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Meet Your City Council Members
Michael (Mike) James Dafney, Mayor
Email: dafneymj@gmail.com
Term Expires: December 2026
Mike Dafney is a lifelong resident of Alliance, Nebraska. He graduated from Alliance High in 1969 and attended Chadron State College. He is married to his wife, Helen (Percival), and they have three grown children.
Mike retired in 2011 from the Burlington Northern, Santa Fe Railway after serving 41 years as a locomotive engineer. In addition, he oversaw his family’s real estate business; Dafney’s Inc. from 1970 to 2020.
Mike was first elected to the Alliance City Council in 1988 and served until 2006; serving as Mayor for 10 years. During that time, he was also a member of the Nebraska League of Municipalities. While working with the League, Mike was appointed to the League Legislative Committee and the League Executive Board. In 1994, he hosted the Panhandle Mayor’s Conference, and he was a member of the Governor’s Roundtable Conference in 1993. From 1998 to 2000, Mike was an advisor on the Nebraska Highway Rail Crossing Advisory Committee.
On the national level, Mike was a member of The National League of Cities from 1990 to 2006 and served on the Energy, Environmental and Natural Resources Committee, the Community and Economic Policy Committee, and the Transportation and Communications Steering Committee. While on the Transportation Committee, Mike was a member of The National Academy of Science, and the United States GAO Conference for Hazardous Material Movement by Rail. He was also a member of United States Department of Energy Transportation Task Force for Rail Routing and Security. (Yucca Mountain)
Mike was encouraged by local citizens to return to public office and was again elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2022. Mike is again a member of the National League of Cities’ Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and a Board of Director of the Heartland Expressway Association. Mike will have served the Alliance community for over a quarter of a century at the end of his current term.
Brian Mischnick, Vice Mayor
Email: brian@waltermischnick.com
Term Expires: December 2024
Brian Mischnick was born and raised in Alliance. After graduating from Alliance High School, Brian went to college and received a finance degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Since then, he has lived and worked in Alliance and several other cities around the country. Ten years ago, Brian decided to move back to Alliance and help run the construction business that his grandfather started over 70 years ago. He has deep ties to the community, a vested interest in seeing it grow and prosper, and is excited to have the opportunity to help shape the future of Alliance.
John McGhehey, Councilman
Email: jscott.mcghehey@gmail.com
Term Expires: December 2024
John McGhehey grew up in Topeka, Kansas and obtained a B.S. degree in Business Administration from the University of Kansas. He moved to Alliance in February 1980 and began working for Alliance National Bank. In 1994, First National Bank North Platte purchased Alliance National Bank and he worked for First National Bank until his retirement in February 2020. At various times, he has served on the Board of Directors for the Alliance Area Chamber of Commerce; Box Butte Development Corporation; Box Butte General Hospital; Snow Redfern Memorial Foundation; and Kiwanis Club of Alliance. He is currently on the Board of Directors for United Way of Western Nebraska and a member of the St. Agnes Academy Foundation and the Box Butte General Hospital Foundation. McGhehey is married (Jane); and he and his wife have four grown children and four grandchildren.
Mara Andersen, Councilwoman
Email: mandersen@cityofalliance.net
Term Expires: December 2026
Mara Andersen graduated from Alliance High School and returned to Alliance with her husband in 2015. She currently works as the executive director of the Alliance Recreation Center, a nonprofit organization prioritizing youth development, family engagement, and healthy living.
Mara earned her B.A. in English from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and M.A. from the University of Nebraska-Kearney. She is a graduate of the Nebraska State Chamber’s Leadership Nebraska Class XIII and was awarded the civic honor of being named Admiral in the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska by Governor Ricketts. She currently serves on the Snow RedFern Foundation board of directors as the Career Pathways chair and as a member of the Leadership Nebraska Advisory Council.
Tearza Mashburn, Councilwoman
Email: tmashburn@cityofalliance.net
Term Expires: December 2026
Tearza is married to her husband Matt of 20 years and has been a member of the community for that long. Having a BS in Education, Tearza has worked or volunteered within the schools in various positions during this time. Along with her husband, she owns and operates a small rental house business and quick service restaurant, A-Town Zesto. These ventures have expanded her knowledge base for operating in the business world and allows her to use her MBA degree. Outside of work, she stays busy with her 2 children, their activities, and being a deaconess of her church.