OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – The Omaha City Council plans to officially fill the seat left vacant by Vinny Palermo on Tuesday.
That means for the first time since April, District Four will finally have someone to fight for them.
Officials told 6 News that the city clerk will hand a piece of paper – a ballot – to each of the six council members.
The five individuals who had public interviews last week will have their names on the ballots, each council member will pick one, and then pass it back to the clerk.
That process will repeat until one of the candidates gets four votes.
Palermo was removed from his seat last month because he’s been in jail since late April following his public corruption indictment. He pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and will be sentenced in November.
Last week, five people from District Four, which is largely south Omaha, publicly answered questions about why they believe they are the best candidate to fill out the rest of Palermo’s term, which runs until Spring 2025.
These are the finalists: Rebecca Barrientos-Patlan, who has run for the seat before, Garry Gernandt, who previously served in the seat for 16 years, as well as Eric Servellon, Ron Hug, and Terri Blackburn.
The vote will be the first thing on the agenda when the council meets Tuesday at 2 p.m.
While the council is officially non-partisan, it’s typically common knowledge where the members stand politically. Palermo was an elected Democrat.
Without him, the remaining members are split between three Democrats and three Republicans, so it’s important to keep in mind that four votes are required to name a replacement.
After Tuesday, the new council member will then have a week of orientation before being sworn in on Sept. 26.
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