As it has been throughout the Lincoln mayoral race, public safety was the main theme at Tuesday's mayoral forum hosted by the Lincoln Independent Business Association.
Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird touted the investments she has made in the Lincoln Police Department, including salary increases last year that made LPD officers the highest paid in the state.
She also disputed portrayals made in campaign ads supporting her opponent, Suzanne Geist, that Lincoln is an unsafe place to live.
"By every measure we are a safe city," Gaylor Baird said, noting that violent crime in Lincoln currently is down 22% compared with the city's five-year average.
She said portrayals painting Lincoln as a "crime-ridden, crime-infested underworld" are bad for the small businesses LIBA represents.
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"That's not the Lincoln we know and it's not the Lincoln we need being described," she said. "That hurts your businesses and it hurts our ability to attract people to this city as employees to your business."
But Geist said that when she talks to Lincoln residents, public safety has been their "No. 1 issue."
Geist noted that while it's great to pay police officers well, they also need to feel supported, and she said many officers have told her they don't feel they have the support of Gaylor Baird's administration.
"Law enforcement supports me for a reason," said Geist, who has received the endorsement of the Lincoln Police Union.
She pointed out that in 2019, when Gaylor Baird took office, there were 346 sworn officers on the force, and that number currently stands at 336.
Geist said she would ensure the police department has enough money in its budget to recruit new officers and also would travel in person to help recruit officers in other cities.
The debate over public safety extended to the carrying of concealed weapons, with the two candidates clashing over LB77, a bill working its way through the Legislature that would allow people 21 and older to carry concealed handguns without a permit or any required safety training.
Geist, who said she's a strong supporter of the Second Amendment and a concealed-carry permit holder, said she supported the bill and voted for it after the second round of debate because the bill was amended to gain the support of most law enforcement organizations.
But she said she continues to have concerns about safety issues "especially in Lincoln and Omaha," and would not support the bill in its current form.
Gaylor Baird, who said she stands with the police chiefs of Lincoln and Omaha in opposing the bill, said passage of the bill would make the city less safe for residents and police officers.
She also accused Geist of flip-flopping her votes on the issue, supporting concealed carry wholeheartedly in her first term as a state senator but expressing concerns with the bill now that she's running for Lincoln mayor.
Geist and Gaylor Baird fielded questions on a number of other topics, including the condition of streets in Lincoln, rising housing costs, the city budget process and how Lincoln can attract and retain young people.
Gaylor Baird, who is a Democrat, said policies Geist, a Republican, has supported as a senator, including banning abortions after six weeks and not allowing gender-affirming treatments for transgender people under the age of 19, will drive young people away from Lincoln and Nebraska.
She said the city is being "undermined at the state Capitol," and said passing such legislation would be "the most unhelpful message ever to send to people."
Geist, however, countered that the issues and values being debated in the Legislature represent the views of a majority of Nebraskans.
She also said that the Lincoln mayor's office "is not the place to fight a culture war."
"I am committed to a city administration that focuses on city business," Geist said.
2023 Lincoln City Election Voter's Guide
We reached out to candidates before Lincoln's city election and asked them to provide biographical information and answer questions relevant to the offices they seek.Â
Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird, a Democrat, faces former state Sen. Suzanne Geist, a Republican, in her run for a second term.
This year's city elections will put at least three new faces on the City Council, where the four seats which represent districts are on the ballot.
Two Lincoln Board of Education incumbents face challengers new to politics in this spring’s city elections, while one seat is up for grabs.
There are four candidates competing for two open seats on the Lincoln Airport Authority.