Larry Bradley – An educator in the race, for higher education
Larry Bradley is running for the Nebraska Board of Regents in District
Four, which includes North Omaha, Midtown and South Omaha.
Bradley said there are four specific reasons he is in this race, “Number
one: affordable education. Number two: civil rights, human rights,
students’ rights, workers’ rights. Number three: pro-academic freedom,
pro-science. And number four: environmental advocacy.”
He said he believes what sets him apart from his competition is that he’s
actually from the district.
“I went to a central grade school in downtown Omaha in the late 60s,
early 70s. There were a lot of race riots and so forth, but that central
grade school used to be right across the street from Central High, it was
at the crossroads of Omaha. I grew up in the downtown concrete jungle.
But through that upbringing of extreme poverty, and violence, I still
managed my way through for an honorable discharge from the United
States Army,” he said.
Bradley likes to interact with the people of his district and said he’s done
a lot of good work there.
Another thing he feels sets him apart from his opponents is that he’s
been elected by the people twice before. He served on the Missouri
River NRD Board from 2008-2012 and was re-elected to serve on the
board in 2016.
“I was initially elected in 2008 during the middle of the great recession.
I wanted to help people get back to work and I voted on a lot of projects
that helped that happen. For the five years I was on the NRD Finance
Committee, I helped oversee an approximate budget of $70,000,000 a
year. And we never once raised the tax levy,” he said.
Bradley, who is half-Mexican, half-Irish, did a lot of work, when he was
commander of the American GI Forum, to help ensure that Hispanic
students were better able to get a college education at Creighton, UNO,
UNL and Metropolitan Community College.
When asked why he thinks people should turn up to vote on November
6th, Bradley said, “Veterans don’t take life for granted. People need to
realize that many individuals gave up a lot of life so everyone would
have the right to vote. It’s your civic duty to get out there and vote.”
Bradleyforregent.com
Dulce Sherman – A mom on a mission
Dulce Sherman has four boys that attended the Millard School District.
The last one graduated last year. She has lived in Millard for 30 years,
doing community service and working with HR leadership.
One of her primary reasons for running for the Millard Board of
Education is to be an advocate for children that have special education
needs, which means anybody with a learning disability.
Sherman has some experience in this area, “We have two boys that are
high ability learners, and then two that have learning disabilities.”
She said one of her sons also struggled with depression and had
attempted suicide.
“I want to make sure that our schools have the appropriate assessments
earlier. It shouldn’t take a child failing academically before there’s some
intervention. There’s got to be a way for us to identify children who are
at-risk earlier. We need to find out if we are providing the appropriate
behavioral health support for them,” explained Sherman.
Sherman believes strongly that every child should feel they have the
right to an education.
“What are the schools going to do to ensure every student is successful?
We are very focused on academics and that’s great but every child needs
the opportunity to be successful,” she said.
There are currently 24,000 students in Millard with about a 93%
graduation rate. Sherman wonders what’s happening to those 7% that
aren’t graduating.
For her part, Sherman said she would bring energy and new ideas to the
board.
She feels the school district has relied too much on property taxes and
wants to bring in some new, creative ways of thinking.
“Additionally, even though Millard is 20% minorities (not including
your children with learning disabilities or those that identify as
LGBTQ+), there needs to be representation or a voice for those children
and I want to bring that,” she said.
Sherman currently works for a non-profit in the health industry and also
does a lot of community service outside of her job.
“I think that’s one of the things we need to be teaching our children is
how they should be giving back to the community,” she said.
Sherman explained one of the things the Millard School District is
seeing is that there’s been a 30% increase in English Language Learning.
She believes that shows there’s a need for these types of language
programs.
“That tells me that we need to pay attention to how our demographics,
poverty level, and social economical variables are changing. What are
we doing from the school’s perspective to proactively address those?
And then how do we create that parent advocacy so we have those
parents and those students involved?” Sherman asked.
When I asked Sherman why people should go vote in November, she
said, “Their voice matters. One vote can make the difference. I know
that they don’t believe that. I think people have lost hope in the political
process; that things will change. But think about your children. Think
about your grandchildren and how our future will be impacted if we
don’t make a decision now. It’s up to us, so remember in November: Vote
for change. Vote for children. Vote for our future.”
Sherman4mpsboard.com
Erik Servellon – Boots on the ground for change
Erik Servellon is running in the general election for District 5 on the
Learning Community Coordinating Council.
Servellon explained his primary reason for seeking office, “I really
wanted to bring my military and nonprofit experience into the Learning
Community to make sure and advocate that the Learning Community
stays committed to its mission to close the achievement gap in poor
areas of the district, and to always be fiscally responsible with the
money.”
He said he loves that the Learning Community is not afraid to try new
things. Servellon said they embrace successes and acknowledge failures
and then move on.
Servellon also wants to be a champion for the Learning Community.
After visiting the centers and reading all about it and studying and
meeting with people, he decided the Learning Community was really an
underappreciated gem.
“I really want to connect elected officials, connect community leaders,
connect our amazing philanthropic community and tell them, ‘Hey, the
Learning Community is doing some awesome things.’ I want to help
facilitate those connections,” Servellon explained.
He said he believes what sets him apart from the other candidates is that
he wants to advocate for the Learning Community and not advocate for
dismantling it.
Servellon said his military experience is something he relies on heavily,
“I have a focus on the mission and a can-do attitude that I think the
Learning Community would benefit from.”
Lastly, he said his nonprofit experience taught him to be a good steward
of the public’s money.
If elected, Servellon wants to expand the family learning programs,
especially English for parents. At the South Omaha center, he said they
have a technology course where they teach people how to use computers
and build their resumes, but that course has outgrown its current
establishment. Servellon would like to expand that as well.
Why does Servellon think you should vote?
“Because something as down-ballot as the Learning Community has real
ramifications for our students, for our parents, and ultimately you’re
deciding, the voters are deciding, it is their choice on who will represent
them. It’s your voice. You do have a voice, but you have to choose to
exercise it. So please come out and vote, it’s one of the most important
civic responsibilities that we have,” he said.
Servellon said he’s a big believer in that servant-leadership type style,
“I’ve served my country, now I want to serve my community.”
Erikserves.com
Meet your local candidates
