Jackson County’s assessor will be elected after landslide vote fueled by tax fury
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Voters approved Question 1 to make Jackson County’s assessor an elected post.
- Measure responded to 2023 property assessment spike and voter tax fury.
- Assessor remains appointed until the 2028 election; county will hold vote then.
Jackson County residents will be tasked with choosing the county’s future assessor after a landslide vote on Tuesday that required the position to be elected instead of appointed.
The momentous decision will place Jackson County in line with every other major county in Missouri. Jackson County is the only charter county in the state with an appointed assessor, a position that values and assesses all real and personal property in the county.
Unofficial results showed an overwhelming majority of voters approved the measure, called Question 1, as of 9 p.m. More than 88% of voters voted in favor of the amendment to the county’s charter. Just less than 12% voted against it.
The measure passed by a staggering margin in both urban and suburban areas of the Kansas City metro, receiving more than 80% of the vote in Kansas City and the portions of Jackson County outside the city limits.
Tuesday’s runaway election was a repudiation fueled in part by yearslong fury from local homeowners after a dramatic increase in property assessments in 2023. County legislators placed the measure on the ballot over the summer, arguing an elected assessor would make the position more accountable to voters.
Jackson County Legislature Chairman DaRon McGee, who helped sponsor the legislation, framed the vote as historic Tuesday night.
“By electing our assessor, residents will finally have a direct say in how property is assessed and how their tax dollars are managed,” McGee said in a statement. “This is a victory for homeowners, renters, small businesses and for rebuilding trust in local government.”
Assessments, which take place every two years, have become a fraught political issue over the past several years and seeped into debates over the recent recall election of County Executive Frank White Jr. and the fight over the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals.
But Tuesday’s vote won’t immediately change who’s in charge of assessments. Under the measure, the next assessor would be elected in the 2028 general election.
Gail McCann Beatty, a former Democratic leader of the Missouri House, was still in charge of the Jackson County Assessment Department as of Tuesday. Until the 2028 election, the position will serve at the discretion of the county executive.
County officials, including Beatty, have previously said that properties had long been undervalued in Jackson County and they’ve worked to correct errors in the assessment process amid a series of legal fights with state officials.
While newly appointed County Executive Phil LeVota did not take a position on the measure, he framed assessments as among his top priorities in a recent interview with The Star.
“My mandate for being here, the reason the other guy’s not here, is this tax assessment,” LeVota said earlier this month. “We’re going to deal with the residential properties and make sure we roll those back and get some tax relief to people ASAP.”
When asked last week whether Beatty would remain the county’s assessor if voters approved the measure, LeVota was non-committal. He said the election would have no effect on who is working for his administration or how long they will work there.
“As I have been doing since I’ve been sworn in, I will continue to evaluate all personnel and make sure they’re a good fit,” LeVota said in a text message to a reporter.
While residents approved the measure, Tuesday’s election likely won’t be the last time the issue is at the front of Jackson County politics.
Residents across Missouri are also poised to vote on a statewide measure in 2026 that would amend the Missouri Constitution and require Jackson County to have an elected assessor. State lawmakers placed that question on the ballot during the most recent legislative session.
House Speaker Jonathan Patterson, a Lee’s Summit Republican, told The Star this week that the measure, which has already been certified for the ballot, would move forward regardless of Tuesday’s results.
Both ballot measures come more than a decade after Missouri voters overwhelmingly approved an amendment to the state constitution allowing Jackson County to remain the only charter county in the state with an appointed assessor.
The 2010 exemption specifically targeted Jackson County and was worded to apply only to charter counties with populations between 600,000 and 700,000 people, a population level Jackson County has now surpassed.
This story was originally published November 4, 2025 at 9:01 PM.
