For the first time in a Lincoln mayor's race, two women will face each other and ask voters to make one of them the city's next mayor.
Leirion Gaylor Baird and Cyndi Lamm were the top vote-getters in Tuesday's city primary out of five candidates wanting to become Lincoln's 49th mayor.
City attorney Jeff Kirkpatrick came in a distant third.
"I am honored that the voters of Lincoln have confidence in me," particularly since "I was extremely outspent by both my opponents," Lamm saidÌýTuesday night, referring to the much higher campaign spending by Gaylor Baird and Kirkpatrick.
"We're getting more bang for our buck like conservatives tend to do," she said.Ìý
Lamm said she was looking forward to a spirited race, a discussion of the issues and hopefully some debates, perhaps even a televised debate. "That would be great for the people of Lincoln," she said.Ìý
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Gaylor Baird said she was grateful for all the people who have made calls, knocked on doors, made donations and helped in her campaign.Ìý
Gaylor Baird said she is excited to be moving on to the general election, where she is "just going to keep doing what I'm doing — working hard, talking to voters and residents," with a message of taking care of basics and working to "maintain our wonderful quality of life that we love here in Lincoln."Ìý Ìý
Both women are City Council members. Lamm represents District 1, the northeast section of the city, and Gaylor Baird is one of three citywide representatives.
Gaylor Baird is a Democrat and Lamm a Republican. Though city elections are nonpartisan — with no party labels attached to names at the polls — the two parties do work to get their candidates elected to both the mayor's office and the City Council.
The two women represent different philosophic views.
Lamm is considered a conservative and has aligned herself with President Donald Trump in some online advertising. Her campaign message has been one of holding the line on spending and lowering taxes.ÌýÌý
Gaylor Baird is considered a liberal and has passionately supported sustainability and environmental issues while on the council and on the campaign trail.
Her campaign material includes references to maintaining Lincoln’s quality of life, including parks, pools, senior centers, libraries and bike paths.
The two have already had dueling news releases about budget-cutting efforts.Ìý
Gaylor Baird has pointed out that she led a council effort to cut the tax rate two years ago when rapidly rising home valuations would have created a windfall in revenue.Ìý
However, Lamm pointed out she was ready to cut the rate even more, but her idea did not get a majority vote and Gaylor Baird voted against Lamm's plan.ÌýÌý
Lamm was expected to be one of the top two in the primary because she was the only Republican in the race.
Many people who follow local government considered Gaylor Baird the natural front-runner because of her name recognition after serving six years on the City Council and being part of two citywide races.
She also raised the most money for her campaign, bringing in more than $366,000Ìýin the past two years for the mayor’s race.
Lincoln has twice had a woman mayor. Helen Boosalis served two terms from 1975-1983, and Coleen Seng served from 2003-2007.
Mayor Chris Beutler, who has been mayor for 12 years, will retire in May, his mayoral career ended after voters approved a three-term limit last November.
City primary election results
Lincoln primary election results
Stormwater bond vote
Position | Vote totals |
---|---|
For bond | 31,795 |
Against bond | 25,492 |
Lincoln mayor
Candidate | Vote totals |
---|---|
Cyndi Lamm | 27,722 |
Leirion Gaylor Baird | 33,211 |
City Council District 1
Candidate | Vote total |
---|---|
James Michael Bowers | 7,232 |
Taylor Wyatt | 6,469 |
City Council District 2
Candidate | Vote total |
---|---|
Megan Stock | 11,028 |
Richard Meginnis | 11,564 |
City Council District 3
Candidate | Vote total |
---|---|
Jane Raybould | 10,261 |
Colten Zamrzla | 4,832 |
City Council District 4
Candidate | Vote total |
---|---|
James Herrold | 2,229 |
Tammy Ward | 4,767 |