Councilwoman Cyndi Lamm said Wednesday that as mayor she will put the city’s checkbook online in "an effort to restore confidence in city government."Ìý
By doing so, Lincoln would join several other cities that make nonconfidential transactions available online, Lamm said in a news release.
“Citizens deserve to know how our city government is spending their money,†said Lamm, a candidate for mayor. “By putting the city’s checkbook online, they will be able to see what our priorities are and see how the priorities are linked to spending and revenue.
"If you want to know where your wheel taxes are being spent, that data will be available in an easy to understand format.â€
With more information about the city budget available to the public, Lamm said she would expect greater input from citizens during City Council budget hearings.Ìý
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“My goal is to have the most open and transparent administration Lincoln residents have ever seen. No more finding pots of money. It will be all accounted for and applied appropriately,†Lamm said.
Lamm said when possible "we will return extra revenue to our hard-working taxpayers.â€
Some of the cites that make their checkbook available in some format online include Boston; Denver; Houston; Palo Alto, California; New Haven, Connecticut; and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Q&A with Lincoln mayoral candidates
Q&A with Lincoln mayoral candidates
Leirion Gaylor Baird
Age:Ìý47
Address: 1932 S. 24th St.
Occupation: City Councilwoman
Political party: Democrat
Education:ÌýBachelor of Arts in History, Yale College (1993); master's in Comparative Social Policy,ÌýUniversity of Oxford (1997)
Website:
Experience: Gaylor Baird has served six years on the City Council and was a member of the Lincoln-Lancaster County Planning Commission and the LPlan Advisory Committee that produced the 2040 Comprehensive Plan, the strategic road map for Lincoln's growth and development. She's also been an active community volunteer.
Organization endorsements: Lincoln Firefighters Union IAFF Local 644, Lincoln police union, Nebraska Conservation Voters
Why are you running and what do you want to accomplish in office?
For me, this is about family. My parents were public school teachers, and they taught me that a career can be dedicated to improving the lives of others. As a mom, I’ve spent a lot of time focused on how to keep my three children safe, provide for their basic needs, give them a great quality of life, and ensure they have the same opportunities as anyone else for a bright future. As a former planning commissioner and your city councilwoman, I have a 12-year track record of delivering on these same priorities for all of our children and families in Lincoln. As mayor, I will continue to work to ensure our public safety; to invest in the basics, like streets and sidewalks; to maintain our neighborhood parks, trails, pools, playgrounds, and libraries so essential to our quality of life; and to address affordable housing.
Every candidate includes public safety and streets as their top priorities. In lean financial times how would you budget for parks, libraries and other city services?
Parks, libraries, programs for children and seniors, and other city services are investments we make in keeping our community strong and vibrant. Modern cities compete for talented workers, and a high quality of life is critical to attracting them. Innovative partnerships and thorough budget analysis are key to funding these services. In 2018, I created the Parks Community Challenge grant to incentivize private gifts for our park system and identified additional keno proceeds to restore Bennett-Martin Library’s evening hours.
Should voters approve a quarter-cent hike in the city sales tax with proceeds earmarked for streets? Why or why not?
I am glad that Lincoln residents will have the opportunity to decide whether they want to invest in improving our roads. A coalition of neighborhood and business groups, including the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, supports this plan. Nearly a third of the revenue collected from this sales tax will come from people outside of Lincoln who use our streets. While this compromise package is not perfect, it deserves support, as it will inject needed funds into vital infrastructure.
Ensuring that everyone has access to decent housing that they can afford has become a national topic. What is your definition of affordable housing? What should the city do to encourage or provide for more affordable housing?
I’m the only mayoral candidate who took action in last year’s budget to address the issue of affordable housing. For a challenge this complex, the city needs a variety of strategies focused on those who make 30-80 percent of median income. We must improve the quality of our existing housing stock, increase the supply of new housing, partner with nonprofits like the Lincoln Housing Authority and NeighborWorks, and support the creation of community land trusts to establish permanently affordable housing.
With the rise in home values, the city and other local governments could bring in more revenue by not reducing the property tax rate. The additional tax revenue coming from the increase in appraised value has been called a windfall. How should the city respond?
In 2017, when the county assessor greatly increased home valuations, I led the effort to lower the property tax rate and shield homeowners from the full impact of the valuation increase because I understand the importance of acting with both the best interests of homeowners and responsible budgeting in mind. This year, we are experiencing a projected shortfall in sales tax receipts, so we should wait to see the full revenue picture before finalizing the tax rate.
In 2012 the City Council passed an ordinance protecting people from discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation in housing, employment and public accommodations. A referendum petition stopped the ordinance from going into effect. The council has not rescinded the ordinance nor put the issue on the ballot. If the state does not pass discrimination protection based on sexual orientation and gender identity this session, should the City Council put the proposed fairness ordinance on the ballot for a citywide vote? Why or why not?
If we want to be on the right side of history, attract and retain a talented workforce and simply be good people to our neighbors, then we must end discrimination against our LGBTQ friends and family. No one should have to endure a vote on their civil rights; however, if efforts to pass statewide legislation fall short, then — with the LGBTQ community’s leadership and support — Lincoln should work to ensure success at the ballot box.
Some Lincoln residents, including members of Nebraskans Against Gun Violence, believe the City Council should pass a safe gun storage ordinance. Do you think the city should require gun owners to lock up guns in their homes?
I support responsible gun ownership, and I am pleased that a task force that includes mental health providers, law enforcement, gun owners, parents and community members of diverse viewpoints on this issue is examining how to prevent child access to firearms and to promote responsible storage of firearms. This is an important process to undertake before making any decisions on a safe storage ordinance, and I look forward to having a community conversation about their recommendations.
The city has banned cardboard from the city landfill and required local haulers to provide curbside recycling service. Should the city go further, by banning other recyclable products (paper, plastic) from the landfill? What changes, if any, would you propose for the recycling program?
Recycling diverts waste and extends the life of our public landfills, reducing pressure on taxpayer dollars. Every year that we can put off the expense of a new landfill, we have more money available in our city budget for other important infrastructure. Recycling is not only good for our environment, it’s also good for our city’s bottom line. Should we recycle more? Yes.
What role should the city take in planning and paying for bike paths (on streets or wider sidewalks) and bike trails (separate paths for bikes and walkers)?
While cars are our primary means of transportation, Lincoln should plan for bike paths and trails – alternatives that relieve pressure on parking, reduce traffic and air pollution, and make our city a more attractive place to live. Bike facilities comprise the smallest portion of our city’s transportation budget, and Lincoln should continue to secure grants to help pay for them. By combining implementation of the bike network with other street projects, we can create efficiencies that reduce costs.
Is climate change real and what are its likely causes? Does the city have any role in trying to help curb climate change?
Our accelerated rate of climate change is real and man-made, and we must do our part to mitigate the risks posed to our economy, environment and quality of life. I voted for Lincoln’s partnership with UNL to create renewable energy systems at Innovation Campus; Greenlight Lincoln to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution; biogas to fuel city buses; community solar projects; and an Environmental Action Plan that’s currently moving us toward citywide LED streetlights — saving energy and taxpayer dollars.
Winter weather has created an abundance of potholes. Do you think the city does enough to address the problem? Is there anything it should change?
The Citizens’ Transportation Coalition determined Lincoln has a $21 million gap in funds needed to adequately maintain our streets, including pothole repair work. I have voted for increases in road maintenance funding every year I have been in office. In 2017, I supported buying equipment that sped up pothole repair by 50 percent with increased effectiveness. As long as Nebraska has freezing winters and cold temperatures, we’ll be fighting against potholes. It is an ongoing responsibility that I take seriously.
Cyndi Lamm
Age: 60
Address: 5310 Walker Ave.
Occupation: Attorney
Political party: Republican
Education: Bachelor of Science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Juris Doctor, University of Nebraska College of Law
Website:
Experience: Lamm, a city councilwoman representing northeast Lincoln for four years, spent time as a homeless teenager in Lincoln and graduated from law school here. She says personal adversity combined with experiences as a working mother, small businessperson, attorney and legislator have influenced her perspective.
Why are you running and what do you want to accomplish in office?
I am running for mayor because I am committed to restoring the people’s confidence and trust in city government. As mayor, I will prioritize transparency. We will open the books, open new doors and open our minds to what takes our city from good to great.
A mayor must be responsive to the needs of citizens and businesses alike. Every stakeholder in this city can be assured that my door will open to everyone with an idea on how we can improve our policies and practices to better serve the people.
I will work every day to give our citizens a break through meaningful and sustainable tax reform and relief. I will continue the work I have already begun to implement policies and standards that open development opportunities, reduce land costs, and remove barriers to greater economic growth. Most urgently, I will be a mayor committed to fixing our city streets and neighborhood roads that have been neglected for far too long. The solutions are there to fix our roads – we need a mayor with the will to get it done.
Every candidate includes public safety and streets as their top priorities. In lean financial times how would you budget for parks, libraries and other city services?
Taxpayers have every right to expect more from government services like public safety, road maintenance and repair, snow removal and public services. These must be top priorities in any budget to maintain a high quality of life. Regardless of the city’s financial health, the budget process must become more collaborative. As mayor I will bring all stakeholders, including the City Council, to the table early in the process to help prioritize what’s important to every corner of the city.
Should voters approve a quarter-cent hike in the city sales tax with proceeds earmarked for streets? Why or why not?
The funding already exists to fix roads without squeezing taxpayers for more, and I will build a road maintenance policy that doesn’t constantly require higher taxes. The city already charges the highest wheel tax in the state, yet less than $3 million of the $19 million generated is spent on residential street maintenance and repair. That’s why I oppose the quarter-cent tax increase and, as a member of the City Council, I opposed placing it on the ballot.
Ensuring that everyone has access to decent housing that they can afford has become a national topic. What is your definition of affordable housing? What should the city do to encourage or provide for more affordable housing?
Housing affordability is a key component to attracting a young and growing workforce. The most important thing city government can do to provide affordable housing is to eliminate the red tape and regulations that make new housing projects more expensive for developers and tenants. Increasing government influence through subsidies or land trust policies that compete with the private sector are not sustainable ideas for growth. Instead, we must reduce government interference and empower developers to finish projects efficiently and affordably.
With the rise in home values, the city and other local governments could bring in more revenue by not reducing the property tax rate. The additional tax revenue coming from the increase in appraised value has been called a windfall. How should the city respond?
A windfall created by higher property valuations is usually bad news for property owners stretched to their limits. City spending has been rising faster than revenue for a number of years, and it is past time that government learn to take less and live within its means like families and small business owners do. Instead of using the windfall to irresponsibly increase spending as others have done, I would lower the tax rate and let taxpayers keep their hard-earned dollars.
In 2012 the City Council passed an ordinance protecting people from discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation in housing, employment and public accommodations. A referendum petition stopped the ordinance from going into effect. The council has not rescinded the ordinance nor put the issue on the ballot. If the state does not pass discrimination protection based on sexual orientation and gender identity this session, should the City Council put the proposed fairness ordinance on the ballot for a citywide vote? Why or why not?
Discrimination is wrong and everyone deserves to be treated fairly and equally under the law, as I have done in my practice as an attorney. I share the view of those who supported the referendum petition that there should be a fair discussion among all in our community who would be impacted by the ordinance about whether city government is the appropriate means to implement or enforce these kinds of anti-discrimination policies, followed by a vote of the people.
Some Lincoln residents, including members of Nebraskans Against Gun Violence, believe the City Council should pass a safe gun storage ordinance. Do you think the city should require gun owners to lock up guns in their homes?
I support freedoms and protections afforded our citizens under the Second Amendment. Many in our community maintain a firearm for self-defense. While we can agree that gun education and safety should be practiced by all, city government should not be responsible for arbitrary restrictions that could potentially impede the ability of gun owners to protect themselves, their families or their property. I will oppose gun storage ordinances that place an undue burden on the constitutional rights of law-abiding gun owners.
The city has banned cardboard from the city landfill and required local haulers to provide curbside recycling service. Should the city go further, by banning other recyclable products (paper, plastic) from the landfill? What changes, if any, would you propose for the recycling program?
My family chooses to recycle and do our small part to keep materials from the landfill, and it’s clear the city-imposed ban on cardboard has also helped. However, these mandates create hardships on local businesses, and taxpayers are paying more as trash hauler fees increase to keep up with recycling policies. I would not make any changes or ban any other recyclables from the traditional stream until the city is ready to absorb the costs of a more substantial program.
What role should the city take in planning and paying for bike paths (on streets or wider sidewalks) and bike trails (separate paths for bikes and walkers)?
Bike trails add to the quality of life in our city, and undoubtedly help us compete for the next generation of university students and workforce talent. While government focuses on basic priorities, I believe there is a real opportunity to build partnerships with major employers, developers, and community leaders to sponsor improvement projects like these. We should allow for more ownership from these stakeholders in a bike trail plan that could help them attract and retain people in our city.
Is climate change real and what are its likely causes? Does the city have any role in trying to help curb climate change?
Every person wants clean air to breathe and clean water to drink, and should work to be a good steward of our environment. Regardless of an individual’s personal belief on climate change, the solutions generally proposed are incredibly complex and expensive, calling for participation and leadership on a larger scale. As mayor, I will prioritize the immediate needs of our taxpayers and businesses first, and work with state and federal leaders to ensure our voice is heard on these issues.
Winter weather has created an abundance of potholes. Do you think the city does enough to address the problem? Is there anything it should change?
The pothole problem has grown worse over time, and I believe the entire process must change – from prioritization of funding to materials we use to decision-making and planning. As mayor, I will make sure wheel tax revenue is directed to street maintenance where it belongs. I will make sure we’re using high-quality materials for joint sealing and repairs. And I will change the process and protocols so decisions can be made in real-time for the safety of our citizens.
Meet the candidates
Meet the candidates: Five in race for Lincoln mayor
Five candidates in race for Lincoln mayor
For the first time in 12 years Chris Beutler’s name will not be on the city ballot.
Voters in the November election approved limiting the Lincoln mayor to three terms, effectively ending Beutler’s plan to run for a fourth term this spring.
Five people are running for the open mayor’s seat, including three who have experience in city government.
Cyndi Lamm and Leirion Gaylor Baird are City Council members and Jeff Kirkpatrick has been the city attorney.Ìý
Two others, Krystal Gabel, a freelance editor, and Rene Solc, who owns a concrete construction firm, have both run unsuccessfully for offices in the past.
The five candidates are profiled in today's paper on Pages A6-A7Ìýand their answers to policy issues will run in upcoming Sunday editions.
The mayor, who earns around $89,000 a year, oversees city government, with about 2,500 employeesÌýand a $589 million budget. He appoints the heads of more than a dozen departments.
Though city offices are elected on a nonpartisan basis, with no party label on the ballot, the parties are very interested in the mayor’s race and often help recruit and support candidates.
Several active Republicans were responsible for the term-limit proposition, hoping to end Beutler’s career and open up the race to a Republican candidate.
One Republican, Lamm, and two Democrats, Gaylor Baird and Kirkpatrick, are running. The two other candidates, Gabel and Solc, are both registered nonpartisan.ÌýÌý
The two candidates with the most votes will emerge from the April 9 primary to face off in the May 7 general election.
Gabel says marijuana movement motivated her political activism
Krystal Gabel planned to have a doctorate by the time she was 25, so she focused on education. And she was an exceptional student.
“I really pushed myself. I was told my entire life to have goals, to get a career, to be focused.â€
Gabel was valedictorian of her class, graduating from Akron-Westfield High School in Iowa in three years, plus she was active in sports from basketballÌý to track.
She graduated magna cum laude from Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, Iowa, with a writing degree, the last writing degree the school offered.
But her $80,000 student debt and an evolving life philosophy changed her goals.
After college and after surviving the recession on a series of low-paying jobs, Gabel bought a house in Omaha, landed a job as a technical writer with a decent salary and began paying off her student debt.
And paying. And paying.
About 10 years after graduating Gabel still had $30,000 of debt and her attitude about what was important had changed.
“I was burned out. I was feeling really overwhelmed.â€
She got involved in the Omaha community gardens, where people grow free food for the community and where she began questioning the role of government in our lives.Ìý
Growing food is revolutionary, she said. In Omaha residents need a permit to sell food or even give it to other people. "I can't grow tomatoes and give some to a friend without breaking the law," she said.Ìý
Gabel sold her home, paid off every penny of her student loans and quit her job.Ìý
Now she is a freelance writer and editor, living in a van, with no mortgage and without the daily bills that everyone else has.
Gabel believes she is part of a generation of people, many saddled with student debt, who are looking at things differently.
Gabel said she is part of the micro living movement, for people who don’t really want or need more than 200 square feet of living space.
Her housing choice is in itself a form of activism, she said.Ìý
Her phone is her computer. She goes to a gym to shower and coffee shops to get work done, and she has “generous friends†who put her up on really cold nights.
It’s a simple way of living, she said.
But if she's elected mayor, Gabel said she would get a studio apartment near City Hall.Ìý
Gabel's involvement with the cannabis movement -- a group of people trying to legalize marijuana across the country -- has also motivated her politically.
She’s helped collect signatures to get the Legal Marijuana Now Party of Nebraska on the ballot and run for several political offices: the Metropolitan Utilities District in Omaha (2016), where she advanced from the primary but lost in the general election; Omaha School Board (2016); Omaha City Council (2017); the Republican governor nomination (2018) and now the Lincoln mayor's race.
"I got into politics because I feel like nobody represents me and there are laws that work against me. Either we have to influence the lawmakers or we have to make the change ourself.â€
Gaylor Baird loves living in a place you can make a difference
Leirion Gaylor Baird didn't have political ambitions as a young woman beginning her college education at Yale University.
But her four years there set her on a path that led to Lincoln and her quest to lead the city.
"I didn't know what I wanted to do," said Gaylor Baird. "I just always followed my interests."
Raised in Portland, Oregon, by public school teacher parents, Gaylor Baird grew up in a barn remodeled into a funky house with her younger sister and three step-sisters.
Her family camped together and drove around in "The Luxury," a sarcastic nickname for a car with different-colored doors.
She stepped on the Ivy League campus in 1989, a public high school graduate among many prep school products.Ìý
Gaylor Baird studied history at Yale and classes on American politics, public policy and the country's civil rights movements stirred her.
She played intramural basketball and befriended her future husband, Scott, there.
When she graduated in 1993, she went to work for the international management consulting firm A.T. Kearney, which put her to work in Chicago and New York.
The high-paying, grueling job left her little time for life outside of work. She made time to mentor a girl in Harlem. But otherwise her social life revolved around rollerblading with friends -- around the corporate campus, she said.
But the job afforded Gaylor Baird the means to pay off student loans and return to New Haven, Connecticut, to work at an AmeriCorps-funded nonprofit geared toward helping mentor high school students from poor families.
In 1996, she rallied in Washington, D.C., at Stand for Children, organized by activist Marian Wright Edelman.
She furthered her studies on families and children at Oxford University in England, writing her thesis on parental leave policies, she said.
Then she moved to San Francisco where she went to work as a budget analyst for the city.
Her husband followed her there and the newlyweds, who commuted together, spent hours stuck in traffic.
They decided they didn't want to make a permanent home in the high-priced Bay Area.
In December 2002, they moved to Lincoln, where her in-laws lived and her husband -- part owner of a software company -- had an attractive job opportunity, she said.
They had a 4-month-old, and she focused her time on being a mom first, she said.
But soon she began volunteering at the Lincoln Children's Museum and for Friends of the Pioneers Park Nature Center.
She kept volunteering and ultimately accepted an offer by Mayor Chris Beutler in 2007 to serve on the city-county Planning Commission, where she reveled in helping shape the city's future.
"What I love about living in Lincoln, it’s a place where you can make a difference," the 47-year-old said, noting she's lived here longer than anywhere else in her adult life.
Her time on the commission helped propel her to a successful run for an at-large seat on the Lincoln City Council in 2013.
Since then, the mother of three navigates her family life, council duties and volunteer work on an iPhone calendar that marks off time for reading and has a priority alert for sleep.Ìý
With children ages 16, 14 and 10, much of her bonding time comes as she and her husband chauffeur them to their activities and schools.Ìý
Her family attends First-Plymouth Church.
The couple loved coaching YMCA basketball together and they've celebrated many of her husband's birthdays at the Lincoln Children's Museum so their friends with young families can turn out.
She loves what Lincoln offers -- a safe community with strong schools, a mix of city life, a college town and a connection to rural Nebraska.
"We haven’t entertained moving because the grass is greener here,†she said.
Kirkpatrick brings ranch roots to mayoral race
Jeff Kirkpatrick's busy campaign schedule means he's missing one of his favorite winter pastimes, poring over the seed catalogs, feasting on the pictures of beautiful vegetables and flowers that will grace his garden this year.
Kirkpatrick is into color. But his exciting experiments last summer with a purple striped eggplant and a red Brussels sprout got started late and were not anything like the pictures.Ìý
“I am a country kid,†said Kirkpatrick, the middle child of five who grew up on a ranch on the banks of the Niobrara River in the Sandhills, where his evening chores were feeding the chickens, gathering the eggs, milking and pitching hay to the cows.
Kirkpatrick started every school day with the pledge of allegiance, usually prior to heading inside. And he diagrammed sentences on a chalkboard in the one-room school, where he was one of 13 children, kindergarten though eighth grade, when he started.
It was an ideal way to get a grade school education, he said. Though no one is pushing you, you can listen to the teacher conduct an English class for the older kids. So you got a head start.
And it’s pretty easy to be No. 1 in your class when there are two students, he jokes.
There were just five children in the school when he left and the school eventually closed, merging with a neighboring district.Ìý
The ranch where he was raised is now part of the Nature Conservancy's Niobrara Valley Preserve and home to two bison herds. His parents traded land with the conservancy and resettled on a ranch north of O’Neill.
At Kearney State, Kirkpatrick was a track team walk-on but lettered four years. He said he was a slow sprinter "so I did the 400 indoor and the 400 meter hurdles." He alsoÌýwrote a column for the college newspaper and was president of the Young Democrats.
Kirkpatrick first got involved in politics by making phone calls for Bob Kerrey when he ran successfully for governor in 1982.
But he was raised in a family where the adults were interested and involved in politics.
He remembers playing on the floor with his toy car in front of a TV set on election night in 1968 -- when Republican Richard Nixon beat Democrat Hubert Humphrey -- and his dad yelling at him because he couldn’t hear the TV.
His father served on the local school board and then on the Educational Service Unit board. A great granddad was elected to the state Supreme Court but voters, in the same election, didn't enlarge the court so he couldn't serve.Ìý
After college Kirkpatrick had several small-town teaching and coaching jobs, including second- through eighth-grade math and science at a three-teacher school in Wood Lake.
Teaching and coaching is an opportunity to learn about leadership and how to motivate students, he said. Every student is different and they learn differently and are motivated differently, he said.Ìý
Kirkpatrick laterÌýworked for Nebraska Farmers Union, earned a law degree at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and was in private practice before joining the city Law Department in 2010. Mayor Chris Beutler appointed him to the top spot as city attorney in 2014.ÌýÌý
Kirkpatrick has long dreamed of running for mayor. One of the reasons he began working as an attorney for the city was to get the background and experience "so I would be more qualified to be mayor."
Formerly homeless, Cyndi Lamm has spent life following dreams
Lincoln Councilwoman Cyndi Lamm believes dreams don't have expiration dates.
Her childhood aspiration to be a lawyer like Perry Mason in the Erle Stanley Gardner books could have fizzled out amid the turbulence of her upbringing.
Even in the years she made her home crashing on friends' couches, sleeping in cars and in a Lincoln barber shop doorway, the high school dropout held tight to her vision.
"Clearly it was in the back of my head, and I knew that I had made choices that distanced me from the goal, but it still remained the goal," Lamm said last week from her campaign office in east Lincoln.
Mentoring and a willingness to take responsibility for her decisions helped Lamm realize her dream and forge the nontraditional path leading to her mayoral campaign, she said.
Her parents each married four times, building a blended family that included 13 siblings, full, half and step.
Growing up in California and Lincoln, she never lived with all of them at once. Negotiating childhood with a varied group of siblings helped her learn to listen, debate civilly and lead through consensus, she said.
But siblings were always coming and going. So at 16, she dropped out of high school and left home, where alcohol problems also contributed to the tumult.
On her own, Lamm did her best to stay out of any trouble that could bar her from making a career as a lawyer.
Even as a homeless 18-year-old, Lamm voted in the 1976 presidential election, casting a vote for Jimmy Carter out of her fury over President Gerald Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon.
She got into the Job Corps, aided by Ed and Lois Weaver, of Weaver Potato Chips, and the couple imparted wisdom she credits with changing her trajectory.
"Cyndi, no matter whose choices got you where you are today, today it's your choices that will get you where you're going tomorrow," the Weavers told her.
Still homeless when she completed the Job Corps, she made better decisions, found work and housing.
At 19, she met her husband, Tim. They had two children and worked sales jobs.
She earned her GED, and when her youngest child was in high school and she was in her late 30s, Lamm enrolled at Southeast Community College.
She continued at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, graduating with distinction.
While at the Nebraska College of Law in 2004, she clerked for the Nebraska Supreme Court and set her sights to work at the Baylor Evnen law firm, which she knew had many women attorneys and seemed to have a family-friendly climate.
Lamm also had become involved in the Lancaster County Republican Party following her own analysis of the party platforms.
Growing up, she idolized Ronald Reagan and admired the life and work of Eleanor Roosevelt, she said.
In 2014, she decided to run for Lincoln's City Council after striking out in her attempts to recruit a candidate to enter the race to replace Doug Emery in representing northeast Lincoln.
She and her husband attend Christ Place Church.
Together, the self-proclaimed "foodies" enjoy trying dishes at new Lincoln restaurants and taking in movies on $5 night, she said.
But among her favorite pastimes is sitting on her porch (when the city isn't blanketed by snow) and sipping a cup of coffee.
Six of her eight grandchildren live on her block, and her younger granddaughters will spot her outside, wave, smile and venture over, she said.
Her grandchildren, ages 6 to 22, are front of mind when she thinks about why she wants to be mayor, she said.
"I want to have a city where it's safe, it's prosperous, it's vibrant and there's opportunity for every individual and every business to succeed," Lamm said.
"I want my grandkids to want to stay in Lincoln, Nebraska."
Solc, who came to state as young immigrant, running for second time
Rene Solc immigrated to Nebraska as a teenager, all because his mom wouldn’t join the Communist Party.
It's actually more complicated, but the bottom line is this: His mom didn’t get into medical school in Czechoslovakia at the end of World War II because she wouldn’t join the Communist Party.
She knew how the Communists operated -- "all talk and no action," Solc said.
So when the Soviets invaded the country in 1968 she packed up her family and left, first to a refugee camp in Austria, then to the United States.Ìý
"She didn't see any future based on her past experiences," Solc said.Ìý
The family ended up in Wilber, the Czech capital of the state, in part because they were seen as a perfect Czech family, Solc said.
Solc, fluent in German, Czech and Polish with a smattering of Russian, had to learn yet another language when he came to the U.S. at the age of 16.
School sports allowed him to fit in as a high school student learning a new language. He ran track and wrestled, going to state both his junior and senior years.
His name is pronounced "Rin-ee Sholz." The German spelling is Scholz, but in 1928 his grandfatherÌýswitched to the Czech spelling. His brother has returned to the German spellilng, while Rene's kept the Czech.Ìý
Thirty-nine years ago Solc started a concrete construction business, RNC Concrete. It's a business that requires "you know a little bit of mathematics," he said.Ìý
But this has been a bleak winter for his business. Because of the cold and wet weather, he hasn’t been able to do any work since December and has yet to begin his spring work.
"This is the worst winter I ever had."
He’s getting a little stir crazy and his wife is ready for him to be out working. "She's ready to throw me out of the house,†he said.
Solc has served 30-plus years in the military, two years active service in the Army in the mid-1970s and another 30 in the National Guard.Ìý
He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 with the 623rd Engineering Unit out of Wahoo and retired when he returned the next year.
Four years ago Solc ran for mayor because of a business conflict with the city.
The city had canceled his company’s sidewalk contracts and he wanted a meeting with the mayor. Running for election seemed the only sure way to get that done.
Solc did not make it through the primary but he did get his meeting with Chris Beutler and eventually was paid some of the money he believed the city owed him.ÌýÌý
This time he's running because he thinks he has something to offer.
Recycling, one of Solc's election issues, is a lifelong interest.ÌýÌý
The 65-year-old beganÌýsorting paper, plastic and cardboard as a boy in Prague, which had a recycling program to help lengthen the life of the landfill.Ìý
Even with curbside service, Solc is still sorting his plastic and glass to take to a city recycling site.Ìý
Solc, registered as nonpartisan, spent less than $500 on the last mayor's race and doesn't expect to raise any money this time either.
"I'll run without it (donations). That way I don't owe anybody any favors."