2022 Bellevue, Nebraska mayoral election

The 2022 Bellevue, Nebraska mayoral election took place on November 8, 2022. Incumbent Mayor Rusty Hike won re-election to a second term over City Councilman Thomas Burns with 55% of the vote.

• Rusty Hike, incumbent Mayor
• Thomas Burns, City Councilman
• Otmar "Buz" Stephens, Marine Corps veteran

Incumbent Mayor Rusty Hike, a Republican, ran for re-election, citing his leadership during the 2019 floods and the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic development taking place in the area. Hike pointed to the "growth going on down south around the Highway 34/75 corridor" and "development going in Old Towne Bellevue."FN1 His main opponent, City Councilman Thomas Burns, a Democrat, argued that Hike's development plans were not "transparent" and that city leadership "need[s] to take a holistic approach and focus on all parts of our city."^[1] He argued that the city needed to be more walkable and needed to update its infrastructure, including the library building.^[2] Marine Corps veteran Buz Stephens argued that the city's population growth was mostly attributed to annexation and that the "core" of the city was "very weak."^[1]

At the primary election, Hike placed first by a wide margin, winning 63% of the vote to Burns's 31% and Stephen's 5%. Hike and Burns advanced to the general election.

In the general election, Hike and Burns faced off again, but the result was closer, with Hike ultimately winning re-election with 55% of the vote.^[4]

• List of mayors of Bellevue, Nebraska