Leirion Gaylor Baird

Leirion Gaylor Baird is an American politician. Since the 2019 election, she has been the mayor of Lincoln, Nebraska, where she previously served as a city councilwoman. Early life and education Gaylor Baird grew up in Portland, Oregon; her parents were public school teachers. She completed a Bachelor of Arts in history from Yale College in 1993. She earned a Master of Science in comparative social policy from University of Oxford in 1997. Career Baird began her career as a management consultant, working also as a city budget and policy analyst. She was the director of an after-school and summer program in San Francisco. Upon moving to Lincoln, Nebraska, she was appointed to the Lincoln/Lancaster County Planning Commission and helped develop its 2040 Comprehensive Plan. She was elected to the Lincoln City Council as a city-wide representative in May 2013 and was, at the time, its only female member. She won reelection in 2017. Following the ratification of a term limit amendment by referendum, Baird announced her intention to succeed incumbent three-term Mayor Chris Beutler. Affiliated with the Democratic Party, she officially ran as a nonpartisan candidate due to municipal election law. She won the election for mayor on May 7, 2019, against Republican-affiliated Cyndi Lamm. She was sworn in on May 20, 2019, alongside the new city council.