B2B Omaha
By Maureen O’Halloran Clark
Winter 2009
After getting off the elevator, visitors to the Mayor's Office are greeted in the hallway by the portraits of the men who have served as Omaha’s mayors. Many of their signatures can be found on the inside of the drawers of the desk in the Mayor’s Office. Mayor Mike Fahey explains, “There is an old custom here that once you leave office, you sign the desk drawer.”
The office is filled with other reminders of Omaha’s past. Fahey picks up one of them, a framed $3 bill and comments, "Years before there was a banking system in America, each city issued its own money. This is a bill that was issued October 1, 1857 signed by Jesse Lowe, the first mayor of Omaha."
In a tour of the office, Fahey points out photos and memorabilia which cover the walls, a large table, and the shelves in a large display case as well as those propped along the walls.
Prominent among the collection are numerous shovels from ground-breaking ceremonies during his time as mayor, including the Union Pacific Center, the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge, the Hilton Omaha, and the Gallup Riverfront campus.
He also points to the “Olympic chair” used at the U.S. Olympic swim trials in Omaha. “That is the chair where Michael Phelps sat. I put the medal around him the night he broke the record.”
From a table covered with photos of him posing with distinguished guests, Fahey selects one and remarks, “This is my favorite. This is the ambassador to the United States from Ireland at the time this picture was taken.” He smiles, “His name is Noel Fahey.”
In addition, much of the memorabilia in the office is associated with Omaha’s sister cities. He notes there are five of them: Shizuoka, Japan; Braunschweig, Germany; Siauliai, Lithuania; Naas, Ireland and Xalapa, Mexico “I visited all the sister cities. Since we have been in office, I did the twinning ceremonies for Naas, Ireland and for Xalapa, Mexico.”
He believes that sister cities play an important role. "So many times countries get the impression of another country simply from what they read in the paper or how their governments respond. It isn't necessarily how their people respond. It does a lot to break down barriers and remove stereotypes of countries when you actually meet the people."
It isn’t only representatives from Omaha’s sister cities who visit the Mayor’s Office. He mentions, “We had six Russian journalists who visited here yesterday. We entertain many people from around the world.”
He will finish his term as mayor in June. As for his plans after that, he says, "I'm planning on staying on board with Building Bright Futures. I've been there since it started, and they asked me to stay on as chair of the Task Force of the After-School Mentoring and Tutoring program. Other than that, we will see what presents itself. I want to stay involved in the community."
One thing is definitely on his agenda after emptying his desk: adding his signature to one of its drawers.
Article text © 2009 Maureen O’Halloran Clark. All rights reserved.