Name                           Colleen Brennan

Occupation                   Insurance Executive

Education                     UNO/UNL Music Major

Political Affiliation        Democrat

Website                       colleenbrennanforomaha.com

What are your connections to the community?

Both sides of my family arrived in Omaha in the wave of immigration around 1900. I grew up in Holy Cross Parish at 48th and Poppleton. My mother, Marilyn, was a nurse at the old St. Joe’s Hospital and later at Bergen. My father, Terry, worked at MUD and was a well-known lead guitar player and vocalists for several rock bands. In 1984, my family moved to Millard and I graduated from Millard North High School in 1989. I was a fine arts major and Alpha Xi Delta at UNO but transferred later to UNL for my junior and senior years. A little over twenty years ago, we moved to a neighborhood on the South side of Millard, which is where we live now. You might say the neighborhood grew-up around us.

What experience do you bring to the office?

I’m a problem solver. When you are the mother of a profoundly disabled child, you have to be. There is never enough time, money or other resources to do what needs to be done. So, you have to scrape away all the nonsense and make things happen. You learn to be creative. You learn to stretch a dollar. You learn to bring ideas and a wide variety of resources to bear on any problem, and you make it work. It sounds easy, but it’s always amazed me how ridiculously slow some people can be when it comes to just getting the job done.

What would one of your top priorities be?

Here’s the truth. If you’re a City Councilmember, your top priority is chosen for you. You have to make sure the streets in your district are serviceable; the trash is picked up on time; the snow is removed as quickly as possible; the recyclables are getting where they need to go; and that you respond to constituent communications in a timely manner. You study all the time to make sure you make good decisions, and then and only then, can you spend a little time thinking about what you’d like to accomplish. When I get that time, I like to think about how I can solve our transportation problems.

What motivated you to run for public office?

After my son died, it left a void in my life. I’d been his primary caregiver every day and every hour for fourteen years. When he was gone, I guess I needed a new purpose in life. I like to take care of people. It makes me feel good to solve problems for them. I love this job, and there is no shortage of people who need help.

What’s the biggest issue that Omaha faces?

Omaha is on the threshold of becoming a world-class city, but we’ve got to make it a place where our best and brightest want to continue to call it home. That means advanced transportation systems, recreational venues, entertainment opportunities, environmental responsibility, affordable housing and more. The biggest issue isn’t one thing. It’s about bringing a creative balance to a wide assortment of issues that turn it into one brilliant vision of the future.

Is there anything else you want to tell voters?

Politics does not have to be what it is. We hear a lot of people talking about “fighting” for this, or “fighting” for that. It’s all nonsense. If you want to get something done, you’ve got to reach out. You’ve got to find common ground, and you’ve got to make sense. I work with some really great people in both parties, and the truth is, you get a lot more done when you work together. It’s common sense.