Candidates for Lincoln mayor ‘face the chamber’

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - The two candidates for mayor faced the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce on Thursday and discussed their priorities if elected.

Leirion Gaylor Baird and Suzanne Geist each explained their leadership style and dug into their plan for the city in front of more than 200 members of the chamber.

Both candidates highlighted the importance of building out infrastructure and growing Lincoln into an appealing place for young professionals.

In closing statements, Geist spoke more on her desire for lowering the Lincoln budget and her plan to ‘get out of the way’ for Lincoln businesses.

Gaylor Baird took the opportunity to bring up Geist’s voting record in the Nebraska legislature.

“Her voting record at the State Capitol makes it clear that her priorities are not our shared priorities, and they hurt Lincoln and they hurt Nebraska,” Gaylor Baird said.

“City business is not political,” Geist said. “It’s also not social business. City business is public safety, roads, and thriving business and jobs. And so anything other than that is just noise.”

This has been a contentious campaign. The current mayor, Gaylor Baird, has called on Geist to denounce ads that make false claims about the mayor.

“It’s not who I am. So those are third party people that jump in races and have what they have to say but that is not the voice - the positivity that’s coming from my campaign,” Geist said.

“She can say that those attack ads aren’t hers, but she is allowing those to continue,” Gaylor Baird said. “And I think it’s because she doesn’t have a platform that resonates with the Lincoln community.

Both candidates say they’re working to sway people who voted for Stan Parker in the primary.

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