DaRon McGee withdraws from Jackson County executive race, 7 candidates remain
The race to become the next Jackson County executive just got a little bit smaller.
Jackson County Legislator DaRon McGee announced this week that he will end his candidacy for the county’s top job.
McGee was the first of eight candidates to file for County Executive. His absence leaves a field of seven, including Lee’s Summit Mayor Bill Baird, Stacy Lake, Ryan Meyer, Holmes Osborne, Alan Rohlfing and Erik Steffen. The most recent candidate to file was current Interim County Executive Phil LeVota, who is running despite previously saying he didn’t plan to seek a full term as county executive.
McGee was elected to the Jackson County Legislature in 2022 after running unopposed for the 4th District seat. He chaired the legislature in 2023 and 2025.
In a statement released Tuesday, McGee said that during his time in office, he’s most proud to have sponsored legislation toward making the county assessor an elected office, protecting against predatory towing companies and “fighting to use our resources to improve our neighborhoods rather than enrich the well-connected.”
“I have been honored to represent the 4th District and, although it was often challenging, I am proud of what the legislature accomplished in the past four years. I have done my best to make local government work for everyday people,” McGee said.
McGee said that though his “dedication to the people of Jackson County has not changed,” he’s hoping to spend more time with family. McGee will marry his fiancee, Dr. Jamesia Donato, on Saturday.
Before joining the legislature in 2022, McGee was previously the president of the Hickman Mills school board and administered Jackson County’s COMBAT program, a violence prevention initiative through the county prosecutor’s office, for five years.
McGee also served two terms in the Missouri House of Representatives, representing south Kansas City. He resigned in 2019 following an investigation by the Missouri House Ethics Committee over allegations of sexual harassment against a former staffer.
The committee acquired text messages between McGee and the employee showing that he made several attempts over 10 months to initiate a sexual relationship with the employee that were rejected. He then took actions which resulted in the employee losing her job.
McGee previously applied for consideration for interim county executive in 2025 after former County Executive Frank White was recalled in a landslide vote in September. He withdrew from consideration in October days before the legislature appointed LeVota to finish White’s term.
McGee’s term as 4th District legislator expires on January 1, 2027, the same day that the new county executive will take office for four years.
