Jean Stothert


Jean Stothert is an American politician and former nurse serving as the 51st mayor of Omaha, Nebraska. She is the first woman to hold the office and was sworn in as Mayor on June 10, 2013. She was re-elected on May 10, 2017.

Early life, education and career

Jean Stothert was born on February 7, 1954, in Wood River, Illinois. She earned a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Seattle Pacific University.

Career

Stothert began her career in nursing. Her 12 years as a critical care nurse and nursing manager included serving as head nurse at St. Louis University. She was responsible for her department budgeting, hiring and staff management.
In 1997, Stothert was elected to Millard Board of Education, elected and re-elected for three terms including 3 years as president of the board, serving until 2009.
Stothert was a candidate for the Nebraska Legislature in 2006, though she was defeated by Steve Lathrop by 14 votes.
In 2009, Stothert was elected to represent District 5 on the Omaha City Council, defeating Jon Blumenthal 7401 to 4308.

Mayor of Omaha

On June 29, 2012, Stothert announced her candidacy for Mayor of Omaha. Stothert raised $513,124 for campaign, compared to $804,700 raised by Jim Suttle. Stothert received 32.2% of votes in a primary election of April 2, 2013. She was elected mayor with 57.32% of votes, in May 14, 2013, defeating the incumbent mayor Jim Suttle. She is the first woman to hold this office.

Controversy

In June 2020, Stothert referred to a Korean American woman whose name was displayed in Hangul on Facebook as a "troll who hides behind symbols and doesn’t list their name" after the woman left a comment critical of Stothert. After initially refusing to, Stothert later apologized for her remark.

Personal life

Stothert moved to Omaha in 1992 with her husband, Joseph Stothert, M.D., and their children, Elizabeth and Andrew. Joe is a trauma physician at UNMC.