Leirion Gaylor Baird
52nd Mayor of Lincoln
Assumed office
May 20, 2019
Preceded byChris Beutler
Personal details
Political partyDemocratic
EducationYale University (BA)
New College, Oxford (MS)

Leirion Gaylor Baird is an American politician. Since the 2019 election, she has been the mayor of Lincoln, Nebraska, where she previously served as a city councilwoman.

Early life and education

Gaylor Baird grew up in Portland, Oregon; her parents were public school teachers. She completed a Bachelor of Arts in history from Yale College in 1993. She earned a Master of Science in comparative social policy from University of Oxford in 1997.[1]

Career

Baird began her career as a management consultant, working also as a city budget and policy analyst. She was the director of an after-school and summer program in San Francisco. Upon moving to Lincoln, Nebraska, she was appointed to the Lincoln/Lancaster County Planning Commission and helped develop its 2040 Comprehensive Plan. She was elected to the Lincoln City Council as a city-wide representative in May 2013 and was, at the time, its only female member. She won reelection in 2017.

Following the ratification of a term limit amendment by referendum, Baird announced her intention to succeed incumbent three-term Mayor Chris Beutler.[2] Affiliated with the Democratic Party, she officially ran as a nonpartisan candidate due to municipal election law.[3] She won the election for mayor on May 7, 2019, against Republican-affiliated Cyndi Lamm.[4][1] She was sworn in on May 20, 2019, alongside the new city council.

Political positions and mayoralty

During her campaign for the mayoralty, Baird campaigned on additional road funding for the city,[5] environmental preservation,[6][7] and community land trusts for housing.[8] During her time as a city councilwoman, she introduced legislation to ban bump stocks in the city.[9]

A recall against Baird was organized in October 2020. LNK Recall objected to the suspension of city charter rules that allowed Pat Lopez to be designated as health director. Organizers needed at least 21,652 signatures by December 23, 2020, to trigger a recall election; they were unable to do so. Baird responded by saying she continued to work as mayor.[10][11][12]

In November 2022, Baird announced her re-election campaign for the 2023 mayoral election. Primary opponents include Republican state senator Suzanne Geist and Republican former football player Stan Parker.[13]

Election results

2019

Lincoln, Nebraska, Mayoral Election, 2019[14][15]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Leirion Gaylor Baird 21,660 41.87%
Republican Cyndi Lamm 18,527 35.81%
Democratic Jeff Kirkpatrick 8,665 16.75%
Legal Marijuana Now Krystal Gabel 2,301 4.45%
Nonpartisan Rene Solc 451 0.87%
Write-ins 129 0.25%
Turnout 51,733 31.19%
General election
Democratic Leirion Gaylor Baird 33,692 54.46%
Republican Cyndi Lamm 27,994 45.25%
Write-ins 176 0.28%
Turnout 61,862 36.84%
Democratic hold

2023

Lincoln, Nebraska, Mayoral Election, 2023[16][17]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Leirion Gaylor Baird (incumbent) 29,216 49.80%
Republican Suzanne Geist 19,377 33.03%
Republican Stan Parker 10,071 17.17%
Turnout 58,664 33.38%
General election
Democratic Leirion Gaylor Baird (incumbent) 44,496 54.65%
Republican Suzanne Geist 36,727 45.11%
Turnout 81,415 46.11%
Democratic hold

References

  1. ^ a b "Leirion Gaylor Baird". JournalStar.com. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
  2. ^ Hicks, Nancy. "City Councilwoman Leirion Gaylor Baird will run for mayor". JournalStar.com. Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  3. ^ Shawver, Bryan. "Race for Lincoln Mayor: Leirion Gaylor Baird". www.1011now.com. 10 11 News. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  4. ^ Johnson, Riley. "Democrat Leirion Gaylor Baird elected Lincoln's new mayor". JournalStar.com. Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  5. ^ Johnson, Riley. "Lamm vows to cut wheel tax if elected Lincoln mayor". JournalStar.com. Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  6. ^ Hicks, Nancy. "Two women, Gaylor Baird and Lamm, will face off in mayor's race". JournalStar.com. Lincoln Journal Star.
  7. ^ Hicks, Nancy. "Gaylor Baird would reduce emissions from city fleet if elected mayor". JournalStar.com. Lincoln Journal Star.
  8. ^ Johnson, Riley. "Affordable housing, 5G internet, dedicated music district discussed at Lincoln mayoral debate". JournalStar.com. Lincoln Journal Star.
  9. ^ "Lincoln City Council bans bump stocks". AP NEWS. Associated Press. 27 March 2018.
  10. ^ Petersen, Abbie. "Affidavits filed in effort to recall Lincoln Mayor, four council members". www.1011now.com. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  11. ^ "Recall Petitions Are Filed". LNK Recall. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  12. ^ Johnson, Riley. "Recall organizers come up short, say focus will shift to city election". JournalStar.com. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  13. ^ "Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird announces bid for re-election". 1011 Now. November 21, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  14. ^ "Lincoln City Primary Results April 9, 2019". Lancaster County Election Commissioner. April 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  15. ^ "Lincoln City General Election Results May 7, 2019". Lancaster County Election Commissioner. May 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  16. ^ "Summary Results Report - Updated April 7th: OFFICIAL Final Results". Lancaster County Election Commissioner.
  17. ^ "Summary Results Report - Monday, May 8th: City of Lincoln General Election OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS". Lancaster County Election Commissioner. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
Political offices Preceded byChris Beutler Mayor of Lincoln 2019–present Incumbent
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