Jean Louise Stothert (née Wolf; born February 7, 1954) is an American politician and former nurse serving as the 51st mayor of

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 ...

. She is the first woman to hold the office and was sworn in as Mayor on June 10, 2013. She was re-elected on May 10, 2017, and May 11, 2021.

Early life and career

Jean Stothert was born on February 7, 1954, in

Wood River, Illinois Wood River is a city in Madison County, Illinois. The population was 10,657 according to the 2010 census. Geography Wood River is located at (38.863047, -90.088527). According to the 2010 census, Wood River has a total area of , of which (or 9 ...

. She earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in nursing from Seattle Pacific University. Stothert began her career in nursing. Her 12 years as a critical care nurse and nursing manager included serving as head nurse at

St. Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private Jesuit research university with campuses in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Mississip ...

in Missouri. She was responsible for her department budgeting, hiring and staff management.

Political career

In 1997, Stothert was elected to the Millard Board of Education. She was re-elected for three terms, including 3 years as president of the board, serving until 2009. Entering politics after she and her husband moved to

Omaha 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 city ...

, Stothert was a candidate for the Nebraska Legislature in 2006. She was defeated by

Steve Lathrop Steve Lathrop (born April 1, 1957) is an American attorney and Democratic Party politician from the U.S. state of Nebraska. From 2007 to 2015, he served as a member of the Nebraska Legislature, representing an Omaha-area district. He did not ru ...

by 14 votes (5073–5059). In 2009, Stothert was elected to the

Omaha City Council The City Council of Omaha, Nebraska, is elected every four years on a nonpartisan basis. The next election will occur in 2025. Omaha has a strong mayor form of government. Members are elected by district. Currently seven city council districts a ...

(District 5), defeating Jon Blumenthal, 7401 to 4308.

Mayor of Omaha

On June 29, 2012, Stothert announced her candidacy for Mayor of Omaha. Stothert raised $513,124 for campaign, compared to $804,700 raised by incumbent

Jim Suttle James H. Suttle (born June 13, 1944) is an American corporate executive, engineer, and politician who served as the 50th mayor of Omaha, Nebraska from 2009 to 2013. Earlier career Suttle held the position of vice-chair of the Board of Directors for ...

. Stothert received 32.2% of votes in a primary election of April 2, 2013. She was elected mayor with 57.32% of votes, on May 14, 2013, defeating Suttle. She is the first woman to hold this office. Stothert was re-elected in 2017. In 2019, there was a petition to get a

recall Recall may refer to: * Recall (bugle call), a signal to stop * Recall (information retrieval), a statistical measure * ''ReCALL'' (journal), an academic journal about computer-assisted language learning * Recall (memory) * ''Recall'' (Overwatch ...

of Stothert onto the ballot. According to Eric Scott, who filed the petition, the attempt failed due to insufficient funding and a lack of volunteers. Scott cited concerns about infrastructure and potholes as the primary reason for the attempt. Stothert won her third term for Omaha Mayor in 2021. In 2022, there was a charter convention to amend the Omaha city charter; the convention resulted in 24 proposed amendments. The most controversial amendment to pass delayed the process by which the city council president could be appointed acting mayor if the current mayor leaves Omaha. An amendment adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected characteristics in the charter was rejected on ground that a legal challenge to it could jeopardize other protected characteristics. In June 2023, an Omaha resident filed paperwork to start petitions for the removal of both Stothert and city councilman Vinny Palermo. The resident cited perceived corruption in the 2022 charter convention alongside a failure to repeal the restaurant tax as reasons to recall Stothert. Residential areas and downtown Omaha have high levels of

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

in the environment, which is believed to be the result of lead plants that previously operated in Omaha. The mayor's office and city council have created clean-up programs for residential homes and testing of contaminated soil. On February 3, 2023, Stothert and the City of Omaha were awarded $34.3 million to put towards these programs from the

Environmental Protection Agency A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

and the

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the Secretary of Housing and Urb ...

. Stothert signed an executive order in August 2023 that addressed firearms on city-owned properties. The executive order bans the possession of concealed firearms and places public notices in the designated city-owned and city-leased land. In November of 2023, Stothert signed two resolutions from City Council to address gun control in Omaha. One resolution removed state-mandated training and encourages residents to voluntarily seek training on gun use and safety. The second resolution banned possession of home-assembled handgun kits. These resolutions were made in collaboration by Stothert,

, and Police Chief Todd Schmaderer. In November 2023, Stothert was named as the defendant in a federal lawsuit that contended that, by appointing Matt Kuhse as city attorney, she chose "a less qualified male candidate for the role". The plaintiff, Michelle Peters, was Deputy City Attorney of Omaha. In response, Kuhse contended that the previous city attorney, Paul Kratz, recommended that someone outside of the city law department be appointed.

Personal life

Stothert married Joe Stothert in 1981. He became a critical care surgery specialist at the

Nebraska Medical Center Nebraska Medicine (formerly, The Nebraska Medical Center, Nebraska Health System), is a private not-for-profit American healthcare company based in Omaha, Nebraska. The company was created as Nebraska Health System (NHS) in 1997, when Bishop Clar ...

. The couple had two children, and were married until Joe Stothert died by suicide at age 72. In May 2022, she married J. Kevin O'Rourke. O'Rourke is a retired

anesthesiologist Anesthesiology, anaesthesiology, or anaesthesia is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative care of patients before, during and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critical emergency medicine, ...

who Stothert met when he was in medical school at St. Louis University and she was a critical care nurse at St. Louis University Hospital.

References

External links