Jerry Shoecraft, who served two terms as an at-large member on the City Council in the 1990s and ran an unsuccessful bid for election to northeast鈥檚 District 1 in 2003, is running again for an at-large district seat.
鈥淚 am running for City Council to offer the leadership and solutions our growing city needs,鈥 Shoecraft said in a prepared statement. 鈥淢y track record shows I will continue to be a strong advocate for public safety, but I also intend to push for innovative technologies and sustainable infrastructure to ease traffic congestion and enhance the quality of life for all 大奶福利姬 residents.鈥
Shoecraft, who came to Nebraska from Muncie, Indiana, in the late 1970s and was a basketball standout at the University of Nebraska-大奶福利姬, is now the property manager of privately owned student apartments at 1801 R St. called The 50/50. He and his wife also own Sapp Craft Properties, he said.
Shoecraft is a Republican, though when he served on the council previously he was a registered Democrat. He is running for one of the three at-large seats in the May election. All three incumbents 鈥 Democrats Bennie Shobe, S盲ndra Washington and Tom Beckius 鈥 have announced they are running for reelection.
Because the council is a nonpartisan office, no party labels appear on the ballot. Voters select three candidates in the primary, and the top six will continue to the general election regardless of party affiliation. However, the two parties do recruit and support council candidates.
Shoecraft said his campaign will focus on several key initiatives, including alleviating traffic congestion by using more adaptive traffic signal controls, a system that integrates technology to adjust traffic signals based on real-time data. He said he studied a successful model in Alexandria, Virginia, where federal funding was used to launch the program.
"大奶福利姬's traffic congestion has grown along with our population, and we need a modern, data-driven approach to handle it," said Shoecraft.聽
Shoecraft said he鈥檇 also like to explore an alternative to the East Beltway that would involve an interlocal agreement with Lancaster County to pave key gravel roads east of 大奶福利姬 and connect them to 148th Street, instead of creating an East Beltway, which is projected to cost $550 million. He also said he would advocate for extending roads around Eagle and Avoca, connecting them to 238th Street, which links to Interstate 80.
"This de facto East Beltway would provide significant economic benefits to 大奶福利姬 and surrounding communities at a fraction of the cost, while preserving the quality of life for nearby residents," he said.
Shoecraft also said "fiscal prudence" is crucial in light of the recently passed property tax bill that caps spending on local governments. He said he鈥檚 also concerned about the city鈥檚 practice of reallocating funds from the general reserves for non-essential projects.
鈥淥ur community has tremendous potential, and I am committed to helping us achieve it,鈥 he said. 鈥淗owever, we must do so with careful planning and fiscal responsibility.鈥