Wayne Hudson

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Wayne Hudson

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Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

May 10, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

Wayne State College, 1994

Graduate

University of Nebraska, Omaha, 1998

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Air Force

Years of service

1986 - 1992

Personal

Birthplace

Omaha, Neb.

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign YouTube

Wayne Hudson (Democratic Party) ran for election for Douglas County Sheriff in Nebraska. He lost in the Democratic primary on May 10, 2022.

Hudson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Wayne Hudson was born in Omaha, Nebraska. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1986 to 1992. He earned a bachelor's degree from Wayne State College in 1994 and a graduate degree from the University of Nebraska, Omaha in 1998. He earned a military citation from the U.S. Air Force in 1986. His career experience includes working in law enforcement.

Hudson has been affiliated with the following organizations:

• International Association Chiefs of Police
• Police Executive Research Forum
• Metropolitan Chiefs Association, past president
• Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy Alumni Association (session #234)
• National Sheriff’s Association
• Women Center for Advancement, board member
• Coalition RX, board member
• National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, board member
• Black Police Officer Association, board member
• African American Correctional Officer Association, board member
• 100 Black Men of Omaha
• Leadership Omaha Class 27, past president
• Northwest High School Hall of Fame
• Northwest High School freshman Academy Advisory Board

Elections

2022

See also: Municipal elections in Douglas County, Nebraska (2022)

General election

General election for Douglas County Sheriff

Aaron Hanson defeated Greg Gonzalez in the general election for Douglas County Sheriff on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Aaron Hanson (R)	50.1	94,027
		Greg Gonzalez (D)	49.5	92,934
		Other/Write-in votes	0.4	807

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 187,768
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Douglas County Sheriff

Greg Gonzalez defeated Wayne Hudson in the Democratic primary for Douglas County Sheriff on May 10, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Greg Gonzalez	51.7	21,593
	Submit photo	Wayne Hudson	48.3	20,158

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 41,751
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Douglas County Sheriff

Aaron Hanson defeated George Merithew in the Republican primary for Douglas County Sheriff on May 10, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Aaron Hanson	79.3	36,473
		George Merithew	19.8	9,089
		Other/Write-in votes	0.9	434

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 45,996
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

To view Hudson's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.

Campaign themes

2022

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released Feb 28, 2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Wayne Hudson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Hudson's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I’m the current Chief Deputy Sheriff running for Douglas County Sheriff. I’m a Christen, father, husband, law enforcement professional, and a person that loves his community. I’m running for Douglas County Sheriff because I deeply care about my community and the profession of law enforcement. As someone that was born and raised in the community and a career law enforcement professional, I’m in a unique position to understand a lot of the issues between the community and law enforcement. As the next Douglas County Sheriff, I will continue to bridge the gap between the community and local law enforcement.

My professional resume reflects many years and solid dedication to the profession of law enforcement; it shows that I’m a constant student of the profession, and a dedicated community servant. I strongly feel that with my military experience in the United States Air Force (Honorable Discharge in 1992), my formal education, BS Criminal Justice & MS Public Administration, along with my total body of work and progressive leadership and management positions (current Chief Deputy Sheriff responsible for the day-to-day operations of the DCSO) have all uniquely prepared me for the challenges, duties and responsibilities for the position of Douglas County Sheriff.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) is a nationally accredited agency that seeks to be very inclusive. As the next Douglas County Sheriff, I will use my position to increase community engagement with ALL of Douglas County. Under my leadership the DCSO will be more heavily engaged in community programs such as Cuts & Conversation, Shop with a Cop, Teen Summit, Community & Law Enforcement Forums, Operation N.E.T.S., Student Celebration Day, and many others. Each of these is designed to break down barriers between local law enforcement agencies and the community.
• In my first key message, I spoke about increasing community engagement within the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO). The increase in community engagement by the DCSO will lead to more individuals leaning about our services and hopefully inspire them to seek employment. Currently the DCSO is NOT reflective of the community as it pertains to race and gender. Under my leadership, there will be an intentional effort to make positive changes in our overall hiring practices. I will never sacrifice quality for quantity, but I will do my best to eliminate barriers that stand in the way of minorities and females from being employed with the DCSO.
• I’m a firm believer that some individuals that commit a crime don’t necessarily belong in our criminal justice system. As a law enforcement professional, and someone that seeks best practice as it pertains to our criminal justice system, I know that there are better ways to protect our community and still hold individuals accountable for their actions. The Restorative Justice Program is a program that takes into account the suspect and the victim. As the next Douglas County Sheriff, I will ensure my agency plays a greater role in Restorative Justice Process.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

The area of public policy that I’m passionate about is our juvenile justice system. There are a disproportionate number of minority children in our Douglas County criminal justice system. As a minority and as a law enforcement professional, I truly feel that there needs to be a consorted effort at looking into who we are putting in our criminal justice system and why. There are programs like Restorative Justice that if implemented here in Douglas County would have a dramatic effect on our overall criminal justice numbers. That being said, there must also be some personal responsibility. Families and communities MUST be more involved in the lives of our youth. This includes me. I’m a member of the 100 black Men of Omaha where I mentor two young men. Also, I spend hundreds of hours each years interacting with the youth of our community. I do this because I know that if we are going to change hearts and minds WE HAVE TO BE INVOLVED!

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

This question could be best answered if it was broken down into personal and professional. Listed below are people that I look up to and why.

Charles E. Hudson (Father). Strong male, good provider, very good influence on my life.
Charles WO Hudson (Brother). Excellent role model of a father and husband.
Sheriff Tom Wheeler (Friend/Boss). Very good leader, very smart law enforcement professional.
Chief Kenton Buckner (Mentor/Friend). Very strong leader, strong mentor, professional law enforcement executive.

Douglas County Treasurer and Retired OPD Deputy Chief John Ewing (Mentor/Friend). Strong Christen, great leader, great community advocate.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

I really don’t think there is a book, essay, film, or something else that I would recommend to someone who wants to understand my political philosophy. My political philosophy comes from my lived experience. Lived experience of having parents that left Mississippi because of the racism they were subjected to. Lived experience of being told as a child by a teacher that I would be dead before I was 21 or that I was a disgrace to my family. Lived experience of being an African American living in America. Lived experience of having served in the greatest military in the world. Lived experience of earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree. Lived experience of joining the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and being challenged and mistreated by fellow co-workers and supervisors. Lived experience of honorably serving the community that I love dearly. To know my political philosophy one would have to live my life and experience what I have experienced over many years.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

The Douglas County Sheriff is elected by the people to serve the people. I have spoken to the community about what they want in their new Sheriff. The community wants a sheriff that is honest, has integrity and is a professional law enforcement executive. Honesty and integrity should be self-explanatory.

For professional executive, the community wants the sheriff to have 

Formal education;
I have a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and a master’s degree in Public Administration
They want someone to have advanced management training
I have attended some of the best law enforcement management training schools to include the FBI National Academy
They want someone that has command experience, in the law enforcement world command is considered some at the rank of captain or above
I have over a decade of command experience and I’m currently the Chief Deputy Sheriff for the DCSO
But most of all they want someone that is CONNECTED to the community

I have over 26 years of dedicated service to this community and I serve on many boards and work with many organizations in all parts of Douglas County. I spend hundreds of hours each year doing community engagement events.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

As the current Chief Deputy Sheriff, I manage the day to day operations of the office. During the sheriff’s absence, I’m the acting sheriff with full rights and responsibilities as the Douglas County Sheriff. I’m trusted and respected by the community and law enforcement officials. I’m fair, but firm. I truly feel that the community don’t expect us to be perfect, but they do expect and deserve us to be professional.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The core responsibility of the Douglas County Sheriff is to ensure Douglas County Sheriff’s Office personnel are serving and protecting ALL residents in a fair and equitable manner. As our mission statement states: "As a member of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, I commit myself to ensuring the safety and trust of all people, with integrity and respect; and to having the courage to uphold the law, professionally and with sensitivity and fairness. I take responsibility for the protection of the citizens of Douglas County, and am accountable for my actions in serving them."

What legacy would you like to leave?

The legacy that I would like to leave is that Douglas County Sheriff’s Office was a better agency then when I started. An agency that truly embraced the guardianship mentality. An agency that was inclusive, reflective of the community, transparent, and fair and equitable for all. A true guardian to our community. Guardian in in the sense of Plato’s vision of a perfect society which states: “In a Republic that honors the core of democracy the greatest amount of power is given to those called Guardians. Only those with the most impeccable character are chosen to bear the responsibility of protecting the democracy”. As the next Douglas County Sheriff I will ensure all employees of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office are held to the “impeccable character” standard, to include myself. There will never come a time you will ever question my honesty, my integrity, and professionalism. Most of all you will never call into question my overall commitment for the citizens of Douglas County and the employees of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

One of the most historical events that I can remember that had a dramatic effect on my life was the Rodney King beating (March 3rd, 1991). At 23 years old and a sergeant in the Air Force, I can distinctly remember watching what occurred and knowing that the amount of force was not justified. I saw a lack of command and control and NO leadership. I vowed at that time that if I became a law enforcement officer that type of conduct would NEVER happen on my watch.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My very first job for serving my country in the United States Air Force as a Security Specialist. I served from 1986-1992. I have an Honorable Discharge. I was stationed at Loring AFB Maine and RAF Bentwaters England. What began as a desire to serve my country as a Security Police Specialist in the United States Air Force, evolved and blossomed into a life of selfless service, beyond my wildest dreams. I’m the son of hard-working parents, the brother of accomplished and driven siblings, a community advocate who serves without ever needing recognition or accolades, a career law enforcement officer who has served the great citizens of Douglas County since 1994, starting as a Reserve Deputy Sheriff with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Turnaround by Willaim Bratton. This book speaks to what it took to turn New York crime problem around.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

N/A

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Well Done by Detrick Haddon

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

N/A

Tell us your favorite joke.

N/A

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