Heath Mello (born August 2, 1979) is an American politician who is a former member of the unicameral

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 ...

. Mello ran to become the 52nd Mayor of Omaha, Nebraska, but was defeated by incumbent

Jean Stothert Jean Louise Stothert (née Wolf; born February 7, 1954) is an American politician and former nurse serving as the 51st mayor of Omaha, Nebraska. She is the first woman to hold the office and was sworn in as Mayor on June 10, 2013. She was re-elec ...

in the 2017 mayoral election, receiving 46.56% of the vote. On July 11 2023, Greater Omaha Chamber announce Heath Mello as organization's new CEO after in past CEO resign.

Background

He was born in Nebraska, graduated from Gretna High School and resides in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

. Mello received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from 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 ...

in 2002.District 05 Blog
accessed March 10, 2010. He currently works as a Community Affairs and Development Specialist at Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, NE.District 05 Blog
accessed March 10, 2010. He is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.District 05 Blog
accessed March 10, 2010. Prior to his election to the Nebraska Legislature, Mello worked as a senior aide to U.S. Senator

Ben Nelson Earl Benjamin Nelson (born May 17, 1941) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 37th governor of Nebraska from 1991 to 1999 and as a United States Senator from Nebraska from 2001 to 2013. He is a member of the Demo ...

and as an Assistant Coordinator to the Nebraska Community Improvement Program.District 05 Blog
accessed July 9, 2010. Mello, a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, is a member of St. Thomas More Parish in Omaha, NE and a member of the Knights of Columbus. Mello and his wife, Catherine, were married on May 22, 2010.District 05 Blog
accessed July 8, 2010.

State legislature

Mello was a Nebraska state senator who was elected to represent the 5th Legislative District in the Nebraska Legislature on November 4, 2008. Legislative District 5 consists of the South Omaha and North Bellevue portions of the Omaha Metropolitan area. Mello was re-elected November 6, 2012. He was opposed by

NARAL Pro-Choice America NARAL Pro-Choice America, commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, political action, and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion, to expand access to ...

due to earlier introduction of anti-abortion legislation, and support of legislation introduced by others. Pro-choice advocates also assailed Senator

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

and Democratic Party Chairman

Tom Perez Thomas Edward Perez (born October 7, 1961) is an American politician and attorney who served as the Chair of the Democratic National Committee from February 2017 until January 2021. Perez was previously Assistant Attorney General for Civil Right ...

for their support of Mello. ''Huffington Post'' reported Mello was a sponsor of the final version of a 20-week abortion ban approved by the governor in 2010, and cast anti-abortion votes in favor of requiring physicians to be physically present for an abortion in order to impede access to telemedicine abortion care, supported a law banning insurance plans in the state from covering abortions. He was endorsed in 2010 by anti-abortion group Nebraska Right to Life.

Legislative committees and organizations

Mello was elected to the Legislature in 2008 and reelected in 2012. In his final term in the legislature, Mello served as chairman of the Appropriations Committee and on the Nebraska Retirement Systems Committee in the Nebraska Legislature, as well as the Legislature's State Planning Committee, Homeland Security Policy Group and the Healthcare Reform Task Force. Mello is an active member in national state legislative organizations; serving on the Economic Development and Energy Committees within the Midwestern Legislative Conference of the Council of State Governments, as well as, the Budgets & Revenue and Labor & Economic Development Committees within the National Conference of State Legislators. Mello is also a member of CLEAN (Coalition of Legislators for Energy Action Now),

the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators The National Caucus of Environmental Legislators is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1996, it consists of over 1,000 state legislators representing all 50 state governments of the United States and both major p ...

and the Specialty Equipment Market Association State Automotive Enthusiast Leadership Caucus. On July 11 2023, Greater Omaha Chamber announce Heath Mello as organization's new CEO after in past CEO resign.

Community organizations

As of March 10, 2010 Mello served on the Board of Directors for One World Health Center, Bellevue Community Police Foundation, South Omaha Business Association, the South Omaha Neighborhood Alliance and the Q Street Merchants Association. He also served as a member of South Omaha Optimists, South Omaha Development Project, South Omaha Environmental Task Force, South Omaha Weed & Seed, Bellevue Chamber of Commerce, Sarpy County Chamber of Commerce, and Omaha Chamber of Commerce.

Lobbying

Mello was appointed as chief lobbyist for the University of Nebraska system in December 2017.

Personal life

Mello is

References

External links

* Campaign Contributions
20082010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mello, Heath Living people 1979 births Democratic Party Nebraska state senators Politicians from Omaha, Nebraska University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni 21st-century American politicians 20th-century American people 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century Roman Catholics American Roman Catholics Candidates in the 2017 United States elections