Dad of slain cop and ‘SNL’ star’s brother challenge incumbent in Johnson County race
Scott Mosher, the father of Overland Park police officer Mike Mosher who was killed in a shootout with a suspect last year, announced this week he is running for City Council.
It’s the first race to set off a primary election in Johnson County so far this year. And it’s already proving to be one of the most interesting.
Another contender is Ty Gardner, a 31-year-old newcomer whose background is in business and law. While he said he doesn’t plan to advertise this on the campaign trail, he is the younger brother of “Saturday Night Live” cast member Heidi Gardner, who grew up in Kansas City.
They are challenging incumbent Stacie Gram, who is seeking a full term after being appointed to fill a vacancy on the City Council last year.
Scott Mosher’s announcement means the 4th Ward race will be narrowed down in Johnson County’s Aug. 3 primary election. The ward covers a portion of the western half of the city, from 119th Street south to 151st Street.
Mosher, 66, said his son inspired him to run, especially after watching him fight for stronger city support of the police department in the last year of his life during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’ve been thinking about running for a long time. I talked with my son about this before he was killed in the line of duty. And I just, I have to do something,” Mosher said. “After his death, I felt that I could improve things. So this is what I decided I was going to do.”
A decorated, 14 1/2-year veteran of the force, Mike Mosher was on his way to work on May 3 when he came across a possible hit-and-run. He radioed to say the driver got out of his car and confronted him. Moments later, gunshots were fired. Mike Mosher, 37, and the suspect, Phillip Carney, both died in the shootout.
Scott Mosher is a firearms instructor who previously served as a reserve police officer in Nevada. He also has an extensive background working for McDonald’s Corp. and in other executive roles in the restaurant industry.
The incumbent, Gram, is vice president of health care claims for CNA insurance in Overland Park. She was appointed by the City Council last May to fill the seat vacated by Gina Burke, who had moved out of town and resigned. Gram, 54, has a long background volunteering with the Blue Valley school district, and previously served on the board of the Overland Park Chamber of Commerce.
Gardner, a fresh face in local politics and father of a newborn, left the corporate world — where he previously worked for Huhtamaki, a food packaging company headquartered in De Soto — to study law at the University of Kansas in 2019.
The deadline for candidates to file for election is June 1.
On the issues
Mosher is mainly campaigning on the need for the City Council to improve communication with residents. He said council members refused to give him an opportunity to voice concerns about police officers’ pay during the pandemic.
His son served as president of the Overland Park Fraternal Order of Police and argued against the city freezing pay raises for employees and first responders. And he later fought for the City Council to grant police officers an extra $500 a month of hazard pay.
Mosher and his family continued pushing for the hazard pay after his son died. But the proposal failed in a committee meeting as members could not justify the extra spending when the pandemic’s impact on the city budget was uncertain. The Mosher family felt they were not given a fair chance to publicly address the City Council and make their case heard.
“We were denied the opportunity to speak, and that’s all we were looking for, was a voice,” Mosher said, adding that he would improve communication with the public if elected. “We have to give a voice to the people. And it doesn’t mean we have to agree with them. But we do have to listen.”
Gram hopes to retain her seat on the City Council, which she joined a few months into the pandemic. Having grown up in Overland Park and raised her own family in the Blue Valley school district, she said she feels “very committed to the city and I want to see it grow in the right direction.”
“My parents still live here in Overland Park, in the same house I was raised in. In order to serve that population, we need to provide them with affordable housing opportunities, transportation and amenities,” Gram said. “I also have kids who are 19 and 23, and went to college out of state. I want Overland Park to be the kind of place that is appealing for them to come back. That means we need mixed-use, walkability, jobs and exciting entertainment options.”
She said the City Council needs to make it easier for developers to build a variety of housing types, especially affordable options, as the city continues to grow. And she believes there’s more of an appetite among council members to do so.
Another top priority for Gram is funding the “long-term needs” such as staffing and equipment of the police and fire departments, as well as offering them better access to mental health resources. And she said City Council members need to continue listening to residents who have brought up concerns about racial equity and government accountability this past year.
_fitted.jpeg "image0 (5)_fitted.jpeg")
Gardner, who grew up in Ottawa and was raised by his single mom, has lived in Overland Park for much of the past decade. He said he wants to bring a fresh perspective to the City Council. The executive-turned-law student said he would offer new insight, as a member of a young family in the city, as well as a recent renter and home buyer.
“In my opinion, we need somebody in there who understands what young families are going through,” he said. “I certainly respect Stacie Gram, the incumbent, and the work she is doing. But it’s more of a realization that we need a new generation to step up, and we need leadership who is going to attract them to our city. And even though I’m a younger candidate, I have a diverse set of experiences I would bring to the council.”
He believes Overland Park is losing its younger generation “to places like KCMO.” And to retain a young workforce and families, “we need to create solutions to keep them here to make Overland Park a place they want to be right now.”
Gardner’s other main priorities include improving infrastructure, pushing for more sustainable practices, as well as focusing the city on diversity and inclusion issues.
Voters in Ward 4 will narrow down the field in the primary on Aug. 3. Johnson County’s general election is Nov. 2.
This story was originally published March 5, 2021 at 11:43 AM.
