Ashford: For Merger, Against Recall
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Despite an avalanche of financial problems at Omaha City Hall, State Senator Brad Ashford of Omaha says he’s against recalling Mayor Jim Suttle. Instead, Ashford is pushing for a merger of City-County government, with a countywide Mayor, to fix a mess of higher taxes, increasing pension costs, and cuts in services.
In an interview with Nebraska Watchdog, Ashford says a recall would hurt Omaha. “I was against the recall of (former Mayor) Mike Boyle and I’m against recalling Suttle. He (Suttle) hasn’t done anything immoral, unethical or illegal,” said Ashford.
Last week several Omahans formed a committee which is exploring the possibility of recalling Suttle. The group is promising a ‘go or no go’ decision by the end of September.
In December of 2008, Ashford considered running for Mayor but didn’t. Asked by Nebraska Watchdog if he’d run if Suttle is recalled Ashford said, “I don’t know what I’d do.”
Ashford says his merger plan, which he insists has nothing to do with a recall, would consolidate the seven member Douglas County Board and seven member Omaha City Council, into one 8-12 member legislative body. The legislation Ashford is drafting would call for a countywide vote within three years. According to Ashford a successful merger “needs to be taxpayer driven.”
A City-County merger has been discussed many times over the past 20 years but studies have always concluded that any financial savings would be negligible at best. Ashford tells Nebraska Watchdog “the savings may not be great on day one” but he believes the merged board would eventually find several areas where tax dollars would be saved.
A few years ago it was Ashford, who believes the time has come to downsize government in the state’s most populous county, who led the charge creating a super school board in Douglas and Sarpy County. The 18 voting member Learning Community is the second largest public body in Nebraska (the 49 member Legislature is the largest).
According to Ashford although the Learning Community’s extra layer of government may be costing taxpayers more at the start it will “save dollars down the line.”
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Editor’s note: to see Nebraska Watchdog’s previous stories on a possible recall of Mayor Jim Suttle, click here.
Reported by Joe Jordan, joe@nebraskawatchdog.org
Posted under News, Omaha Government.
Tags: Brad Ashford, Douglas County Board, Jim Suttle, Joe Jordan, Learning Community, Mike Boyle, Nebraska Watchdog, Omaha City Council
9:54 am on September 2nd, 2010
Brad Ashford, a Democrat disguised as a Republican, is nothing but a liberal tax & spend gasbag. Is he also proposing a state constitutional amendment to do away with county-wide elective offices? With the “learning community” he’s already demonstrated he’s unfit for any office.
10:47 am on September 2nd, 2010
Local governments across the country are experiencing an unprecedented financial strain. Omaha is no exception. Just because a particular solution is not common does not make it wrong. We have good people in city and county government. Consolidating the city council and county board would allow for better coordination of… services and more efficient government. Voters should have the opportunity to vote on the issue.
12:41 pm on September 2nd, 2010
Daub suggested something along those lines some years back. I don’t think there’s any way that Suttle would do it. There are too many Republican votes that would be brought into the fray.
10:46 pm on September 2nd, 2010
This has been brought up before. The politicians aren’t going to let it happen. They can’t hold a real job so they take from the taxpayer. They build their little empires and the sheep keeping voting them in. Every elected position should have term limits and every tax should have a sunset clause so we can control spending.
8:44 am on September 3rd, 2010
Cities are experiencing “financial strain” because of overly generous salaries and pension benefits paid to unionized city employees, social programs that are not the business of government and out of control spending on K-12 education unrelated to any demonstrated results. So what do you propose to do about county-wide elected officials like the sheriff, assessor, etc., that have budgets that are outside the control of the county board or a future city-county board??? We’ve already got enough ineffective self-serving politicians like you in state/county/local government so how will giving them more power produce less government in the end? You’re grandstanding to put your name in front of more Omaha voters just in case Suttle is recalled. If you want to really do something for Omaha/Douglas county taxpayers Senator Ashford, push for repeal of the “learning community” a truly expensive and unnecessary expansion of government.
12:02 pm on September 3rd, 2010
GEO User: Thank you for saying exactly the TRUTH something neither Ashford or Suttle or the unions know anything about. The learning community was and is a joke and the elected people to represent us should have known that. The recently passed bloated union contract was passed by four stooges who can’t read-they gave a better pension ehancement than Fahey with their arrogant attitudes. Why is it when someone gets elected they go brain dead and common sense goes out the window? Agree all tax and spend liberals the only way they know how to fix anything at our expense.
8:50 pm on September 3rd, 2010
Does anyone care what Brad Ashford thinks or says?
2:23 pm on September 5th, 2010
D Mark: NO never have never will