Independence voters embrace change with new mayor, ousting of incumbent councilman
Independence voters rejected two incumbents in Tuesday’s municipal elections, further signaling dissatisfaction with city leaders.
Voters overwhelmingly elected Missouri Rep. Rory Rowland as the next mayor of Missouri’s fifth-largest city.
Rowland, whose campaign centered on ethics reforms, easily beat incumbent Mayor Eileen Weir, who barely survived the February primary. After a conservative political newcomer came just 106 votes shy of her vote count, Weir conceded the mayoral race to Rowland. She suspended her campaign, though her name remained on the ballot Tuesday.
Rowland did face a late challenge from first-term council member Mike Steinmeyer, who launched a write-in campaign.
Unofficial election results from the Jackson County Election Board show Rowland with 5,956 votes and Weir with 1,480. The election board reports that write-in candidates received 2,809 votes.
“I’m absolutely, unequivocally elated at the results,” Rowland told The Star. “Obviously they love the idea of ethics reform in Independence. And that was overwhelming.”
In a hotly contested race for city council, Independence voters ousted current council member Mike Huff. Huff is a retired employee of the city’s electric utility and counted Steinmeyer as a close political ally.
Of four candidates vying for two open at-large seats on the city council, voters retained councilwoman Karen DeLuccie and voted in Jared Fears.
Jackson County Election Board results show DeLuccie received 5,304 votes, Fears received 5,177 votes, Huff received 4,908 votes and former councilwoman Marcie Gragg received 3,116 votes.
Jared Fears is a financial adviser who previously worked for the city. He also holds a leadership position within the Community of Christ church, which is headquartered in Independence.
In campaigning door to door, Rowland said he asked his supporters to also vote for DeLuccie and Fears. The election results likely give the mayor-elect a strong majority of supporters on the council.
“They listened and they delivered,” Rowland said, “and I am so incredibly grateful to the voters.”
Tuesday’s election is the second time in as many years that Independence voters have sought major changes in their political leadership. In 2020, voters ousted council members Curt Dougherty and Tom Van Camp.
In recent years, Independence has experienced controversy after controversy. Those included an inquiry from the FBI about questionable contracts for city utility projects and a police overtime scandal that’s currently being investigated by a third-party firm.
Rowland’s campaign centered on bringing ethics reforms to the city.
He proposed new campaign contribution limits of $1,000 for city candidates, term limits for the mayor, a new code of ethics for elected officials and a ban on companies and developers who do business with the city making campaign contributions.
Those proposals target some of the controversies of recent years, including Weir’s campaign donations. Just days before voting to spend $1 million to buy a golf course for a solar farm project in 2017, Weir received more than $10,000 from political action committees funded by the company that would go on to operate the project.
“We’ve been paying corruption taxes in Independence for too long,” Rowland said at a February mayoral forum. “And we must change the rules for a level playing field.”
Weir was elected mayor in 2014 and reelected in 2018. She previously served on the city council from 2012 to 2014.
During a crowded primary race, Weir sought to play up business expansions and quality of life improvements in Independence. But her opponents cited problems with crime, homelessness and political corruption on Weir’s watch.
This story was originally published April 5, 2022 at 9:47 PM with the headline "Independence voters embrace change with new mayor, ousting of incumbent councilman."
