Shore, Solomon face off for NU Regents District 4 special election in Omaha

OMAHA — A community volunteer and the chief operating officer of a company serving people with disabilities are facing off in a special election for the NU Board of Regents in Omaha. One is a former Nebraska first lady while the other is a former UNL student regent.

Susanne Shore and Justin Solomon, both of Omaha, are seeking the final four years of a six-year term for the University of Nebraska Board of Regents District 4 in Douglas County. Both are registered Democrats. Either would succeed appointed Regent Joel Makovicka, a Republican whom Gov. Jim Pillen appointed to the officially nonpartisan seat in February. 

The eastern Douglas County district includes the University of Nebraska Medical Center and University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Former NU Regent Elizabeth O’Connor was reelected to a second six-year term in 2024. She resigned in January as she faced a felony charge of driving drunk and causing serious bodily injury connected to a May 2025 crash. She pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one year in prison in August.

Five Democrats ran for the open seat in May, including Shore (who received 34.6% of the vote) and Solomon (who received 24.8% of the vote).

The candidates share many goals, including, as Shore and Solomon each put it, that the university must rebuild trust, focus on affordability and empower faculty, staff and students. Each also wants to take on a more active role as a regent in getting out to communities.

Both candidates sat down with the Nebraska Examiner in Omaha this month to discuss how they would approach NU’s budget, tuition, community outreach and more if elected.

Why they’re running

Shore, 62, said her experience working in the community and for universities, understanding healthcare as a former nurse and getting to know the state better as first lady of Nebraska (2015-23) has prepared her well.

“There’s not a lot that ties our state together the way the university system does, so if it’s not a strength, our whole state falls apart,” Shore said. “It is such a jewel and a value for the state. It needs to be treated like that.”

Solomon, 38, served as the student regent for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the 2010-11 academic year. He is COO for Integrated Life Choices. He said he is so “deeply ingrained” in his Omaha community, it’s who he is.

“I feel like now is really a moment where you need that type of leadership that understands that frugality is actually a differentiator, not a cross to bear, that has had to make really tough decisions that impact thousands of lives and has had to go make that case to people and still get them to feel respected,” Solomon said.

‘Breakdown in trust’

Solomon said part of the “breakdown in trust” he sees is an inability to justify academic cuts while spending hundreds of millions of dollars to renovate Memorial Stadium, for instance. While he understands the different pots of money, he said the optics come amid a general concern that in a changing economy, attending college might be out of reach for some.

He said some in federal and state politics are also “trying their best” to get people to distrust institutions like NU.

“It is our job — I feel a real pull, a real responsibility — to be the counterweight to those forces that want to get people to not trust the University of Nebraska, that want people to not trust public education as a way of improving their lives,” Solomon said.

Shore said up until about 2008, universities were often “automatically” seen as a place for opportunity. Today, she said, trust in universities and the quality and value they provide has declined while the choices for students after high school have increased.

A “universal goal,” Shore said, is that nobody stops in education after their senior year and that NU works with trade schools or community colleges to develop a pathway for students who might want more education after.

“It’s not just making sure they get in the door; it’s making sure they stay,” Shore said.

Balancing the budget

When the Nebraska Legislature convenes in January, lawmakers are set to face a budget deficit, as high as $847 million by mid-2029. Pillen, a former regent for 10 years, has slowed state support for NU after taking over as governor in 2023. He’s running for reelection this fall.

Solomon noted that NU enjoys a lot of state tax dollars already as an “outlier” among other universities in the Midwest or nationwide, which should be a point of pride. He said NU and its regents should focus on incentivizing employee retention, growing enrollment and leaning into affordability as a strength, not just a talking point.

“I don’t expect any giant swaths of new money to come and help the university,” Solomon said. “We’ve got to solve the problem from inside.”

Solomon said a solution could also be for NU to be “front and center” in helping schools address literacy issues statewide and improve teachers’ education, which could also improve teacher pay.

Shore said NU needs to show it’s looking at other options before cuts or tuition increases, which is also about trust. She said NU must work to set students up for success after college.

“For me, it’s also about value, because if a graduate can leave and get the kind of job that helps them pay back that student loan, then they’re ahead of the game,” Shore said. “That’s an investment, not a pit of debt.”

She criticized Solomon for supporting a tuition increase during his year on the board, which she said is an “easy solution, but it needs to be one of the last ones.” 

The Nebraska Constitution gives student regents a seat on the NU Board of Regents, but their votes are not counted with those of the eight elected regents.

If he’s elected this fall, Solomon has pledged to vote against efforts to raise tuition. He’s also noted on his Facebook campaign page that he successfully pushed to lower UNL student fees in 2011.

Race has divided progressives

Solomon has repeatedly sought to distinguish himself as a “homegrown” candidate to Shore, who he says is “handpicked.” He’s criticized Shore for not speaking out against her husband, U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb. Solomon said some regents have lost their way, seeing NU as a way to boost their status, and some he said have been installed politically by the Ricketts family.

“What’s unique in this time is that it seems to serve more the political and the donor class than the homegrown, working class that the university really needs to be focused on,” Solomon said.

Shore said Solomon and his supporters have tried to portray her as “MAGA” or “conservative,” but she said her family and children know that’s not true. She’s a lifelong Democrat, and she said she sees every side and has experience building bridges.

She also has a long record of donating to Nebraska Democratic candidates, including more than $200,000 over the past four years.

“I can be who I am but still be somebody who can have conversations, difficult conversations, and find solutions, and that’s what I’m about,” Shore said.

She added that nobody has ever asked her husband if he can be independent of her.

“I never asked permission,” Shore continued. “I utilized every resource I could and got problems solved without asking anybody what they thought. I would be regent. In our family, in that household, I’m the expert on universities, and I own that.”

Community experience

As first lady, she celebrated her work working on foster care without regard to party, urban-rural divides or anything. She said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, she also personally drove out electronics for remote learning to four communities where students were in need.

“I’m proud that I was able to really try to make an impact,” Shore said.

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Solomon recalled his time as a student regent when he fought for students, he said, after UNL and law enforcement conducted “stings” to catch underage drinking as students tailgated in the North Bottoms near campus. He said he marched to demand answers the following Monday.

“I will always have the hugest heart for our students because they will largely lead me to the right direction,” Solomon said.

He also noted student-led work to secure domestic partner benefits for NU employees, which he said began his freshman year in 2008. Five years later, he said, NU approved employee-plus-one benefits.

Solomon said the “difference could not be more stark” in the regents race and that the choice is, “Do you trust more of the same?”

“I think if you compare them side by side, it’s a pretty easy choice,” Solomon said.

Shore said her record shows she can do the work and bring people together for NU’s benefit.

“We can’t take our regents and that university for granted,” Shore said. “It needs some TLC (tender loving care).”

The general election is Nov. 3. Early voting is underway.