Sly James, Vincent Lee advance in Kansas City mayoral primary

Kansas City Mayor Sly James and challenger Vincent Lee outpolled light-rail activist Clay Chastain in Tuesday’s mayoral primary election.

In unofficial final results, James coasted to a win with 82 percent of the votes, while Lee had 11 percent and Chastain just 7 percent. James and Lee advance to the June 23 general election.

James said he’d always been convinced that the best strategy to be re-elected was to concentrate on being a good mayor.

“I’m going to keep showing up and doing my job,” he said.

Tuesday’s primary also narrowed the field in numerous City Council races, setting the stage for some fierce June contests that are likely to be more compelling than the lopsided mayor’s race.

▪ 1st Council District. Challenger Heather Hall won with 31 percent followed by incumbent Dick Davis with 29 percent. They advance to the general election. But Davis finished just 32 votes ahead of third-place finisher Louie Wright. A fourth candidate, Jane Rinehart, trailed behind.

▪ 1st District at-large: Incumbent Scott Wagner easily outpaced challenger and first-time candidate Jeffrey Roberts, with more than 73 percent of the vote. But both advance.

▪ 2nd District: Dan Fowler had 78 percent of the vote and is slated to take that seat, replacing Russ Johnson, who is reaching the end of his term limit. Bill Super’s name was on the primary ballot, but he recently aborted his campaign.

▪ 2nd District at-large: Teresa Loar and Jay Hodges are competing to replace Ed Ford, who could not run again due to term limits. Loar had more than 65 percent and Hodges had 35 percent. Both advance to the general election.

▪ 3rd District: Incumbent Jermaine Reed came out on top with 57 percent of the vote, followed by Jamekia Kendrix with 17 percent. They advance. The other candidates were Rachel Riley, Bryan Dial and Shaheer Akhtab.

▪ 3rd District at-large: Quinton Lucas was the top vote getter with 48 percent, followed by Stephan Gordon with 14 percent. They both advance. The other candidates were Dee Evans, Carol Gatlin, Karmello Coleman and Forestine Beasley.

▪ 4th District: Jolie Justus tallied more than John Fierro, 70 percent to 30 percent, but both advance. They are seeking to replace Jan Marcason, who is term-limited out.

▪ 4th District at-large: Incumbent Jim Glover edged Katheryn Shields, 43 percent to 41 percent, but both advance. The other candidates were Jared Campbell and Bryan Stalder.

▪ 5th District: Alissia Canady narrowly outpolled Ken Bacchus, 38 percent to 37 percent, and both advance. The other candidates were Edward Bell, Lance Conley and Bilal Muhammad. The seat is currently filled on an interim basis by Cokethia Hill. She replaced Michael Brooks, who resigned.

▪ 5th District at-large: Lee Barnes outpolled Dennis Anthony with more than 70 percent of the vote. Both advance and seek to replace Cindy Circo, who is term-limited out.

▪ 6th District: Voters gave Kevin McManus 70 percent of the votes and Terrence Nash 17 percent. They both will advance and are seeking to replace John Sharp, who is term-limited out. The other primary candidate was Henry Klein.

▪ 6th District at-large: Scott Taylor is unopposed and already slated to take office for a second term.

This story was originally published April 7, 2015 at 8:21 PM with the headline "Sly James, Vincent Lee advance in Kansas City mayoral primary."