HASTINGS, Neb. – Jacque Cranson is the owner of Small Town Famous in downtown Hastings, and is running to become the next Hastings Mayor.

Cranson is a Grand Island native, and has also lived in Omaha and Lincoln. She and her husband moved to Hastings nine years ago. 

Cranson ran for a Hastings City Council seat in 2022, but finished a handful of votes short of advancing to the general election. 

We asked Cranson six general questions about her mayoral campaign, and here are her responses. 

Why did you want to run for mayor?: "Just to bring some excitement to Hastings, and get people excited to be in Hastings, and be involved in Hastings. People sometimes are a little negative, so be positive and move Hastings forward." 

What qualities do you have that make you fit as a mayoral candidate?: "I think I get along with everyone, I network with a lot of people, and find ways to bring people together, and just a really hard worker. Obviously with starting a business, we deal with customers every day, we deal with employees. Being out in the communities, being involved in charities, and knowing people, and being overall involved in Hastings." 

If elected, what is your biggest issue about Hastings that you would address?: "I don't necessarily know if there's anything negative, I think there's way more positives that outweigh the negatives here, I think we just need to promote the positives more, and deal with some of those issues if there are issues, but just moving Hastings forward and trying to create anything new and exciting draws attention away from the negativity. So I think focusing on what we do well here would be really important to get past some of that negativity."

What's the best part about living in Hastings?: "The best part about Hastings is definitely the people here, the things to do, the parks, the schools, it's just a great place to raise a family." 

Being transparent as an elected official is important. How would you accomplish that?: "I'm pretty much an open book, I think everyone knows I'm probably the candidate that's on Facebook the most. If someone has a question, they ask me, they come and here and talk to me. There's not really any secrets with Jacque Cranson, so transparency is a pretty easy thing."

Why do you deserve the vote of Hastings residents?: "I'm a hard worker, I get along with people, I move things forward, I set goals, and I complete them."

The top two vote getters in the May 14 primary election will advance to the general election in November. 

View our other Hastings Mayor Profiles here: