Norfolk, NEVoter Guide 2026 · not a ballot

Voter guide · Nov 3, 2026

Norfolk City Council Election 2026

4 of 8

council seats up

4 contests

7 candidates

Updated Oct 5, 2026. Every claim links to its source. How we check →

The candidates

Listed alphabetically by last name. Every position links to its source.

City Council Ward 1 · 1 seat

City Council Ward 2 · 1 seat

City Council Ward 3 · Unopposed

City Council Ward 4 · 1 seat

Norfolk has four wards with two council members each; voters in each ward choose one member, so four of the eight seats are on this ballot.

3 notes on these statements

Jim McKenzie finished first in the May 12, 2026 Ward 2 primary with 799 votes, ahead of Ryne Hoffart with 478 and Soshia Bohn with 319; the top two advanced. Norfolk Daily News

The Ward 2 seat is held by Jim Lange, who was appointed Dec. 2, 2024 and is not seeking reelection. Norfolk Daily News

The Norfolk mayor's seat does not appear among the city contests on the Madison County sample ballot. Madison County Election Commission

Already on the council, not on the ballot

Whoever you elect will govern alongside these members.

Frank ArensCouncilmember, Ward 23sourcedSue BeckmanCouncilmember, Ward 42sourcedKory HildebrandCouncilmember, Ward 13sourcedJeff JensenCouncilmember, Ward 33sourced

Start here

Match quiz2 questions · answers stay on your phoneSeat the CouncilPick winners, see the councilWhat council decidesFlock license-plate cameras, Actus Nutrition wastewater and odor, City budget and property taxesKey datesDeadlines and vote centers

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Next date

First day of in-person early voting at the election commissioner's office

Mon, Oct 5, 2026

TodayAll key dates

What the next council decides

Flock license-plate cameras

Where it standsOn Sept. 21, 2026 the council heard police and a city-requested attorney defend the city's Flock cameras while a series of residents spoke against them.

What's on the tableThe next council will decide whether to keep, limit or remove the city's Flock license-plate reader cameras.

Actus Nutrition wastewater and odor

Where it standsOn Sept. 21, 2026 the council rejected 2-5 a proposal to cut Actus Nutrition's permitted wastewater load; the city engineer said he would instead require odor controls.

What's on the tableThe next council will review whether Actus Nutrition's odor-control improvements are working and what wastewater limits the plant should have.

City budget and property taxes

Where it standsOn Sept. 21, 2026 the council adopted the 2026-27 budget and property tax requests, 7-0 on each.

What's on the tableThe next council will oversee the 2026-27 budget and write the following year's budget and property tax request.

Redevelopment and tax-increment financing

Where it standsIn September 2026 the council approved blight studies for South Norfolk, and the city's development agency authorized tax-increment revenue bonds for a redevelopment project.

What's on the tableThe next council will decide how much to use blight designations and tax-increment financing for redevelopment and housing.

  • The council approved the South Norfolk Redevelopment Area Blight and Substandard Study and an Extremely Blighted Determination Analysis for a site south of Omaha Avenue on Sept. 8, 2026. Norfolk City Council minutes, Sept. 8, 2026 · Sep 8, 2026
  • The Norfolk Community Development Agency adopted a resolution authorizing up to $417,468 of tax increment revenue bonds for the Cornhusker Auto redevelopment project. Norfolk Daily News

Who matches you?

Answer any of these questions. We compare your answers with each person's sourced record, and nothing is stored. Questions where no one has a sourced record yet are left out. Tap a selected answer again to skip it.

  1. 1. How should Norfolk use tax-increment financing (TIF) for housing and development?

  2. 2. What should the city do first to hold down property taxes?

Seat the Council →

Pick a winner for each open seat and see where the resulting council stands on each issue.

Key dates

The seat math

4 stay (not up this year): Frank Arens, Sue Beckman, Kory Hildebrand, Jeff Jensen4 on this ballot

8 council seats. The council decides by a 5-vote majority.

  • Norfolk has the Mayor-Council form of government, and the Mayor is elected at large by popular vote for a four-year term. City of Norfolk
  • The city is divided into four wards, each represented by two council members, for a total of eight council members. City of Norfolk
  • Every two years four of the council seats are open for election, one in each ward. City of Norfolk
  • Council members must live in the ward they represent, and the Mayor and council are elected on a non-partisan ballot. City of Norfolk
  • The 2026 general election ballot lists one seat to fill in each of Wards 1 through 4. Madison County Election Commission

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