BEATRICE – A fourth-ward Beatrice City Councilman has entered the race for Mayor of the city.  Gary Barnard filed to run for mayor, on Thursday. He previously served one term as a county supervisor and has completed one year of his four-year city council term.


"The city is a well-run machine...it just is. It functions really well. We have some really good department heads. When I need to analyze anything, whether its electric, street, whatever it is....our engineer...that's where I'm going to go first. They know a lot more than any one person can know. The mayor is a little bigger job than most people think, and you can't know everything. Maybe after they are there for a term or two, they might come close. But, it always helps to collaborate with the people who are doing the work."


Barnard joins first-ward Beatrice City Councilman Bob Morgan, who became a mayoral candidate on Wednesday.


Barnard says the city council works well together, even when members may disagree on a particular issue. Among projects the city has undertaken over the years… Barnard says he’d like to see one in particular move toward completion.


"I'd like to see the trails completed. We've got one segment left down 19th and then down Dorsey...and I'd like to see that get done and completed. As a real estate agent, when people come to town...when we started the trails years ago, some of the people were not for them, so much. But as time went on, I've learned that when young people come here...and even older people...that's an asset to our community you can't really measure, but you know it's there."


The population of Beatrice has remained relatively stable over the past decades...which Barnard counts as a success.  "I believe Beatrice has been a success, simply because we have maintained that population. To me, that's a success. You look around these other towns, they're losing businesses all the time. So, for us to have a stable economy, to me, is a success. But, we can always aspire to do a lot more."


Barnard says if elected, he wants to make sure everyone has input into the community.  "In today's world, I don't think a lot of the people in our community think they have a voice. I want to make sure that they will have a voice."


Also filing to run for reelection was third ward Beatrice City Councilman Mike McLain…..and Gage County Board Chairman Erich Tiemann, a Republican who represents the third district on the county board.