Omaha, a City Without Democracy
Despite denials from Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert and her Heritage Services funders, Omaha’s library system is being privatized. They already privatized the parks system. They privatized the Civic Auditorium site, too. It’s no surprise because Omaha is a city that has given up control to our local 1%.
As a younger person, I thought the city was run by The City. I expected the Master Plan was developed by the elected government and hired public servants. But the administration serves other Masters, doesn’t it? When the City does the bidding of the moneyed elite, it cedes its own authority but, worse, gives away your power, too.
The most recent HS public pitch sounds nice… but unravels if you think about it at all. “We love Omaha and will fund new library buildings and better programs. Isn’t that great? Of course, we have already designed the process. And it will include large construction contracts that will be awarded to the companies we own and manage. Plus, it will give us a nice hole downtown for another construction project. Oh, and there’s a public comment option, so you can tell us what you think about our plan. Nice, right?”
None of this is nice.
Omaha operates without democracy. That is, Heritage Services and City Hall make plans without us. When I said they privatized the parks department, did you forget that there was no public conversation about the HS “Riverfront Revitalization?” They did it without us. The city-owned Civic Auditorium site? No public conversation about that before Stothert gave the development opportunity to a HS-related company. They did it without us.
Nothing about us without us can be for us.
If Omaha had democracy, the City would have led a multi-year library planning process in public with the public. Instead, we get a few minutes to comment on Heritage Services’ plan. Why do they get the power to plan our Omaha? Our public services? Our shared resources? Private planning is privatized control.
If Omaha had democracy, the City would have increased funding to the library system to facilitate development of programs, physical expansion, and better services. Instead, the department has been starved and primed to accept a handout by our local benefactors. Private funding is privatized control.
If Omaha had democracy, the City would have asked us to help build Omaha. Instead, we get civic leaders and public leaders who step over us, who act like we are in the way, who consider us the last people to need to know. All of this costs more than the money they throw around. We pay with our dignity, our sense of community, and our control over our lives. This is Omaha’s shame, not privatized, but on public display.
