Incumbent Mike Cavanaugh leads in contested OPPD board race

Incumbent Mike Cavanaugh was on his way to claiming his sixth six-year term on the Omaha Public Power District board on Tuesday night.

Cavanaugh was outpacing political newcomer Morgan Rye-Craft to represent Subdivision 8 in south-central and southwest Omaha.

Cavanaugh, a Republican and a retired Omaha police lieutenant, has served on the board since 1995 and is the board's longest-serving member. He works as a part-time police officer at Metropolitan Community College. Rye-Craft, a nonprofit manager, ran as an independent.

Both candidates pointed to the need to meet rapid growth in electricity demand as a key issue. The OPPD board in August 2023 approved a $2 billion expansion that will nearly double the utility's electric generating capacity over the next decade.

To meet the demand, OPPD plans to add a fleet of new generating plants, mostly renewable sources like wind and solar, but also plants that burn natural gas. Some 90% of the actual energy generated, utility officials say, will come from renewable resources, which will allow OPPD to continue reducing its climate-changing emissions.

Eric Williams, the board's chairman, ran unopposed and secured a second term representing Subdivision 6 in northeast and north-central Omaha. Williams is a natural resources planner for the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District.

John Hudson, an engineer and retired colonel with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ran unopposed and claimed the seat representing Subdivision 7, which encompasses western Douglas County and all or part of Washington, Saunders, Dodge, Burt and Colfax Counties. Hudson, who lives in the Elkhorn area, is a former commander of the corps' Omaha District. He will succeed Ashland resident Janece Mollhoff, who did not seek reelection.