How Will Elkhorn Be Represented on the Omaha City Council?

By Karen Sloan, Omaha World-Herald, Neb.

Jan. 13–Now that Omaha has received the go-ahead from the Nebraska Supreme Court to annex Elkhorn, city officials must decide how Elkhorn’s residents will be represented in city government.

The Omaha City Council has not finalized plans for how district boundaries would be redrawn to include Elkhorn. The leading proposal would split Elkhorn into two districts, said Council President Dan Welch.

The southern half of the city and the other subdivisions Omaha is annexing would be incorporated into District 5, represented by Welch. The northern part of Elkhorn would become part of District 6, represented by Councilman Franklin Thompson.

“It’s important that (Elkhorn) voices be heard and that the city allows them to have input,” Thompson said. “I’m thinking that it’s a plus for them to have the ears of two council members as opposed to just one.”

Not everyone is happy with the idea of splitting Elkhorn into different council districts. State Sen. Dwite Pedersen, who represents Elkhorn, said he plans to introduce a bill in the Legislature next week to add two members to the Omaha council. His hope is that only one person would represent Elkhorn on the council.

In the Omaha council’s proposed scenario, Districts 5 and 6 each would gain approximately 5,000 Elkhorn constituents. That change would create a ripple effect through the other five districts, with boundary lines adjusted to keep the number of constituents fairly equal in all seven districts.

Each district currently has an average of 55,400 people, though there is some variation. For example, districts in the western portion of the city have grown more quickly, creating an imbalance. The last City Council redistricting was in 2001.

The redrawn boundaries will help correct those imbalances, Welch said. He projects that after the changes are made, the seven districts each will have about 57,000 people.

The Omaha City Council would have to approve the redrawn boundaries.

Pedersen said he doesn’t want the same council members who sought to take over Elkhorn to now represent the area’s interests.

He said carving Elkhorn up into separate districts will break up the residents’ voting bloc and dilute their voice in city affairs.

“Elkhorn has always been unified, and I don’t want to see the community sliced into two,” Pedersen said. “I’m very concerned about representation, because the people of Elkhorn haven’t had the opportunity to vote for those who will represent them on the council.”

Pedersen also said he is considering running for the Omaha City Council. The next council election is in 2009.

The idea of adding two seats and creating a nine-member council was first initiated by Pedersen and Omaha Councilman Jim Suttle in late 2005. It received a lukewarm reception from other council members at the time.

Suttle said he would still support the measure, but not because he is concerned that Elkhorn would lack adequate representation under the city proposal.

Suttle said having smaller, similar-sized districts would help provide representation for minority populations. It also would give citizens a louder voice with their council representatives because they’d have fewer constituents, he said.

Welch said he is not convinced that adding council members is a good idea.

“I would prefer to keep the number where it is,” Welch said. “It seems like the more people you have on a legislative body, less things get done.”

World-Herald staff writer Martha Stoddard contributed to this report.

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Copyright (c) 2007, Omaha World-Herald, Neb.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

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