‘Time to turn the page’: Attempt to recall Prairie Village mayor after housing saga fails
An attempt to recall Prairie Village Mayor Eric Mikkelson will not move forward after a group — unhappy with the city’s efforts to address its shortage of affordable housing — did not collect enough signatures to place the initiative on the ballot.
“Time to turn the page,” Mikkelson said in a statement to The Star. “We move forward best when actually united.”
It was a group of residents’ ninth attempt at recalling the mayor in recent months, as the northeast Johnson County city has been embroiled in controversy over officials’ consideration of adjusting zoning laws to allow for a wider variety of housing, such as duplexes and small apartment buildings.
Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe rejected eight previous recall petitions, which cast a variety of accusations against the mayor, ruling that that they were insufficient and that their claims did not meet the grounds for ousting a local official under state law.
Howe found the ninth petition met statutory requirements, allowing the group to collect signatures to try to put the mayoral recall up for a public vote. The group — which has called itself Save Prairie Village — had until mid-August to collect more than 4,000 signatures for it to be valid.
But this week, the recall committee on its website said that effort had failed.
“Since 2023, thousands of Prairie Village citizens have participated in multiple petition drives and used the public comment portion of City Council meetings to state their opinions, assemble peacefully, and engage in political activities without fear of repression,” the group wrote on its website. “Similarly, many Prairie Village citizens have expressed their opinions in opposition to the voices that have supported the multiple petition drives.”
Those other petition drives included efforts by many of the same residents last year to put initiatives on the ballot that would restrict rezoning, change the city’s form of government to limit mayoral powers and halve the size of the City Council. After a court fight, those petitions did not make it on the ballot last fall.
Residents who supported those initiatives worried about the council changing zoning laws, concerned that the already built-out city could invite more dense, multifamily development and change the character of their neighborhoods. That single issue quickly morphed into a political battle.
The latest mayoral recall attempt centered on Mikkelson’s communication with a city-hired consultant firm during that tension last year. The recall committee accused Mikkelson of misconduct in office, alleging he misused taxpayer dollars by having the consultants help him advocate against previous petitions aiming to recall him.
Mikkelson said the accusation is false and amounts to damaging, “abusive smear tactics.”
Edward Greim, an attorney representing the recall committee, previously told The Star, “It is ironic that it was the very process of trying to fight off the earlier recalls that support this recall.”
In ruling the recall petition met statutory requirements, Howe did not investigate the accusation or determine whether it is true. He only found that the claim would fall under the reasons for an elected official to face recall, which in Kansas include a felony conviction, misconduct in office and failure to perform duties under the law.
The core of the recall committee’s accusation can be found in an email thread late last June between Mikkelson and Shockey Consulting Services. The city hired the firm to help with communication as the housing debate caused a firestorm in the pricey suburb.
The emails show the firm helped advise Mikkelson on a statement he provided to the Johnson County Post regarding an article about the first four failed recall petitions.
Mikkelson said the communication was appropriate and only meant to inform the public and correct misinformation. He argued the statement was educational only and did not advocate for any political position. Public funds can be used to educate the public on issues before voters, but not to promote a position on them.
Sheila Shockey, founder of the firm, said the company did not bill the city for any communication related to the recall effort, saying that the email exchange last June took less than 15 minutes, not enough time for the firm to charge for it.
The group behind the recall effort has camped out at city parks gathering signatures for the past few months. But the accusation in the petition proved insufficient to get enough residents on board.
“I think the people of the city have spoken, and they’re tired of this divisive nonsense, ready to move past it and get on with regular business,” City Councilman Ian Graves, who has supported the mayor throughout the effort, said.
Mikkelson, in a statement said, “In the end, through defamatory lies, truth wins.
“Through sown chaotic division, integrity wins. Through personal destruction tactics, civility wins. Through political vendetta, good government wins. Through intimidation, courage wins. Through extremism, fair elections win. Most of all, Prairie Village wins. A wise super-majority of residents again delivered their resounding message.”
Members behind the recall effort did not immediately respond to The Star’s request for comment on Tuesday.
It is unclear how many signatures the group obtained, or how much money they spent on the recall attempt, which included hiring Greim, a partner with Kansas City’s Graves Garrett Greim law firm. The firm largely tackles high-profile national political cases, including representing several witnesses who testified during the special Congressional investigation into the U.S. Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021.
The Johnson County Post reported that out-of-state canvassers were paid to circulate the recall petition, although the group denied a connection with them. When asked, some circulating the petition said it was about zoning, rather than detailing the accusation against the mayor.
On its website, the Save Prairie Village group wrote: “As Prairie Village citizens and the current political leaders of Prairie Village reflect on the division that exists within Prairie Village today . . . and the journey that brought us to this point . . . it is our hope that the city political leaders will prioritize policies that benefit all citizens of Prairie Village.”
The City Council meanwhile has shown an interest in ending the zoning debate for now, after voting on some changes, significantly scaled back from earlier proposals, this summer.
“I seek to work cooperatively with any who will join our mainstream, honest, civic process with mutual respect, healing, open minds, hard work, compromise, good faith and grace,” Mikkelson said. “In that way, our superlative community will continue becoming the best it has ever been.”
This story was originally published August 20, 2024 at 12:51 PM.
