The Road to City Council: Colleen Brennan, Ward 5
Luis Jimenez | Omaha, Nebraska
Colleen Brennan was elected to the Omaha City Council to represent district 5 (Southwest Omaha, Millard area), to replace Rich Pahls, who was elected to the Nebraska Legislature in the 2020 General Election. The opening allowed for the councillors to select Brennan to the city council.
Colleen Brennan spent most of her time raising her children, and was married for 20 years. In 2009, Brennan started a grass-roots movement promoting autism insurance reform legislation, which achieved passage in April 2014. Brennan remembers that as a child, Eunice Kennedy Shriver hugged and kissed her on the forehead at the Special Olympics while with her little brother, “and I became an anointed Democrat.” Brennan volunteered in campaigns for Barack Obama ’08 in Omaha, Jim Esch for Congress, Tom White for Congress in 2010, and Hillary Clinton for President. In 2018, Brennan chaired Vanessa Ward’s campaign for Nebraska governor. Brennan believes in the commonality that keeps the city together.
Brennan became involved in insurance, solving problems, and growing Omaha by showing people where they are more alike than different. She understands that extreme voices are not the entirety of either party; there’s a spectrum. She explains, “I just got upset about how divisive politics has become. So I started writing about it.” Following her selection to city council, her blog post on race relations received heightened scrutiny. Brennan appeared on William King’s 95.7 The Boss for broader dialogue and clarification. The purpose of Brennan’s blog was to find out where Omaha residents are alike, with provocative elements, as good literature can be, and “as a platform for people to feel free to discuss whatever issues I brought to the table.” Early on, she was invited on the Scott Voorhees Show, which can bring people that do not necessarily agree, like Democrats and Republicans, to find out what they have in common. “I grew up here in Omaha, but my family is an immigrant family from Ireland, Germany, and Poland. One hundred years ago, they had to learn a new language, learn how to blend in. They worked here in the packing houses, not dissimilar to the Latino community in South Omaha today.” Brennan actually follows her family’s roots in South Omaha, with a good solid work ethic, “If we can figure out where we are the same, then we can solve problems. If we only focus on how we are different and how we hurt each other, that’s not going to accomplish anything.”
Brennan’s blog gets about 5,000 readers monthly. She is learning duties of a councilmember, and running for reelection to council. Brennan advises, “Don’t feel like you can’t pick up the phone and call your council person. That is what they are there for. My job is to represent and solve problems for my community.”
