Phil LeVota drops out of Jackson County executive race after controversial entry
Interim Jackson County Executive Phil LeVota said he wouldn’t run for County Executive this November. Then he filed to run anyway. But now, he’s bowing out of the race for good.
The temporary county official announced Friday afternoon that he is removing himself from the race for the four-year county executive term starting in January 2027.
LeVota initially filed for the county’s top seat on March 31, minutes before the deadline. Shortly after, he issued a video statement on social media saying that he didn’t feel the other candidates were up to the task.
In a statement released Friday, LeVota said that his last-minute entry was intended “to allow (him) more time to decide on this important issue” and that he has spent months debating whether to pursue a full term, even after filing.
“At my point in life, I want to focus on enjoying life without the unpleasantness that comes with political service,” LeVota said in a Friday news release.
LeVota was appointed interim county executive from a field of a dozen candidates in October after County Executive Frank White Jr. was recalled in a landslide vote the previous month. An attorney by trade, LeVota had a significant role in White’s recall, representing a group of Jackson County residents in one of two dueling lawsuits surrounding the timeline for the recall election.
At the time, LeVota was among those who signed a publicly circulated, but not legally binding, “affidavit of non-candidacy” signaling to voters they wouldn’t run for the permanent seat this year if elected to the temporary role.
LeVota said Friday that he feels the demands of the county executive role — which he says have encompassed about 60 hours a week “when done properly” — do not leave adequate time to campaign for a full term.
“I am more than confident that I would win an election to the seat but pursuing it will come in me not providing the best service for the county,” LeVota said Friday.
LeVota also cited campaign finance as a factor motivating his exit from the race.
“I distaste the experience of begging for campaign money and having to make decisions based on how it might affect an election,” LeVota said Friday. “I won’t do that. Politics is nasty and it is not getting any better.”
LeVota has been in the county’s top office for about six months. In that time, he has enacted sweeping changes related to property assessment and convened a task force to envision the future of the Truman Sports Complex, which is set to likely lose both the Chiefs and Royals by 2031.
A dozen Jackson County school districts recently penned an open letter slamming LeVota’s tax policies, which they allege rely on illegally “clawing back” property tax revenue from schools and which they say will cost the county’s districts $200 million in total.
The filing period for county executive will temporarily reopen for five days in the wake of LeVota’s exit. Six candidates currently remain, including Lee’s Summit Mayor Bill Baird, Stacy Lake, Ryan Meyer, Holmes Osborne, Alan Rohlfing and Erik Steffen.
Fourth District Legislator DaRon McGee also initially filed for county executive but also withdrew his name from consideration this week.
LeVota will continue to serve as county executive in an interim capacity until his replacement is sworn in on Jan. 1, 2027.
