Meghan Youker

OMAHA (KPTM) -- They say it's about honesty and transparency.  Two of the three men vying to be Omaha's next mayor say they won't accept endorsements or campaign contributions from the city's police and fire unions.

Republicans Hal Daub and Jim Vokal say it's because of the multi-million dollar shortfall in the pension system and the negotiations needed to solve the problem.  "I want to bend over backwards as the next mayor of our city to avoid even the suspicion of impropriety," Daub said.

Daub says any new contract must be fair to workers and taxpayers.

Vokal is making it more clear whose side he's on.  "I think it's important that I represent the taxpayers and have my allegiance to them rather than any unions," he said.

A decision that didn't keep either candidate from criticizing the other.  "Councilman Vokal has already taken money from the police and fire unions when he was thinking about running for re-election to the City Council and all that money in his bank account he transferred over to his mayor's race," Daub said.

Vokal turned the table on Daub.  "The biggest receiver of union money in the past is Hal Daub if you look back at his previous elections," he said.

Councilman and mayoral candidate Jim Suttle isn't backing away from union contributions and support.  He says unlike his opponents, he's open-minded and will work with police and firefighters to end spiking and fix the pension problem.  "I will represent everybody.  I will represent people, I will represent businesses, I will represent the unions and in order to have a relationship to get problems solved you have to have that built on trust," Suttle said.

The Omaha Firefighters Union had already decided not to endorse any mayoral candidate in the primary race.

Daub says his campaign informed the police union Tuesday night he would not accept its endorsement.  Members of the police union tell KPTM Councilman Vokal was the only candidate that never met with members to try to get their endorsement.

Vokal also did not say whether he plans to return the thousands of dollars firefighters gave him last year.  He says while he accepted money as a councilman, he hasn't since he announced his bid for mayor and pointed out the much larger role the mayor has in negotiating new union contracts.