Former Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert spoke to the River City Republicans luncheon Wednesday in one of her first extended public appearances since losing reelection in May.
Stothert recapped highlights from her 12 years as mayor, including spearheading the $460 million Riverfront Revitalization project, the Mutual of Omaha downtown skyscraper, and a new $158 million library. She also touted the streetcar project—now estimated to generate $4 billion in future economic development—while acknowledging complaints from small businesses dealing with construction disruption along the route.
“I would complain, too,” Stothert said.
Election Lookback
Despite her record 12 years in office, Stothert did not shy away from addressing her election defeat earlier this year. “I wasn’t just defeated. I got my butt kicked in this last race,” Stothert told the room. While she acknowledged there were “several reasons” behind the defeat, she attributed it largely to low voter turnout driven by apathy. She illustrated the problem with a story from her neighborhood grocery store.
“Two days after the election, I’m at the Hy-Vee at 178th and Pacific,” Stothert recalled. “Two different men, two different places in the store—one guy comes up and asks, ‘What’s the election?’ And I said, ‘Two days ago.’ Another one says, ‘Well, you won, didn’t you?’ That just showed the lack of interest.”
That lack of urgency, she warned, is exactly what allowed Democrats to flip Omaha’s mayor’s office—part of a broader strategy to target Republican incumbents statewide and nationally.
Stothert also expressed frustration with the Douglas County Republican Party’s decision to endorse her primary opponent, Mike McDonnell, calling him a “lifelong Democrat” and saying the move was “really hard for me to understand.”
Swipes at Mayor John Ewing
Stothert reserved her sharpest criticism for Omaha’s new mayor, John Ewing, whom she accused of campaigning without substance.
“All he would say was, ‘Everything she does, I’ll do it better,’” she said. “Very little vision, very little plans—and still it’s the same way.”
Despite the change in city leadership, Stothert noted that Ewing has retained nearly her entire leadership team—including her former chief of staff, Tom Warren—something she called virtually unheard of in politics.
“In business that might happen. In politics, that never happens,” Stothert said. “It would be like Donald Trump keeping Joe Biden’s whole staff.”
She argued that Warren is now effectively running the city, while Ewing has already taken multiple trips out of town.
“Ewing is now on his fifth vacation since becoming mayor,” Stothert said. “He’s out of town now, and the media won’t touch it.”
Stothert contrasted that coverage with what she faced during her own tenure, including persistent rumors that she lived in Missouri. “The whole St. Louis thing—I could not shake it,” she said. “I have not lived in St. Louis since 1980. It was so easy to check, but it didn’t matter.”
She also accused Ewing of shutting down public feedback, pointing out that comments are disabled on his official Facebook page.
“I did over 70 town hall meetings as mayor,” Stothert said. “I never screened questions. I never asked for them in advance. But Mayor Ewing’s official Facebook won’t take comments at all because he doesn’t want to hear criticism.”
What’s Next for Jean Stothert?
Despite her continued involvement in local political discussions, Stothert made one thing unequivocally clear: she is done running for office.
“I will never run for office again,” she said. “Take that one to the bank. I’m done. After 27 years, that’s enough for me.” That doesn’t mean she’s stepping away entirely. She said she plans to support future Republican candidates—and hinted at a new role that could amplify that effort.
“I’ve been offered a part-time job that has something to do with the media,” Stothert teased. “I think it’ll be very helpful to all of us, and very helpful to Republican candidates.”
Looking ahead, she framed the next four years as critical for Omaha Republicans and made no secret of her hopes for the city’s political future.
“I would like to see him be a one-term mayor,” she said of Ewing. “And then move on and get a good Republican in there that can run the city conservatively again.”
For Stothert, the lesson of 2025 is simple—and urgent. “The Democrats wanted my seat in the worst way … And they did everything they could, including putting a lot of money into getting John Ewing elected,” Stothert said. “They wanted the ‘blue dot,’ and they wanted this race, and they want Don Bacon’s seat badly. Don’t take any of this for granted anymore — we have got to really stick together.”
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