BELLEVUE, Neb. (KMTV) — Polls are set to open Tuesday for the primary elections. One of the races in Sarpy County will be for the mayor of Bellevue, Nebraska's oldest city.
Three candidates are vying to lead the city for the next four years.
Incumbent Rusty Hike is coming off his first term as mayor. The republican led the city through the 2019 floods and the pandemic.
“It’s been a busy three years. I’ve enjoyed it, have had a good time doing it, you just have to deal with what you’re dealt with,” Hike said.
He is proud of what's been accomplished and started under his leadership.
“We’re in a good spot right now. We’re attracting businesses, we’ve got a lot of growth going on down south around the Highway 34/75 corridor,” Hike said. “We have development going in Old Towne Bellevue, there’s new buildings popping up all over, we’ve got 18 hundred lots platted in Bellevue,” Hike said.
He also points to work at Offutt Air Force Base, his focus on bringing higher-paying jobs to Bellevue, and the possibility of an entertainment district centered around a waterpark, casino and racetrack.
Hike's opponents say the city has been left in the dark on some development plans.
“I think that there needs to be a transparent vision that everyone can get behind, not just insiders at city hall,” Candidate Thomas Burns said.
Burns grew up in Bellevue and has served on the city council since 2016, when he took the incumbent president’s seat with 62 percent of the vote. He was 22 years old at the time.
Burns describes himself as an underdog once again.
“I’ve knocked on over 2,000 doors so it’s been really interesting getting to know people, getting to know the issues they face within their community and in their neighborhoods,” Burns said. “I think if you’re not knocking on doors, I don’t know how you can possibly represent a city.”
The democrat is focused on modernizing the city, such as the library, neighborhood parks and making the city more walkable.
“Bellevue is Nebraska’s third-largest city, and sometimes it feels like we’re the third-largest city in Sarpy County. We really need to take a look at economic development,” Burns said. “We need to take a holistic approach and focus on all parts of our city. There needs to be a transparent vision, and getting things done at city hall shouldn’t be based on who you know, but what you know and what you can bring to the table.”
Otmar ‘Buz’ Stephens is a marine veteran who's lived in the area for 25 years and worked as a manager at Union Pacific.
He wants to see Bellevue grow not out, but up.
“Yeah, we got more people but if it wouldn’t have been for the annexation they wouldn’t have grown,” Stephens said. “So, we need to look at something to make this community grow.”
The non-partisan candidate believes it starts downtown.
“Our core is very weak, and that’s your strength—your core,” Stephens said. “Be it a tree, be it a town, be it anything—you have to have a core. We need to support that core."
All three candidates shared their love for the city and their desire to lead it for the next four years.
“My administration isn’t going to brag about how we’re doing. Instead, we’re going to go to the public and ask how we’re doing,” Burns said. “I think that’s how you serve with transparency and integrity.”
“I need to give back. I’m at that point in my life where I want to give back,” Stephens said. “I have the opportunity and I can’t walk away from it.”
“We take care of problems, and we answer people. I’m here, I’m an active mayor,” Hike said. “I’m not here for the title or the pictures. I’m here to get the job done.”
Only the top two will advance to the November ballot.
