Two Creighton faculty members have advanced to the general elections after placing amongst the top two candidates in their races. Joaquin Jasso, who is a videographer with media services, is running for a seat on District 3 of the Omaha City Council, and Psychology professor Jill Brown is running in Subdistrict 4 for OPS School Board. This is the first time running for office for both.
Jasso decided to run after taking an immersion trip with Creighton to South Omaha, where he grew up.
“It was in a talk given in the basement of Our Lady of Guadelupe church that the notion of representing the voiceless first came to me, and the rest, short of the election results on May 14, is history,” Jasso said
As a city council member, Jasso hopes to lower taxes, believing Omaha residents are financially burdened enough already.
“The restaurant tax in particular is one tax I hope to put an end to,” Jasso said. “This is a tax that I believe should not have been enacted.”
Jasso also said he believes the restaurant tax should have been decided by the voters.
“I want to bring transparency, accountability, accessibility, civility and respect back to city hall,” Jasso said.
Jasso said he is busy seven days a week going to meetings, talking to groups or preparing himself on the issues and concerns of the people he hopes to represent.
“The process is grueling,” said Jasso, who has been considering running for office since April of last year. “If I knew about the political process back then what I know now I would be so far ahead of the game. For a person seeking public office for the first the learning curve is quite steep. The first thing I did was to seek help from people I know who are or have been involved in politics at the local level. There are definitely a lot of wise people out there willing to help.”
Brown said she decided to run because of the potential she sees in Omaha Public Schools, and to make a difference in the lives of underprivileged students.
“I want to run because I have always been invested in the lives of the most vulnerable of us,” Brown said. “In Omaha, that is children living in poverty where education is neither a priority or a reachable goal. As a parent and a developmental psychologist, I believe I could have a positive impact on education in OPS.”
Brown first had to apply with the Douglas County Election Commission. She then began asking for help from neighbors, friends, Creighton colleagues and her husband, among others.
“Mostly, I have been walking door-to-door and listening to what people hope for education in Omaha,” Brown said. “I really like that part of the campaign.”
As a member of the OPS School Board, Brown hopes to improve retention and graduation rates while addressing institutionalized discrimination, which she believes contributes to the achievement gap.
“Students need to leave OPS with an education that has afforded them dignity and an equal opportunity to create life worth living,” Brown said.
Brown also said she believes teachers are given impossible tasks, and that the achievement gap is a major problem in the school system.
“I would like to be a part of a board that better understands this perspective and works with the realities and strengths of this community,” Brown said.