Don Wesely (born March 30, 1954) was the 49th mayor of

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

. He previously served in the

Nebraska Legislature The Nebraska Legislature (also called the Unicameral) is the legislature of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln. With 49 members, known as "senators", the Nebraska Legislature is the small ...

from 1979 to 1999.

Biography

Wesely was born March 30, 1954, in

David City, Nebraska David City is a city in Butler County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 2,995 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Butler County. David City was founded in 1873 to serve as the county seat when county residents desired a more ...

. He graduated from Lincoln Northeast High School, then went on to receive his B.A. Degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1977 and attended graduate school at UNL. Wesely is the father of three children: Sarah, Amanda and Andrew.

Political career

Wesely was first elected to the

in 1978. He was only twenty-four when elected and was a graduate student at the

University of Nebraska-Lincoln A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. He was the third-youngest person ever to serve in that body. Wesely is a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. During his tenure, more than 300 legislative initiatives sponsored or co-sponsored by Wesely were successfully enacted into state law. His committee work included 14 years as Chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee. When he retired after 20 years in the legislature, Wesely was the eighth longest serving state senator in Nebraska history. He was only forty-four years-old upon his retirement from the legislature. In 1999, Wesely was elected mayor of Lincoln, Nebraska, with 56% of the vote. He served only one term as Mayor. Following his departure from the mayor's office, he became a lobbyist for the state legislature. Wesely was a delegate to the

1996 Democratic National Convention The 1996 Democratic National Convention was held at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, from August 26 to August 29, 1996. President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore were nominated for reelection. This was the first national convention ...

and the

2000 Democratic National Convention The 2000 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention for the Democratic Party. The convention nominated Vice President Al Gore for president and Senator Joe Lieberman from Connecticut for vice president. The ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wesely, Don 1954 births Living people Mayors of Lincoln, Nebraska Democratic Party Nebraska state senators University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni People from David City, Nebraska