Coleen J. Seng (born February 8, 1936) is a politician who served as the 50th

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...

. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as mayor from May 19, 2003 to May 19, 2007. Previously, she had served on the Lincoln city council from 1987 to 2003. As mayor, she is known for seeking payment for $32,000 worth of security expenses incurred during the 2004 fundraising visit of

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American former politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He has been called vice presidency o ...

Political career

Seng was elected in 2003, beating Republican city councilman Glenn Friendt. Seng received fewer votes than Friendt in the April primary but, due to a strong field campaign, rebounded and beat him in the May general election. During her term she blocked the construction of a

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

in northeast Lincoln, focused on fixing the main streets, saw the passage of a public

smoking ban Smoking bans, or smoke-free laws, are public policies, including criminal laws and occupational safety and health regulations, that prohibit tobacco smoking in certain spaces. The spaces most commonly affected by smoking bans are indoor employ ...

over her veto, and proposed a ban on

concealed weapon Concealed may refer to: * ''Concealed'' (album), a 2004 album by Augury * '' The Concealed'', a 2012 album by John Zorn * Concealed (film), a 2017 Australian thriller film See also

* {{disambiguation ...

s. She was a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, a

bipartisan Bipartisanship, sometimes referred to as nonpartisanship, is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system (especially those of the United States and some other western countries), in which opposing Political party, politica ...

group with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets." The coalition was founded by former

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Mayor

Thomas Menino Thomas Michael Menino (December 27, 1942 – October 30, 2014) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Boston, from 1993 to 2014. He was the city's longest-serving mayor. He was elected mayor in 1993 after first serving three mont ...

and former

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Mayor

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...

. On July 24, 2006 the city council killed a proposal submitted by Seng to ban concealed guns within the city limits of Lincoln. On September 7, 2006, Seng announced that she would not run for re-election to a second term. State Senator Chris Beutler, who left the

Nebraska Legislature The Nebraska Legislature (also called the Unicameral) is the legislative branch, legislature of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln, Nebraska, Lincoln. With 49 members, known as "senators ...

because of

term limits A term limit is a legal restriction on the number of Term of office, terms a Incumbent, person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in Presidential system, presidential and Semi-presidential republic, semi-president ...

, won the 2007 mayoral election and succeeded Seng.

Dick Cheney incident

Seng sought payment for $32,000 worth of security expenses incurred during the June 17, 2004 fundraising visit of

in support of the candidacy of Republican

Jeff Fortenberry Jeffrey Lane Fortenberry (born December 27, 1960) is an American politician. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 2005 to 2022, representing as a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. In Octo ...

for

Nebraska's 1st congressional district Nebraska's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Nebraska that encompasses most of its eastern quarter, except for Omaha and some of its suburbs, which are part of the 2nd congressional district. It includ ...

. The city provided security through several street closings, extra law enforcement, and medical personnel. Cheney was born in Lincoln and lived there for the first several years of his life. During the visit, he surprised the current resident of the home he grew up in by stopping by for about an hour, which was part of the increased security cost of his visit. Republicans argued that Seng, a Democrat, was merely trying to stir up political turmoil, and that the mayor of

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

sought no such reimbursement following a visit from President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

in 2003. Fortenberry, however, reimbursed the federal government for use of

Air Force Two Air Force Two is the air traffic control designated call sign held by any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the vice president of the United States, but not the president. The term is often associated with the Boeing C-32, a modified ...

during the fundraising stop, pointing to a possible precedent for such repayment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seng, Colleen Mayors of Lincoln, Nebraska Nebraska Democrats Nebraska Wesleyan University alumni 1936 births Living people Women mayors of places in Nebraska 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century mayors of places in Nebraska Politicians from Council Bluffs, Iowa