Politics & Elections

Four Omaha Public Schools board members aren’t seeking re-election.

Last Wednesday was the deadline for incumbents to file for the 2012 election. Board members Mary Ellen Drickey, Kersten Borer, Sandra Jensen, and Nancy Huston did not file. Drickey, Huston, and Jensen are longtime board members.

Board president Freddie Gray and Subdistrict 6 board member Mary Morrissey are seeking re-election. Candidate information from the Douglas County Election Commission shows James M. English is running against Gray in Subdistrict 2. Morrissey is running unopposed.

Second District Congressman Lee Terry will seek an eighth term in the U.S. House.

Terry, an Omaha Republican, announced his candidacy Sunday afternoon. He was elected to the House in 1998. Terry faces four challengers in the GOP primary: former Husker quarterback and financial adviser Brett Lindstrom, UNO Mathematics Department professor and chairman Jack Heidel, Glenn Freeman, a former chairman of the Douglas County Republican Party, and Paul Anderson.

Prior to his election to the U.S. House, Terry served on the Omaha City Council.

U.S. Senator Ben Nelson says it may be difficult to keep some agricultural programs from being cut because of the federal deficit.

Nelson says hearings began Wednesday in Washington on the Food and Fuel Security Act. Nelson says it’s important that Congress not make cuts to the USDA rural development program, which he says Nebraska home owners, businesses, and communities benefited from last year. According to Nelson, Nebraska received $189 million in USDA rural development funds in 2011.

The race for U.S. Senator Ben Nelson’s seat has another candidate.

Chuck Hassebrook announced Tuesday afternoon he’s seeking the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. He joins Steve Lustgarten in the Democratic race.

Hassebrook has served on the Nebraska Board of Regents since 1994. He's also the executive director of the Center for Rural Affairs. He says his campaign will focus on education and fiscal issues.

The GOP race for U.S. Senate has five candidates, including State Treasurer Don Stenberg, Attorney General Jon Bruning, and State Senator Deb Fischer.

Job creation, reducing crime, and flood recovery were dominant themes in Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle’s third State of the City address.