Leaders in South Omaha believe their message to urge Latinos to go out and vote is finally resonating with political candidates.
Mayor Jean Stothert was re-elected as Omaha's mayor Tuesday night after a tough race with challenger Heath Mello - a race that analysts say proves Latinos in Omaha gained political influence with both candidates' campaigns, especially in District 4.
"Ward 4 showed a lot of division - a lot of the other districts were very decisive. They went either one way or the other, but ward 4 was very close. Heath Mello barely won that district," says Derek Ramirez, a data analyst with the Heartland Workers Center.
Although not a big win for Mello, Sergio Sosa, executive director for the Heartland Workers Center says Latino voter turnout was a victory for his organization.
“I think the overall turnout in Ward 4 was a victory for us because Latinos in the area went to vote in a very important election and the numbers show that. I still would’ve liked to have seen a 50% turnout but in the thirties is still a good number,” said Sosa.
Analysts say although organizations like the Heartland Workers Center worked endlessly to urge Latino voters to vote, reaching more than 8,000 people in Ward 4, the two candidates’ efforts to appeal to Latino voters played a significant role in the turnout.
"It was one of the first times that I saw that they have been so active and engaging into this community,” said Sosa.
Both candidates had offices in South Omaha, making themselves more available to Latinos in the area. They both also distributed flyers and published ads in Spanish – something not often seen in previous races.
“A lot of information was distributed in Spanish - along 24th St., Q St., Vinton St., - it was very clear the candidates were appealing to Latino voters and working to win their vote,” added Sosa.
"Stothert and Mello really showed that they were fighting for Latino voters. It was never more apparent than when both candidates were running Spanish language radio advertisements about their campaign. That tells me that this is a sign that this population is being taken seriously and really has arrived,” said Dr. Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado, a UNO Political Science professor.
Both candidates even requested to appear on Spanish radio shows, like Sergio Robles’ popular radio show program on El Patron 102.3 FM to appeal to Spanish-speaking voters.
"When they reached out to me that they wanted to be speaking with the community and they acknowledged the power of our vote, I said, ‘yeah, welcome.’ It was very important. Not just for us as a station, but for the Latino community,” said Robles. “People were able to call in and talk to the candidates about important issues that were important to the South Omaha community – like roads, business development, more Latinos in law enforcement. And they listened.”
Dr. Benjamin-Alvarado says moving forward, candidates in all local Omaha races will learn from this past mayoral race and see they need to pay attention to the Latino vote. “As it grows and as it matures, it could become the swing vote in a local election. We’re not there yet, but I think in the future we will begin to see that in Omaha.”
