Dozens of current and former political leaders, business executives and even some restaurant owners gathered Wednesday to show their opposition to the recall effort against Mayor Jim Suttle.
Several said they don't support policies such as the wheel fee for non-Omahans or the new restaurant tax, but they argued a recall would be an overreaction that would hurt the city in the long run.
“It isn't about ‘I agree with this decision,' or one tax or another,” said former Mayor P.J. Morgan. “It's about preventing this recall.”
Speakers made several references to the damaging effects of the 1987 recall of Mayor Mike Boyle. State Sen. Brad Ashford said a recall election would make the city a “joke.”
“Divisiveness will kill us,” Ashford said. “It will set us back two to three years, if not more. We've seen a lot of great things happen here. Please, please, let's not do this again.”
Morgan said a recall undercuts a mayor's power. He talked about negotiating with Campbell's Soup representatives to save jobs during his administration. A recall effort, he said, makes such negotiations impossible.
City Councilman Ben Gray said the people behind the recall effort appear to be ill-informed on how city government works.
Dick Holland, treasurer for the Committee to Keep Omaha Moving Forward, said he was suspicious about the motivation behind the recall.
City Councilman Chris Jerram, who gave the only speech that earned a round of applause, said Suttle is making hard decisions that wouldn't be solved by switching administrations.
“How many police are you going to lay off? How many libraries are you going to close? How many pools or golf courses?” Jerram asked. “These are things that have to be addressed.”
Even some restaurant owners, who have arguably been hit the hardest by the new taxes, were there to oppose the recall. Rick Fox, who own's Julio's, said he believes the recall would send the wrong message.
Several other restaurants are actively supporting the recall effort. Some are allowing volunteer petitioners to collect signatures at their businesses.
The anti-recall committee distributed lists of individuals and organizations opposed to the recall. They include five of the seven City Council members — Gray, Jerram, Tom Mulligan, Pete Festersen and Garry Gernandt and former Mayors Mike Fahey and Mike Boyle, along with numerous current or former officeholders and business executives.
The recall effort will make enforcing election-day rules all the more important, said Douglas County Election Commissioner Dave Phipps. Recall supporters, looking for 27,000 signatures, plan to have petitions available at polling places to reach as many registered voters as possible.
They will have to stay 200 feet away from the polling locations, under state law, Phipps said.
“I just want to remind people that the purpose of an election day is to vote, and not any of these other extraneous things,” he said.
If voters see someone violating the 200-foot rule, Phipps asked that they call 444-8683 to have an inspector come make sure the rule is enforced, he said.
The Committee to Keep Omaha Moving Forward does not plan to have representation at polling locations, members said. Another anti-recall organization, Forward Omaha, has advertised to hire people to be at the polls to monitor compliance with election rules.
Contact the writer:
444-3144, matt.wynn@owh.com
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