Can someone be elected to both the Unified Government & the BPU? What rules say
How is it that a political candidate is simultaneously in the running for two local boards? And, can a public utilities board member also snag Wyandotte County’s top leadership role?
In Lisa Walker-Yeager’s and Rose Mulvany Henry’s cases, government ethics and elections officials say the distinction between whether someone can put their hat in the ring for multiple spots — which they can — and whether they can actually serve in those roles is subject to legal interpretation.
In other words, it’s not immediately clear if someone who runs for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas’s commission and the Board of Public Utilities can win and keep both positions.
“There’s nothing in our code of ethics that addresses that unique situation,” said Reed Partridge, the county’s legislative auditor and former interim ethics administrator, adding that it would likely have to be reviewed after election results come in.
Walker-Yeager, who passed a crowded August primary in two separate races, wants spots on the boards governing the Unified Government and the BPU. In November, she’ll face Jermaine Howard for the Unified Government’s District 1 seat and Gary Bradley-Lopez for an at-large seat on the BPU.
Meanwhile, mayoral candidate Mulvany Henry already holds an at-large spot on the BPU. She was the top vote-getter in the primary and will face Christal Watson in November. The winner of that race would replace outgoing Mayor Tyrone Garner and be the second woman to lead the Unified Government.
To be in the running for multiple seats is a matter of even and odd years, Elections Commissioner Michael Abbott told The Star. Only in odd-numbered years may a political candidate file for more than one position at a time, according to state statute.
That said, running in – and winning – a general election doesn’t guarantee a politician gets to walk off the campaign trail with two jobs, according to statute. That depends on whether the two offices sought and won are ethically compatible.
“When a person is simultaneously elected to more than one office, such person may accept any such offices that are not incompatible with any other office accepted by such person,” according to the Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes 25.123. “If a person accepts election to incompatible offices, the person shall be deemed to have accepted the office last accepted and to have declined any previously accepted incompatible office.”
So, what does that mean for these candidates?
Partridge and Abbott referred The Star to the Unified Government’s legal department for an opinion on whether the Unified Government and the BPU are considered “compatible.” As of 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, the legal department did not return a phone call and voicemail seeking clarification.
Mulvany Henry had the same question when she first filed to run, she told The Star. She went to the government’s ethics commission and requested an opinion on whether she could stay on the BPU and run for mayor at the same time. The commission told her she was allowed to run and keep the seat.
Mulvany Henry’s personal interpretation of the statute was that she wouldn’t be able to hold the two seats if eventually elected mayor. Regardless, Mulvany Henry said she’d likely resign her BPU seat if elected.
“In addition, personally, I would never consider holding more than one elected office at a time,” she said in an email.
Meanwhile, Walker-Yeager said she doesn’t see a conflict of interest in holding the two seats. She said the voters should decide whether she should serve on the two boards or not, and that she would do whatever the law allows.
Her eligibility for either role is dependent on the outcome of a criminal case against her in Wyandotte County for the 2024 shooting of contractor Noble Bey. People convicted of felonies may not hold public office in Kansas.
Although the BPU is governed by its own board, the Unified Government still owns and oversees it, meaning decisions made on the BPU could affect the Unified Government and vice versa. The government charges a “payment in lieu of taxes” (PILOT) on local utility bills, meaning it collects revenues from the services BPU provides.
