Kerkman Appointed to City Council, Will Serve Remainder of Strommen's Term

SIDNEY-- On Tuesday, January 14, 2025, the City of Sidney swore in a new Council Member, and the initial reaction from many in the community was unfamiliarity with the new appointee. Brett Kerkman was appointed to fill out the rest of Paul Strommen's term, about two years. Strommen, who also acted as Vice-Mayor, resigned his seat to take office as District 47's new State Senator in the Nebraska Legislature. With the opening also came controversy, as supporters of the candidate who earned third place in last November's council elections believed their candidate should be elevated and take Strommen's vacated seat. Some others wanted a new special election held for the position.

As discussed in previous issues of the Sun-Telegraph, the procedure for filling the remainder of a term when a seat is vacated is very clear. In a city that has a City Manager form of government, the Mayor makes the ultimate decision on how to fill the seat, and he can use an application process or have a special election. Mayor Sherman decided to go with the application process as a special election would cost the city money and delay the filling of the seat. Mayor Sherman interviewed several candidates who applied for the position, and he chose Kerkman to serve out the rest of Strommen's term. The belief that a candidate from a different election can be "elevated" to another position because he had the third-highest vote total simply is mistaken. The only way a losing candidate is elevated to take a City Council seat is if the winner is declared ineligible to serve prior to taking the oath of office.

The Sun-Telegraph had the opportunity to speak with Brett Kerkman, and find out a bit more about the man and his motivations for serving on the City of Sidney Council. Kerkman is originally from Burwell, Nebraska, and graduated high school in 2002. He then went to Central Community College and earned a degree in Electronic Technology. He was a technical worker for Platte Valley Communications in Kearney, but after some time with the company, he decided that he wasn't the right fit to work as a technician. He switched over to sales, and worked for some years in the audio/visual field, selling conferencing applications for remote meetings.

He married his wife, Amber, in 2011, and eventually moved to Colorado Springs. After the birth of their first daughter, the couple struggled to find quality daycare in the Colorado Springs area and decided to move back to Nebraska. Although they looked at Ogallala, Kerkman said that Sidney was a better fit, and had higher quality and more available daycare options.

"We moved here in March of 2020, the same week that everything shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic," Kerkman said with a chuckle. The disruption of business during this time caused Kerkman to look for another opportunity, and he moved over to ASC Capacitors in Ogallala to work as the Sales & Marketing Manager for the company. He stayed in Sidney, and he and his wife had another daughter. Now with a family including two young daughters, Kerkman felt that he needed to get more involved in the community. He had participated in a few fundraising activities and some community service work, but he felt he could make a bigger contribution. When the opportunity came to serve the remainder of Paul Strommen's term, Kerkman jumped at the chance.

"I really didn't know anybody on the council, and I once briefly met Mayor Sherman, but I felt that with my background in strategic planning and understanding finance somewhat, I could make an impact here in Sidney. So I went through the application process, had a good meeting with Mayor Sherman, and I was appointed," Kerkman said.

"Sidney is such a nice town with a lot of promise for the future, and I want to be able to give back to the community. Although I've only been here for about five years, this is home for me and my family, and anything I can do to make things better, I'm here to help," he said.

Kerkman has already hit the ground running, receiving a large binder of information on city workings, meeting with department heads, and consulting with City Manager David Scott to get himself acclimated to his new role.

"It's a lot to learn and get your head around, but I think as time progresses and I become more familiar with how things work and certain processes, I really think I'll be able to be an effective councilman and help the city," he said.