Shakeup coming to Jackson County legislature as election field is set

The Jackson County Legislature will have at least three and as many as seven new members when the nine-person governing body starts its new term next January.

Three is a certainty due to the retirements of current members Garry Baker, Alfred Jordan and Greg Grounds. Four other incumbents face primary or general election challenges, and in one case both.

Only Kansas City legislators Scott Burnett, a Democrat, and Republican Theresa Galvin are assured of keeping their seats as no one is running against them. State Rep. Jeanie Lauer is also running unopposed to replace Grounds. Both are Republicans. Lauer is term limited from running again for her seat in the General Assembly.

The final outcome of the legislative races could lead to a shakeup at the courthouse as legislators tackle issues ranging from the possibility of building a new jail to negotiating the ongoing power struggle with County Executive Frank White, who also is up for re-election.

Any realignment would be among individual legislators rather than party labels as in all likelihood the makeup will stay the same with Democrats holding seven seats and Republicans two.

The chairman of the Democratic county committee and a candidate for the 3rd District seat, Paul Wrabec, certainly hopes change is afoot. After more than a year of infighting between White and a majority faction of the legislature, he said both sides need to start working together for the betterment of the county.

"They just need to let some sunshine into that courthouse," he said.

One of the more curious races is in Wrabec's district. Incumbent Dennis Waits was widely expected to retire after serving nearly 32 years, the longest tenure of his colleagues.

Sensing an opportunity, Wrabec was alone in filing for the seat last month on the first day for getting one's name on the ballot. A week later, Waits' legislative aide, Jennifer Berry, also became a candidate.

Waits remained coy about his plans until Tuesday when he, too, filed hours before the deadline. Wrabec is unsure what to make of that and wonders whether Berry and Waits will both stay in. The winner of the race goes onto face Republic Brice Stewart in the general election.

Berry did not respond to a request for comment, but Waits said that he and she both plan to stay in for now and that he is setting up a fundraiser.

Waits acknowledged that things could change in that race and others between now and the May 22 deadline for candidate's taking their names off the ballot.

Until then, here's the rundown on who else is running in contested races:

County executive — White will face two relatively unknown competitors, Matthew T. Merryman and Jeremy Raines, in the Democratic primary. The winner will go onto compete in the general against either Richard Tolbert or Nathan Kline of the Green Party.

2nd District — Democrats Sandra E. Jiles and Arimeta DuPree will compete with former legislator Ron Finley for Jordan's open seat in the primary. No other party fielded a candidate.

4th District — Incumbent Dan Tarwater is seeking his seventh four-year term and will face John T. Maloney in the Democratic primary. No other party fielded a candidate.

1st District At-Large — Jalen Anderson and Sherwood Smith will compete to be the Democratic nominee to replace Baker, who was appointed to fill the seat that White was elected to before he was appointed executive in 2016. No other party fielded a candidate.

2nd District at-Large — Incumbent Crystal Williams is seeking her third term and will run against fellow Democrat and former county and state legislator John Burnett. No other party fielded a candidate.

3rd District at-large — Democratic incumbent Tony Miller is seeking his second term and faces Roberta Gough in the primary. No other party fielded a candidate.

This story was originally published March 29, 2018 at 9:21 AM with the headline "Shakeup coming to Jackson County legislature as election field is set."