Reliable & Affordable Power.
Meet Jim
Jim Smith is a lifelong leader with decades of experience in strategy, business, utilities, and public service. He and his wife, Ruth, live in Papillion.
Before becoming a business and strategy consultant, Jim served as CEO and President of Blueprint Nebraska, a coalition of business leaders dedicated to charting the state’s path to economic growth, competitiveness, and prosperity.
Previously, Jim was owner of Norm’s Door Service, Inc., and served two consecutive terms in the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature, where he chaired the Revenue Committee and the Transportation & Telecommunications Committee. His career also includes nearly 30 years in the electric and gas utility industry, including leadership roles at the Omaha Public Power District.
Jim holds an undergraduate degree in Accounting and an MBA from Creighton University. He currently serves on multiple corporate boards, the Salvation Army Western Division, the Nebraska Workforce Development Board, and the Offutt Air Force Base Advisory Council.
Jim Smith is a lifelong leader with decades of experience in strategy, business, utilities, and public service. He and his wife, Ruth, live in Papillion.
Before becoming a business and strategy consultant, Jim served as CEO and President of Blueprint Nebraska, a coalition of business leaders dedicated to charting the state’s path to economic growth, competitiveness, and prosperity.
Previously, Jim was owner of Norm’s Door Service, Inc., and served two consecutive terms in the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature, where
he chaired the Revenue Committee and the Transportation & Telecommunications Committee. His career also includes nearly 30 years in the electric and gas utility industry, including leadership roles at the Omaha Public Power District.
Jim holds an undergraduate degree in Accounting and an MBA from Creighton University. He currently serves on multiple corporate boards, the Salvation Army Western Division, the Nebraska Workforce Development Board, and the Offutt Air Force Base Advisory Council.
Jim’s Priorities for Public Power
Reliability
Strengthen OPPD’s workforce to improve service restoration and construction times, focus on critical actions to reduce outages, and delay the retirement of dispatchable plants until replacement power generation is online.
Accountability
Increase transparency of board decisions and ensure OPPD leadership is directly answerable to its ratepayers.
Affordability
Push back on unnecessary rate increases to keep power costs competitive for families and businesses.
All-of-the-Above Energy Solutions
Ensure the appropriate mix of dispatchable (fossil and nuclear) and intermittent (renewable energy) power plants to satisfy our national security interests, spur local economic growth, and meet business demands for reliable energy solutions.
DONATE TODAY!
Jim Smith's decades of business and leadership experience and understanding of energy policy position him as the clear candidate for OPPD Board District 3.
Your donation will help Jim take politics out of public power and bring back reliability, affordability, and accountability for businesses and families across eastern Nebraska. Thank you for your generosity!
Contribution checks can be made out to ‘Jim Smith for OPPD Board’ and mailed to PO Box 460773, La Vista, NE 68128.