomforLNK |
https://tomforlincoln.com/ |
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Eric Burling |
https://www.facebook.com/burlingforlincoln/ |
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Roy Christensen |
https://www.facebook.com/RoyforLincoln |
http://RoyForLincoln.com/ |
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Mary Hilton |
https://www.facebook.com/HiltonForLincoln |
http://www.hiltonforlincoln.com/ |
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PeterKolozsy |
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Elina Newman |
https://www.facebook.com/elinanewmanforcitycouncil |
http://newmanforlincoln.com/ |
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Trevor Reilly |
https://www.facebook.com/Reilly4Lincoln |
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Bennie Shobe |
https://www.facebook.com/bennieforlnk/ |
http://www.bennieforlnk.com/ |
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Maggie Mae Squires |
https://www.facebook.com/maggieforlincoln |
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Jospeh Swanson |
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Sändra Washington |
https://www.facebook.com/sandra.washington.332345 |
https://sandraforlincoln.com/ |
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Aurang Zeb |
https://www.facebook.com/Zeb-For-City-Council-Members-At-Large-111265757462217 |
http://www.zebforlincoln.com/ |
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Lincoln Public Schools Board of Education - District 01 |
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Christina Campbell |
https://www.facebook.com/CampbellforLincoln/ |
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Kathy Danek |
https://www.facebook.com/kmdanek |
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Colette Yellow Robe |
https://www.facebook.com/Colette.YellowRobe.for.School.Board/ |
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Lincoln Public Schools Board of Education - District 03 |
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Barbara Baier |
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Lincoln Public Schools Board of Education - District 05 |
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Lanny Boswell |
https://www.facebook.com/LannyBoswellLPS |
http://www.LannyBoswell.com/ |
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Lincoln Public Schools Board of Education - District 07 |
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Don Mayhew |
https://www.facebook.com/drmayhew |
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Michael Patestas |
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Omaha City Council - District 1 |
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Paul Anderson |
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Pete Festersen |
https://www.facebook.com/Pete-Festersen-60188164007 |
www.petefestersen.com |
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Sarah Johnson |
https://www.facebook.com/SarahJohnsonForCityCouncil |
www.sj4oma.com |
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Tyeisha Kosmicki |
https://www.facebook.com/TyeishaKosmicki/ |
kosmicki4council.com |
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Omaha City Council - District 2 |
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Steven Abraham |
https://www.facebook.com/steven.abraham.district2 |
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Ben Gray |
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100016017197476 |
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Juanita Johnson |
https://www.facebook.com/JuanitaJohnson21 |
www.votejuanita.com |
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Jonathan Lathan |
https://www.facebook.com/Lathanfor2021 |
http://www.lathanfor2021.com/ |
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David Mitchell |
www.facebook.com/DavidMitchellOmaha |
https://votedavidmitchell.com/ |
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Cornelius Williams |
https://www.facebook.com/Cornelius.Williams.CityCouncilD2 |
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Omaha City Council - District 3 |
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Gilbert Ayala |
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Jen Bauer |
https://www.facebook.com/votejenbauer |
www.votejenbauer.com |
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Danny Begley |
https://www.facebook.com/DannyBegleyforOmaha |
www.DannyBegley.com |
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Cammy Watkins |
https://www.facebook.com/cammy4council |
cammy4council.com |
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Omaha City Council - District 4 |
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Becky Barrientos-Patlan |
https://www.facebook.com/becky.barrientospatlan |
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Ben Cass |
https://www.facebook.com/BenCassForOmaha/ |
http://bencassforomaha.com/ |
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Vinny Palermo |
https://www.facebook.com/vinny.palermo.7 |
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Sarah Smolen |
https://www.facebook.com/smolen4omahacitycouncil |
http://www.smolen4omaha.com/ |
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Omaha City Council - District 5 |
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Colleen Brennan |
https://www.facebook.com/colleen.brennan.1800 |
ColleenBrennanforOmaha.com |
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Kate Gotsdiner |
https://www.facebook.com/Kateforcouncil5/ |
http://KateGotsdinerforOmaha.com/ |
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Kathleen Kauth |
https://www.facebook.com/kauthforcouncil |
http://www.kauthforcouncil.com |
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Patrick Leahy |
https://www.facebook.com/PatrickLeahy4CityCouncil |
http://leahy4citycouncil.com/ |
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Jeff Moore |
https://www.facebook.com/mooreforomaha |
MooreforOmaha.com |
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Don Rowe |
https://www.facebook.com/donroweomaha |
www.donroweomaha.com |
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Destiny Stark |
https://www.facebook.com/Stark4Council |
https://nitter.fdn.fr/Stark4Council |
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Omaha City Council - District 6 |
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Brinker Harding |
https://www.facebook.com/brinkerhardingforomaha |
https://brinkerharding.com/ |
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Naomi Hattaway |
https://www.facebook.com/NaomiforOmahaCityCouncil |
www.naomiforcitycouncil.com |
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Omaha City Council - District 7 |
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Sara Kohen |
https://www.facebook.com/saraforomaha |
www.saraforomaha.com |
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Aimee Melton |
https://www.facebook.com/MeltonforOmaha |
http://MeltonforOmaha.com/ |
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Omaha Mayor |
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Mark Gudgel |
https://www.facebook.com/GudgelForMayor |
gudgelformayor.com |
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Jasmine Harris |
https://www.facebook.com/jasmineformayor |
voteforjasmine.com |
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R J Neary |
https://www.facebook.com/NearyforOmaha |
nearyforomaha.com |
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Kimara Snipes |
https://www.facebook.com/kimarasnipes |
www.kimarasnipes.com |
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Jean Stothert |
https://www.facebook.com/JeanforMayor |
http://www.jeanstothert.com/ |
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Jerome Wallace, Sr. (write – in) |
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By Name:
| Last, First | Race | Website | |
| Abraham, Steven | Omaha City Council - District 2 | https://www.facebook.com/steven.abraham.district2 | |
| Anderson, Paul | Omaha City Council - District 1 | ||
| Ayala, Gilbert | Omaha City Council - District 3 | ||
| Baier, Barbara | Lincoln Public Schools Board of Education - District 03 | ||
| Barrientos-Patlan, Becky | Omaha City Council - District 4 | https://www.facebook.com/becky.barrientospatlan | |
| Bauer, Jen | Omaha City Council - District 3 | https://www.facebook.com/votejenbauer | www.votejenbauer.com |
| Beckius, Tom | Lincoln City Council - At Large | https://www.facebook.com/TomforLNK | https://tomforlincoln.com/ |
| Begley, Danny | Omaha City Council - District 3 | https://www.facebook.com/DannyBegleyforOmaha | www.DannyBegley.com |
| Behmer, Nicki | Lincoln Airport Authority | https://www.facebook.com/votenickibehmer/ | http://votenickibehmer.com/ |
| Boswell, Lanny | Lincoln Public Schools Board of Education - District 05 | https://www.facebook.com/LannyBoswellLPS | http://www.LannyBoswell.com/ |
| Brennan, Colleen | Omaha City Council - District 5 | https://www.facebook.com/colleen.brennan.1800 | ColleenBrennanforOmaha.com |
| Burling, Eric | Lincoln City Council - At Large | ||
| Campbell, Christina | Lincoln Public Schools Board of Education - District 01 | https://www.facebook.com/CampbellforLincoln/ | |
| Cass, Ben | Omaha City Council - District 4 | https://www.facebook.com/BenCassForOmaha/ | http://bencassforomaha.com/ |
| Christensen, Roy | Lincoln City Council - At Large | https://www.facebook.com/RoyforLincoln | http://RoyForLincoln.com/ |
| Danek, Kathy | Lincoln Public Schools Board of Education - District 01 | https://www.facebook.com/kmdanek | |
| Festersen, Pete | Omaha City Council - District 1 | https://www.facebook.com/Pete-Festersen-60188164007 | www.petefestersen.com |
| Gotsdiner, Kate | Omaha City Council - District 5 | https://www.facebook.com/Kateforcouncil5/ | http://KateGotsdinerforOmaha.com/ |
| Gray, Ben | Omaha City Council - District 2 | https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100016017197476 | |
| Gudgel, Mark | Omaha Mayor | https://www.facebook.com/GudgelForMayor | gudgelformayor.com |
| Harding, Brinker | Omaha City Council - District 6 | https://www.facebook.com/brinkerhardingforomaha | https://brinkerharding.com/ |
| Harris, Jasmine | Omaha Mayor | https://www.facebook.com/jasmineformayor | voteforjasmine.com |
| Hattaway, Naomi | Omaha City Council - District 6 | https://www.facebook.com/NaomiforOmahaCityCouncil | www.naomiforcitycouncil.com |
| Hilton, Mary | Lincoln City Council - At Large | https://www.facebook.com/HiltonForLincoln | http://www.hiltonforlincoln.com/ |
| Johnson, Juanita | Omaha City Council - District 2 | https://www.facebook.com/JuanitaJohnson21 | www.votejuanita.com |
| Johnson, Sarah | Omaha City Council - District 1 | https://www.facebook.com/SarahJohnsonForCityCouncil | www.sj4oma.com |
| Kauth, Kathleen | Omaha City Council - District 5 | https://www.facebook.com/kauthforcouncil | http://www.kauthforcouncil.com |
| Kohen, Sara | Omaha City Council - District 7 | https://www.facebook.com/saraforomaha | www.saraforomaha.com |
| Kolozsy, Peter | Lincoln City Council - At Large | ||
| Kosmicki, Tyeisha | Omaha City Council - District 1 | https://www.facebook.com/TyeishaKosmicki/ | kosmicki4council.com |
| Krueger, Jason | Lincoln Airport Authority | ||
| Lathan, Jonathan | Omaha City Council - District 2 | https://www.facebook.com/Lathanfor2021 | http://www.lathanfor2021.com/ |
| Leahy, Patrick | Omaha City Council - District 5 | https://www.facebook.com/PatrickLeahy4CityCouncil | http://leahy4citycouncil.com/ |
| Mayhew, Don | Lincoln Public Schools Board of Education - District 07 | https://www.facebook.com/drmayhew | |
| Melton, Aimee | Omaha City Council - District 7 | https://www.facebook.com/MeltonforOmaha | http://MeltonforOmaha.com/ |
| Mitchell, David | Omaha City Council - District 2 | www.facebook.com/DavidMitchellOmaha | https://votedavidmitchell.com/ |
| Moore, Jeff | Omaha City Council - District 5 | https://www.facebook.com/mooreforomaha | MooreforOmaha.com |
| Neary, R J | Omaha Mayor | https://www.facebook.com/NearyforOmaha | nearyforomaha.com |
| Newman, Elina | Lincoln City Council - At Large | https://www.facebook.com/elinanewmanforcitycouncil | http://newmanforlincoln.com/ |
| Olsson, John | Lincoln Airport Authority | https://www.facebook.com/OlssonForLincolnAirport | http://johnolsson.com/ |
| Palermo, Vinny | Omaha City Council - District 4 | https://www.facebook.com/vinny.palermo.7 | |
| Patestas, Michael | Lincoln Public Schools Board of Education - District 07 | ||
| Refior, Tracy | Lincoln Airport Authority | ||
| Reilly, Trevor | Lincoln City Council - At Large | https://www.facebook.com/Reilly4Lincoln | |
| Rowe, Don | Omaha City Council - District 5 | https://www.facebook.com/donroweomaha | www.donroweomaha.com |
| Shobe, Bennie | Lincoln City Council - At Large | https://www.facebook.com/bennieforlnk/ | http://www.bennieforlnk.com/ |
| Smolen, Sarah | Omaha City Council - District 4 | https://www.facebook.com/smolen4omahacitycouncil | http://www.smolen4omaha.com/ |
| Snipes, Kimara | Omaha Mayor | https://www.facebook.com/kimarasnipes | www.kimarasnipes.com |
| Squires, Maggie Mae | Lincoln City Council - At Large | https://www.facebook.com/maggieforlincoln | |
| Stark, Destiny | Omaha City Council - District 5 | https://www.facebook.com/Stark4Council | https://nitter.fdn.fr/Stark4Council |
| Stothert, Jean | Omaha Mayor | https://www.facebook.com/JeanforMayor | http://www.jeanstothert.com/ |
| Swanson, Jospeh | Lincoln City Council - At Large | ||
| Wallace, Jerome | Omaha Mayor | ||
| Washington, Sändra | Lincoln City Council - At Large | https://www.facebook.com/sandra.washington.332345 | https://sandraforlincoln.com/ |
| Watkins, Cammy | Omaha City Council - District 3 | https://www.facebook.com/cammy4council | cammy4council.com |
| Williams, Cornelius | Omaha City Council - District 2 | https://www.facebook.com/Cornelius.Williams.CityCouncilD2 | |
| Yellow Robe, Colette | Lincoln Public Schools Board of Education - District 01 | https://www.facebook.com/Colette.YellowRobe.for.School.Board/ | |
| Zeb, Aurang | Lincoln City Council - At Large | https://www.facebook.com/Zeb-For-City-Council-Members-At-Large-111265757462217 | http://www.zebforlincoln.com/ |