OMAHA — From economic development to tax-increment financing, the streetcar, immigration arrests and staffing, Omaha Mayor-elect John Ewing Jr. on Wednesday talked more about how he plans to lead Nebraska’s largest city.

Ewing spoke to reporters at his first news conference since defeating three-term mayor, Jean Stothert. He moves into his office Monday.

As he departs his elected post as Douglas County treasurer, Ewing said his chief deputy for 4.5 years will serve as interim head until, as directed by law, the Douglas County Board names a replacement for the remaining 18 months of his county term.

That deputy, Jane Alexander, who was at the event, said she is not interested in the position permanently, and Ewing lauded her “steady hand” and partnership. He said he was proud of his team’s reorganization of the office for efficiency, customer service and improved accessibility through technology.

Several current and former officeholders have privately discussed the possibility of pursuing Ewing’s former job.

Continuity

Turning to staffing as mayor, Ewing said he wants continuity. As he starts his four-year term, he said he would retain all of Stothert’s department heads and senior staff except for her deputy chief in charge of communications, who has announced her retirement.

Hired to replace her was Erin Grace, a former World-Herald columnist who most recently led communications for the National Counterterrorism, Innovation, Technology and Education Center based at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

As reported earlier by the Nebraska Examiner, Tom Warren will stay on as chief of staff. Ewing said the two have been friends since about 6 years old, and both served on the Omaha Police Department.

He said current city managers are capable, and he didn’t want to see an exodus from City Hall. He said he wanted to promote stability.

“What I’ve found in transitions is if you create fear, you lose the best people, because they have opportunities to go places,” Ewing said.

The mayor-elect made two promotions from within city government to focus on what he said was the No. 1 issue he spoke about while campaigning: “intentional economic development” — which he described as a “focused and inclusive strategy to grow our economy and uplift every part of our city.”

Bridget Hadley becomes interim assistant director of economic development in the city’s Planning Department. Jacquelyn Morrison becomes Senior Director of Economic Development in the Mayor’s Office.

“Economic development to me looks like inclusion,” said Ewing. “It looks like expanding the urban core plan to North and South Omaha. It looks like creating job opportunities … It looks like having opportunities for people to be able to live, work and play in their neighborhoods.”

Since making history as the city’s first Black elected mayor and drawing national attention for upsetting a longtime Republican mayor in the city at the heart of the “blue dot,” Ewing said he has been contacted by businesses who are interested in relocating to Omaha. He wants to nurture those leads and said he values diversity.

TIF, Streetcar, CWS

Among other topics touched upon by Ewing:

TIF: This public incentive, created by state law, became a divisive topic in the mayoral race. Ewing said one of the criticisms he had was that Omaha officials sometimes approved TIF financing for projects in areas that he does not consider blighted, one of the prerequisites.

“So I am going to be looking at using TIF more strategically,” Ewing said.

He said he has a meeting planned with state lawmakers representing Omaha to talk about other incentives and ways to spur economic growth so that the city has a broader array of tools beyond TIF.

City streets: “We are going to develop a plan. We are going to tell you what that plan is and then we will be accountable for that plan.”

Streetcar: Ewing said he has recently learned more positive aspects of the modern streetcar project that was championed by the Stothert administration. The controversial initiative , a project with $389 million in city costs to be covered by TIF proceeds, became a contentious issue as well during the mayoral election.

Said Ewing: “My goal is to see how we can make it as successful as possible.”

College World Series: “My goal is to help lay the foundation so that Omaha can keep the College World Series for the next 75 years.” This is the 75th anniversary of the CWS in Omaha, he noted.

‘Have More Decorum’

Immigration arrests: Ewing was asked about a video circulating on social media and reported by KETV, which showed a west Omaha restaurant server writhing on the ground and being handcuffed and taken out by immigration agents in tactical gear.

Ewing said someone sent him a text message Saturday about the arrest and he was still gathering facts. But he told reporters that his plan is to make Omaha a place all residents can feel welcome and safe.

He said the city would be reaching out to federal officials to see if there could be “at least some coordination” and awareness rather than a social media frenzy.

“That’s not the way we want to do law enforcement in Omaha, Nebraska,” he said.

Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer, offering his input, said it is “pretty customary” that federal immigration agents do not inform OPD of individual arrests. He said local police likely would be notified of large-scale activities and might become involved if an undocumented person is wanted on a criminal warrant and considered dangerous.

”There’s no way to keep us apprised of individual agents out there doing one-on-one situations like you heard at the eating place,” said Schmaderer, who was next to Ewing during the news conference.

Ewing added: “We certainly would like them to do things in a way that doesn’t have the people of our community feel as if they are in jeopardy. So that is something we will share, because the person that texted me had a great deal of fear when they saw weapons being drawn. So we will have that conversation.”

The mayor elect later told the Examiner: ”However you do it, you’ve got to have more decorum.”

According to the KETV report, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security said special agents were looking for a “Guatemalan national with a final order of removal.” The agents saw someone matching the description and followed him to the Early Bird restaurant.

DHS said the man is a brother of the original target and closely resembled him. Federal officials contended that the man resisted arrest, and that allegations that he was “wrongfully taken” by the agents were false.

The restaurant on social media said, “We had no involvement or knowledge of this incident prior to living it alongside our guests and staff.”

Treasurer job: He said that during his 18-year tenure, the office added online services to register vehicles and an investment committee that, according to his website, generated millions of dollars for the county.

“As Douglas County Treasurer, I inherited a strong senior staff, and together we transformed that office. Nearly all those individuals are still serving today, and I am proud of what we accomplished. I bring the same mindset into this new role — investing in people, building strong teams, and delivering results.”

This story was published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. Read the original article: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/06/04/new-mayor-of-nebraskas-largest-c...