Mayor Jean Stothert says losing one of her first races for political office helped her learn resilience.

The mayor spoke to students in the Hixson-Lied Science Building Monday during an event hosted by the College Republicans.  

Stothert was elected Omaha’s first female mayor in 2013.  She said she first got involved in politics when her family moved to Omaha and she was appointed to the Millard School District Board.  In 2006 Stothert ran for the Nebraska state legislature and lost by 14 votes.

“All things happen for a purpose,” Stothert said. “A good leader is resilient and bounces back.”

Stothert spoke on the actions she has taken to accomplish her four main goals as mayor, which include improving public safety, managing the city budget, fostering job growth and bettering taxpayers’ experience when dealing with the city.  

The city has experienced a 5 percent decrease in violent crime since 2015.  Stothert said her policy is to hire more police officers while still maintaining the city budget, which stands at $850 million.  

Stothert has also taken initiatives toward economic growth by developing parking lots into mixed-use spaces. She is also working on a rapid transit system, which will have buses running on Dodge Street from 10th Street to West Roads every 10 minutes throughout the day.  

College of Arts and Sciences freshman Jack Barry asked Stothert what her biggest challenge was.  Stothert explained the difficulty in decreasing a budget while increasing services and that her biggest concern is public safety.  She said that public safety problems like gang violence require solutions that involve everyone in the city. 

“Mentors are really important” Stothert said of keeping kids in school and out of the gangs. 

Stothert said she does not regret any of the decisions she has made as mayor.

“Being mayor is not a popularity contest,” Stothert said.  “If you strive to be respected, you don’t have to strive to be liked.”

College of Arts and Sciences junior and president of the College Republicans, Charlie Altfillisch, said he asked the mayor to come speak to students at the suggestion of the faculty moderator Timothy Bastian.  

“She was more than willing to come,” Altfillisch said.

Heider College of Business sophomore Alex Peterson is not a part of the College Republicans, but heard about the event from a friend.  Peterson said he enjoyed the speech because, “it is important to be in the political sphere and hear a variety of perspectives ,even if we don’t agree.”