The political climate in Lincoln has led a grassroots group to halt its efforts to push a significant change in police staffing. Advocates for All Nebraskans, the organization spearheading a petition to require the employment of at least 450 police officers in Lincoln, announced a temporary suspension of their campaign due to what they describe as a “toxic political environment.”
The group voiced its concerns in a press release, highlighting fears over the integrity of the ballot initiative process. “The citizen petition process is a sacred constitutional right and the pure voice of the people to make an even better Nebraska,” the release emphasized. This mechanism was designed to empower residents with a direct role in shaping their communities, especially when local governance falls short.
The pause comes on the heels of a separate Lincoln petition drive embroiled in controversy, which saw county and state authorities probing alleged signature fraud. Last week, the Lancaster County Election Commissioner’s Office rejected over 20,000 signatures from three election-related city petitions, noting more than 13,000 as potentially fraudulent. This has resulted in the arrest of five individuals suspected of fraud, with ongoing investigations by county authorities and the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office.
As a result of this scandal, Advocates for All Nebraskans decided to make a “strategic pause” in their petition efforts. Their statement criticized the current petition landscape as tarnished, claiming it is increasingly driven by profit rather than genuine citizen engagement.
Eric Underwood, an authorized agent for the petition and former Nebraska Republican Party chairman, expressed that the timeline for collecting signatures before the November election deadlines became impractical. “We would have continued to at least use volunteers, as well as start our own paid circulator version of this,” Underwood explained. However, recent developments led them to reconsider the feasibility of their efforts.
Underwood indicated that the petition organizers intend to pursue another election cycle or a special election to advance the ballot initiative. The group also reported encountering “hostility” and “active resistance” from Lincoln city leadership. “They were not in much favor of having charters or ordinances amended by the people,” Underwood said, lamenting what he sees as a disregard for the people’s legislative role in Nebraska.
While Lincoln City Council members were unavailable for comment, Advocates for All Nebraskans maintain their stance on the necessity of increased police staffing. “A growing Capital City of more than 300,000 residents cannot indefinitely operate with police staffing that has failed to keep pace with its population and responsibilities,” the group stated, warning of escalating challenges and costs if the issue is not addressed.
Support for the petition includes endorsements from retired Nebraska State Patrol Superintendent Tom Nesbitt and former Lincoln radio host Doug Fitzgerald. Initially filed with the city clerk in June, the petition required signatures from registered voters amounting to 5% of the last city general election turnout to qualify for the November ballot.
The City of Lincoln has questioned the petition’s legality. At the campaign’s inception, Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird’s chief of staff, Rick Hoppe, indicated that employing additional officers could cost up to $13 million annually, potentially necessitating property tax increases or cuts to other city services.
For more information, you can read the original petition details and learn about the fraud investigation and the rejected signatures.
