Martinez and Danner win Douglas County sheriff and attorney races
Two Democrats unseated Republican incumbents in Tuesday's election, ending two decades of continuous service for the county attorney and changing leadership at the sheriff's office.
By Alina Marshall ·
Mark Martinez defeated Sheriff Aaron Hanson in Tuesday's election for Douglas County sheriff, marking a change in leadership for the office. In a separate race, Makayla Danner won the Douglas County attorney seat, ending the two-decade tenure of incumbent Don Kleine.
Martinez is a graduate of South High School and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He brings more than 30 years of law enforcement experience to the position, which includes service with the U.S. Marshals Service. He cited his background in non-profit boards and his focus on community service as key factors in his victory.
“Serving on non-profit boards and the fact that I've tried to serve others,” Martinez said. “And the combination of the two, the experience and my community mindedness, I think resonated with a lot of voters.”
Martinez outlined a specific approach for handling cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He stated that requests would be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. He does not plan for the sheriff's office to join enforcement actions or raids without a clear necessity.
“I'll listen, but I certainly won't be involved in any enforcement actions, any raids, that's off the table .. until I see an absolute necessity,” Martinez said. He also noted that keeping the office within its budget is a priority, contrasting his approach with what he described as budget overruns under Hanson.
Martinez acknowledged that national Democratic victories may have aided his campaign. However, he attributed his win to the clear contrast between his candidate profile and that of his opponent.
In the county attorney race, Danner defeated Kleine, who had held the office for 20 years. Danner described her victory as deeply personal because Douglas County is where she grew up. She noted that she attended Burke School and received a full scholarship to Creighton University, becoming a first-generation college graduate.
“I was a poor kid that grew up in North Omaha,” Danner said. “I graduated from Burke and got a full scholarship to Creighton, so that's huge. I'm a first generation college grad, and I came back here because I want to give back to this community.”
Danner said her goal is to serve residents across the county regardless of their background. She credited her experience raising five children with helping her understand how to listen to people with different perspectives. She said her campaign involved extensive door-knocking, which she believed connected with voters.
“Did I think my message resonated, yeah. But I can't knock every door,” Danner said. “I knocked as many as I could. I thought the numbers were looking good on the doors I did knock, so I was always optimistic.”
Danner also noted that her campaign headquarters had previously been used by two other candidates who lost their races. She said she was not concerned about bad luck and is proud to have broken that streak. Martinez and Danner will now prepare to assume their respective roles in Douglas County law enforcement.
