State Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha may win his efforts to rescind the city’s authority to impose an extra half-cent of local sales taxes.

Two of our pals in Lincoln — Joe Duggan and Paul Hammel — report that similar efforts, aimed at all Nebraska cities, failed twice earlier this legislative session. But a late 30-5 vote on Tuesday gives Chambers a victory on his third attempt to repeal his city’s taxing authority.

“This is a righteous and just vote that was taken today, and it removes a cloud from above the heads of poor and limited-income people,” Chambers said afterward.

The City of Omaha’s official position was to retain the taxing authority, which the Legislature passed last year over the governor’s veto. Omaha elected officials have not yet sought to increase the sales tax, which would require a vote of the people. The amendment was attached to a bill providing incentives for wind energy, which must now pass final reading and obtain Gov. Dave Heineman’s signature before it becomes law.

Duggan and Hammel also say the stance of Omaha Mayor-elect Jean Stothert, who opposes the half-cent law, also influenced Tuesday’s surprising vote.

Several lobbyists, including Jack Cheloha, who lobbies for the city, said some lawmakers switched their votes after Stothert indicated the half-cent law was no longer needed by Omaha.

Stothert said Tuesday she had not spoken to a single senator on the issue. But she is no fan of the added taxing authority.

As a member of the Omaha City Council, she voted against supporting the half-cent sales tax bill last year. She said she would not be saddened to see the taxing authority go away if the repeal ultimately passes.

“Raising taxes is not something I support,” Stothert said. “I certainly don’t have any plans to raise the sales tax in Omaha.”

UPDATE 5/21: In a press conference with Mayor Jim Suttle on Monday, the mayor-elect announced a few members of her transition team.

No word yet on if they’ll have a role in her administration, but attorney and former Nebraska Republican Party chairman David Kramer and Stothert campaign team member Rod Edwards will help Stothert as she moves into the Mayor’s Office.

Brinker Harding, a commercial real estate broker who served as campaign manager and chief of staff to former Mayor Hal Daub, also attended Monday’s meeting

From Sunday:

Mayor-elect Jean Stothert doesn’t have much time to catch her breath after last week’s decisive victory.

Stothert must work to assemble a Cabinet as her June 10 inauguration approaches. She must decide how bold to be with the city’s 2014 budget. She must reach out to the rest of city government and local interest groups.

We spoke with a group of local experts — including former mayors Hal Daub and Mike Boyle — about what Omaha’s first female mayor must now do. We also might post some other snippets from our interviews with the two ex-mayors later this week.

The first big news following Jean Stothert’s sizeable victory Tuesday evening: Mayor Jim Suttle’s administration has dismissed Stothert’s husband from his volunteer role as a consultant with the Omaha Fire Department.

Dr. Joseph Stothert had served as medical director for the department’s emergency medical service for 18 years.

Fire Chief Mike McDonnell, who had been working on the dismissal with city officials for some time before election day, notified Stothert by mail that he had not worked closely with the department for several months and that the city would be exploring other options.

Meanwhile, in case you missed any of our election coverage on Jean Stothert’s win, Suttle’s response or an analysis of what went wrong for the mayor, check out Omaha.com.

Tired of the current mayor’s race?

No problem. We’ve got you covered with some fun facts about Omaha mayors of the past. Among them: James Dworak (1961-1965) who is pictured here reading a newspaper. He was indicted by a grand jury on bribery charges and later acquitted, but lost a re-election bid.

Another highlight: Champion S. Chase, a three-time mayor who was unanimously impeached by the City Council in 1884 for, according to the Douglas County Historical Society, “drunkenness, incompetence by reason of drunkenness, derangement of the nervous system and neglect of duty.”

With less than 24 hours to go before the polls open, the race for mayor looks like it could be a close one. On Sunday, Robynn Tysver talked to voters and checked out campaign finance reports — and found that it’s going to be a tough race to call early.

Mayor Jim Suttle has raised $100,000 since April 29, while challenger Jean Stothert has brought in $67,000. In total, each of the candidates raised about $1.1 million.

Meanwhile, we spent time last week talking to the candidates and following them on the campaign trail.

Suttle, who was running through a packed schedule of appearances and campaign work, told us he’s certain voters wand him to stick around for a second term.

“You don’t train your team to come in second place,” he said. “You train yourself and your team to come in first. And we will come in first.”

Stothert and her campaign staff were also confident in the last days of a campaign that’s been closely directed by the candidate herself.

“Every mail piece, I guarantee, I’ve made some changes to it,” Stothert said. “I’m hands on. I trust everybody and trust what they do. But at the end of the day, everything is a reflection of me.”

For more on the candidates, check out our Mayoral Election Guide.

The March 21 incident highlighted the sometimes contentious terrain that officers and citizens navigate when cameras increasingly capture their interactions.

“Individuals have a First Amendment right to record police officers in the public discharge of their duties, plain and simple,” said Deputy Chief Greg Gonzalez.

Starting Tuesday, the department’s 105 police sergeants will receive training that includes an overview of the revised policy. In addition, all officers have been sent a “training bulletin” outlining the changes. Commanders have gone over the revisions during roll call, which occurs at the start of each officer’s shift.

Aimee Melton, an attorney, finished first in the primary, with Tim Lonergan, a lawn care company owner, in second. Both are Republicans, sharing similar views on some issues, but Lonergan has strong support from labor unions.

According to campaign finance reports, $25,000 of the $30,000 Lonergan has brought in came from the city’s  fire union.

In north Omaha’s District 2, first-term City Councilman Ben Gray is looking to hold his seat in a race with retired Omaha police officer Tariq Al-Amin.

Gray is focused on cutting violence by supporting economic development. Al-Amin is positioning himself as a candidate who would go after some of the same goals with different strategies.

 Both are pushing for more police oversight, but in different ways; Gray wants to get an auditor added to the city charter, while Al-Amin wants to independently create a position for an auditor or citizen review board.

Our colleague Matt Wynn broke down some of the more contentious taxing and spending issues that have divided Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle and City Councilwoman Jean Stothert.

Over the last four years of fiscal fights, the two were never on equal footing — the mayor introduced complete budgets while the council could only amend his proposals, and the power to negotiate contracts changed from the mayor to the council in the past year.

While Suttle says he was trying to address serious financial problems, he says Stothert was the staunch “voice of no.” He’s accused her of playing politics, declining to name budget cuts unless he led the way. Stothert’s replied that the mayor has simply addressed city fiscal challenges with new taxes or fees.