Before DUI arrest, KCK official involved in Chiefs deal, big projects. What now?
The recent arrest of Wyandotte County’s economic development director shouldn’t interfere with major projects being negotiated at the local level, according to government staff.
Officials placed Chelsee Chism, the economic development director for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, on administrative leave after police arrested her on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol.
That incident, which Johnson County court documents say occurred on May 13, resulted in great bodily harm or disfigurement of another person, and a level-five felony charge. A Johnson County sheriff’s deputy arrested Chism on Thursday of last week.
The Unified Government brought in Chism, who formerly served as an assistant city manager in Shawnee and Overland Park, back in 2024.
As the government’s economic development director, Chism plays a key role in locking down agreements with local and external developers who want to bring their business to Wyandotte County. She’s participated in conversations surrounding the government’s negotiations to bring the Kansas City Chiefs across state lines, getting the long-awaited American Royal ready to open its new KCK campus and building the Rock Island Bridge connecting KCK and the West Bottoms.
And although Chism is on administrative leave, those important deals aren’t getting placed on hold, according to the Unified Government.
“We already have a team in place, with both internal and external members, to continue handling all economic development matters,” Krystal McFeders, the government’s communications director, wrote in a statement.
The government can’t share any additional information regarding the situation, citing it being a personnel matter, McFeders wrote.
As of publication time, it still wasn’t entirely clear what happened during the May 13 incident. Some local news outlets, including The Star, requested to view an affidavit detailing the events of the incident, which was not publicly shared on the online court system.
Chism’s defense asked that the court not release the affidavit, citing there was no legitimate purpose to release at this time and that doing so could poison any future jury pool.
“Release of the affidavit will undoubtedly fuel repeated news broadcasts which serve no non-salacious purpose,” according to the defense’s request.
If the court does release the documents, Chism’s defense asks that the affidavit be redacted by removing the victim of the incident’s name, as well as the name of a nurse who responded to the incident, according to court documents.
