See who’s running to be KCK’s next mayor, replacing Tyrone Garner
By the filing window’s close on Monday afternoon, six people had filed to run to replace Mayor Tyrone Garner as mayor/CEO of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, according to the Wyandotte County Election Office.
All six candidates — including a mix of former and current Unified Government officials, politicians, a public utilities board member and a local activist, among others — will compete in this year’s Aug. 5 primary election. They are: Tom Burroughs, Christal Watson, Janice Witt, Rose Mulvany Henry, Gwendolyn S. Thomas and Mark Gilstrap.
The Star attempted to speak with each candidate ahead of the deadline in an effort to introduce them to residents and voters. Details on each candidate will appear in the order by date that they filed to run.
Garner, whose term is set to expire this winter, told The Star last month that he was sticking with his 2024 promise to only serve one term. He said in that interview that he hopes the county’s new leadership is driven by community needs and ensuring everyone across Wyandotte has a seat at the table.
“Everything that we do is in collaboration and partnership and is driven by the majority needs of the people,” Garner said, adding he’s proud that the county is moving in what he called a positive financial direction that takes resident needs into account.
After the primary, the candidate pool will narrow down to two top candidates who will vie in the Nov. 4 general election.
July 15 is the last day to register to vote in the primary election. Check your registration status on the county’s election website.
Burroughs
Tom Burroughs is the Unified Government’s at-large District 2 commissioner and has served in the role since 2017.
The KCK native represented District 33 as a Democrat in the Kansas House of Representatives for 26 years before joining the Unified Government’s board. He served in the role of House Minority Leader during that time.
He said he wants to serve the public by continuing conversations on how to bring in and support economic development, address budget and infrastructure concerns and offer property tax relief to residents.
Burroughs wants to see more, improved transparent communication throughout the entire community, he said, adding that he believes residents deserve timely, transparent and accurate communication from the local government on key issues. He thinks his years of experience in the private and governmental sector, integrity and extensive network can benefit Wyandotte County.
Burroughs works on a number of committees, including the Kansas Athletic Commission, the Wyandotte County Economic Development Committee, the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, the Mid America Regional Center board and several others.
His hobbies include martial arts, combat sports and spending time with his family. He retired from Colgate-Palmolive after 28 years.
Watson
Christal Watson is the Executive Director of the Kansas City, Kansas, School Foundation for Excellence, a nonprofit serving the local public school system, and has held the role for about six years. Before that, she worked in the Unified Government as deputy chief of staff in the mayor’s office during David Alvey’s term. She also led the Heartland Black Chamber of Commerce for several years.
She told The Star that she wants to find resources to provide Wyandotte County with more housing options, improved infrastructure and a better-supported workforce.
To accomplish these goals, Watson said she wants to strengthen community ties and develop connectedness within the community. That relationship strengthening needs to start between the mayor’s office and the county commission, which has recently and publicly been contentious, she said.
By mending that relationship and offering transparency in decision making, Watson thinks people will see how much effort both parties are making for their communities.
Watson said her experiences in the nonprofit and for-profit sector give her a diverse understanding of various sectors of government and organizational finance.
When she’s not on the job or seeking office, Watson enjoys spending time with her two grandchildren and family and getting involved in community projects. She said she wants to build a community that her grandchildren want to live in.
Witt
Janice Witt is a longtime local business owner and activist who has served the community for more than a decade. Witt, who has advocated for improving Wyandotte County’s local institutions through accountability such as pushing for an independent investigation of the police department in response to criminal allegations against former officer Roger Golubski , has previously sought the mayor’s seat. She lost in the 2021 primary election, a race that eventually resulted in Garner’s election.
Witt and her husband founded the Reola Grant Center for Family Life Development in 2011, which has helped feed numerous families in the Kansas City area, and has owned coffee shops, a catering business and a construction company, according to previous reporting.
Witt told The Star late last month that she plans to run on a similar platform as she has previously, which centered on building equity in Wyandotte County, bringing services and meeting basic needs for all residents and fostering community trust through transparency.
Mulvany Henry
Rose Mulvany Henry is a local attorney, a former business owner, a member of the Board of Public Utilities and vice president of regulatory and legislative affairs for internet provider Metronet. She has worked in telecommunications and communications law for more than 30 years.
Through her work, Mulvany Henry said she’s observed how major organizations struggle to balance their financial obligations and meet resident needs. She’s tried to focus on how to improve that balance in a way that supports people who are elderly or on fixed incomes.
Mulvany Henry told The Star she’s considered running over the past few years but that a recent board meeting she attended cemented that idea. During an hours-long meeting earlier this spring that ran into the late evening, Mulvany Henry was in the audience when Commissioner Phil Lopez made a remark many deemed offensive at someone applying for a permit. This spurred her to want to improve board decorum and make commission meetings more efficient.
Wyandotte County has a “fair share” of division that needs mending, Mulvany Henry said. She thinks she can lead those repairs, spur economic and workforce development and use infrastructure improvements and revenues to invest in essential services, like public safety. Mulvany Henry identified poor morale, health inequities and often reactive planning as issues to be solved.
Thomas
Gwendolyn S. Thomas is a program coordinator at the Unified Government and has worked for the UG in different roles since 1997.
She said she takes pride in working and serving where she lives, and that her experience in local and bi-state programming has given her a nuanced understanding of the government’s operations.
She said her time working for the Unified Government made her realize that she can make the most impactful change by holding office, and that that change should be led by working alongside community members.
Thomas said she wants to push for affordable housing, continued development and support for residents living check to check. And although she wants to support projects ongoing across the county, Thomas said one project that she would like to focus on would be putting a restoration and revitalization plan in place for the Quindaro neighborhood.
Thomas said she wants to see more unity across the Unified Government, foster collaboration among various levels of government and establish a committee within the mayor’s office that looks at what the office itself can do to better support community needs.
Outside of work, she enjoys checking out the local food scene, traveling, sewing, writing and connecting with her community.
Gilstrap
Mark Gilstrap is a former state senator and retired from the Unified Government’s finance department after more than 30 years. He said that on the campaign trail, he wants to discuss whether Wyandotte County residents really want to host the Kansas City Chiefs, what candidate is going to best attack the issue of property taxes in the area, and what construction projects are essential.
He said he’d also like to advocate to reduce the size of the commission to one mayor and four commissioners. Gilstrap said his name recognition, independent thinking and skills in campaign finance give him an edge in the race.
Gilstrap said he’s married to his high school sweetheart of 49 years, has three adult children who have all gone on to obtain masters degrees or higher and has five grandkids. He has been a lector at St. Patrick Catholic Church for nearly five decades.
