Shawn Hartmann: Hastings Mayoral Candidate Profile

HASTINGS, Neb. – Hastings HVAC President by weekday, and city councilman by Monday nights, Shawn Hartmann is running to become the next mayor of Hastings.

Hartmann his lived in, or around Hastings his entire 52 years of life. He is currently in city government as a representative for Ward 4 on the Hastings City Council.

As a city government official and a local business owner, Hartmann says labor shortages are driving him to run for higher office.

We asked Hartmann five big questions about his campaign, and here are his responses.

Why did you want to run for Mayor?: The labor shortage is the biggest thing we cope with now. I want to do everything I can to keep our kids here, to get as many people back as we can, and bring as many people in as we can. We need more people"

What qualities do you have that make you fit as a mayoral candidate?: "Of all of the candidates, if you look at our city experience, I'm really the only one other than Bill Hitesman who has any. So that's one of the reasons why I think I'm probably a really good candidate, is because I have some experience dealing with all of these things that nobody else really has."

If elected, what is your biggest issue about Hastings that you would address?: "I've made no secret talking about this during my campaign, labor shortage, and that's driven by our affordable housing shortage. If you go to a gas station or a restaurant, I challenge you to find some place that does not have a help wanted sign, or somebody for hire sign. It's hard to find good help, and when I actually get good help here, the first thing that they have trouble with is finding affordable housing."

Being transparent as an elected official is important. How would you accomplish that?: "I think the city does a fairly good job of being transparent. There's always room for improvement. I don't know if everybody knows this or not, but all of our e-mails, all of our phone calls like that are public information. People just have to make a request. It's almost next to impossible to hide anything in city politics."

Why do you deserve the vote of Hastings residents?: I don't lose very often, so I'm willing to do pretty much whatever it takes to get a job done. It's part of the reason I've made it this far in life. I've always had the ability to do whatever it takes to get whatever job needs to be done, and I feel like I should be the next Mayor of Hastings."