Today, I officially entered the race for the OPPD board. For many people who enter this race, it is more about building a resume to move on to a higher office. I have no interest in that. For me, it is about giving back to my community in a way that uses my technical background and senior executive experience. I contemplated running for the board after the chaos associated with the December 18th board vote. The narrative surrounding that vote was that the board was put in a difficult position because OPPD senior management and staff had not completed the necessary steps to move forward with converting North Omaha Units 4 and 5 from coal to natural gas by the end of 2026. However, this would never have happened if the board had asked probing questions and really held OPPD management accountable for meeting specific milestones. Earlier, the board unanimously approved a pay raise for the OPPD executives, including raising the CEO's salary to $856,000. If elected to the board, I will ensure that management compensation and retention are tied to meeting specific milestones. I will also leverage my technical background to ask the probing questions that are needed to ensure commitments aren't broken again. I was one of those kids who grew up in North Omaha and suffered from asthma, and I pledge to do everything I can to ensure that OPPD finally fulfills its promise.
