Deena Winter: Camp toys with mayoral run

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Democrats aren’t the only ones jockeying for position in next year’s mayoral race.

Rumor has it Councilman Jon Camp thinks fellow Republican Ken Svoboda should step aside and let him run. Confronted with the rumor, Camp said: “I think that’s a pretty good rumor.”

Yet Camp was coy when asked whether he’s going to run for mayor, even though he regularly drops comments indicating he wants to.  He won’t commit, but then pontificates on how critical the mayoral race will be to Lincoln’s future, sounding very much like a candidate.

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“You have to go into this election with the best, most-qualified candidates you can,” he said. “People need to ask what attributes Lincoln needs in its next mayor: Who best fulfills those? That’s really it, in a nutshell. We need some good experienced leadership. ... Lincoln needs to decide: Does it want the best?”

Which implies that he’s the best —  right?

“The city of Lincoln needs to be run by a leader, not by a politician,” he continues.

Later, he adds, “I think that Ken or I would make an excellent candidate for mayor.”

And then he notes that he’s a “lifelong Republican,” unlike Svoboda, who was a Democrat up until about nine years ago.

Camp’s council seat is also up for grabs next year, and he promises this much: “I will be on the ballot either for City Council or for mayor.”

Svoboda said he and Camp long ago discussed their mutual interest in running for mayor in what he describes as “a discussion among friends.” People also have told him Camp wants him to step aside.

“I have made up my mind,” he said. In fact, he plans a formal announcement in 30 to 45 days. And he would have no problem with Camp joining the race.

“I would never try to talk anybody out of running for public office,” Svoboda said.

Meanwhile, no news on the Democratic side, where Sen. Chris Beutler and Mayor Coleen Seng also both want to run. An announcement on that front is expected soon, since this is traditionally the time for candidates to jump in or bow out.

O Street widening ahead of schedule

As of late last week, the widening of O Street was ahead of schedule.

So sayeth Public Works and Utilities Director Karl Fredrickson. If all continues to go as planned, contractors will meet the ultimate goal of re-opening everything before Thanksgiving.

The city is widening O Street from 46th to 52nd to six lanes and adding left and right turn lanes to key intersections.

You asked for it, you got it

The mayor said she wanted specifics, so City Councilwoman Robin Eschliman gave her specifics about where she would cut the city’s budget.

After a semi-scolding in a memo from Seng about how generalities don’t help with budget-cutting, Eschliman responded with a list of specific budget cuts she supports, largely based on a survey she did over the winter. Here are a few areas in which she said she’d support “substantial cuts”:

* Merit pay increases for city employees

* Swimming pools, unless attendance goes up

* Bus routes

* Expenditures involving water runoff, flood plain issues, etc.

* Libraries, unless usage is increasing

* Capital improvements to parks

* Funding for the Women’s Commission; she suggests moving it under the umbrella of another department.

When contacted by the Journal Star about her letter, Eschliman said it was mistakenly released to the public and was only a preliminary list.

“That doesn’t mean anyone else on the council will be where I am,” she said.

Swimmin’ and skateboardin’

What do you think about putting a skatepark on that big empty piece of space east of Star City Shores?

If you have a strong opinion about it, you might want to attend the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meeting Thursday at 4 p.m. at the Auld Recreation Center, 3140 Sumner St.

Parks Director Lynn Johnson said a group of skate enthusiasts is trying to raise money for an in-ground concrete skate park, and the parks advisory board is looking at whether it could be on about an acre of free space near the pool.

The city has two modular skate parks — at Peter Pan Park near 33rd and W streets and Tierra Park south of 27th Street and Nebraska 2 —with free-standing equipment on a concrete pad. They’re designed for beginner to intermediate skaters; this park would be more challenging. 

The skate park could cost $300,000 to $400,000 to build, and the skate group would be expected to raise most of that, with the city kicking in $25,000 to $50,000. The park would be owned by the city and open to the public.

When Star City Shores was built in 1996, Johnson said, the eastern portion was kept open for something that would complement the pool.

“This could potentially be that complementary use,” he said.

He’d like public input and invites people to offer their thoughts by calling him at 441-8265 or J.J. Yost, his planning and construction manager, at 441-8255.

Camp drops proposal to beef up littering ordinance

City Councilman Jon Camp has canned his proposal to stiffen the city’s littering ordinance to reduce the handbills, fliers and posters littering downtown Lincoln.

In February, Camp proposed increasing the maximum daily fine for littering violations from $100 to $500 and making business owners liable for fliers advertising events on their property. A couple of weeks later, he agreed to put the legislation on hold after bar owners and concert promoters complained, and he recently scuttled the idea altogether.

Camp said he hopes business owners will voluntarily work to cut down the amount of litter and enforce the current law.

“I think there are bigger issues we need to focus on,” he said. “In the grand scheme of things, this is a drop in the ocean.”

History (sort of) repeats itself

Headlines from 1976: Following months of criticism about animal control problems, the Lincoln City Council canceled its contract with the Humane Society for dog-catching and made plans to spend at least $105,000 to set up its own animal control operation.

Reach Deena Winter at 473-2642 or dwinter@journalstar.com.