Johnson County voters oust controversial official. Other results: DA race, liquor law
Johnson County Commissioner Mike Brown — who came under fire recently for telling constituents to buy guns and prepare for a coming war — apparently lost his reelection bid Tuesday to newcomer Shirley Allenbrand, according to the county’s unofficial results.
With all Johnson County precincts reporting by 8:30 p.m., Allenbrand, a member of the Olathe Planning Commission, won 48.3% of the vote to Brown’s 44%. She won the 6th District seat representing western Johnson County by just over 2,000 votes. Official results will not be reported until after the canvass next week. Kansas law allows mail ballots postmarked on Election Day to be counted through Friday.
While yet-to-be-counted provisional and mail-in ballots could affect the outcome of races, Allenbrand said she considered Tuesday night a victory.
“I am so ready to move forward and start working together with the other commissioners and working together with the citizens of Johnson County. Together, we will make a difference and make sure every voice is heard,” Allenbrand told The Star after she learned she had won. “I’ve done a lot of driveway meet-and-greets this campaign because of COVID-19, and I’ll continue to have those talks so everybody is involved.”
Brown could not immediately be reached for comment.
In other high-profile races, Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe, a Republican, won 50.6% of the vote, beating newcomer Zach Thomas, a Democrat and criminal defense attorney, who received 46.7%. It was the first time Howe faced a challenger in 12 years.
And the results showed an antiquated liquor law was overwhelmingly repealed, with 75.5% of voters in favor.
The Johnson County Board of Commissioners will gain two other new members, as two incumbents step down. In the 3rd District, which covers southeastern Johnson County, Charlotte O’Hara, a self-described conservative and former state representative, won 50.9% of the vote, defeating challenger Stacy Obringer-Varhall, with 36.4%.
In the 2nd District in northern Johnson County, former Shawnee mayor Jeff Meyers received 51.2% of votes, beating opponent Rob Patterson, who had 35.4%.
In addition, Sheriff Calvin Hayden was on the ballot, running unopposed, and won 74.5% of the vote.
Roughly 58% of registered voters, or 263,694, cast ballots early, either with mail-in ballots or in person, before polls opened Tuesday morning. In total, the county reported 74% voter turnout, or 336,096 residents cast ballots.
Johnson County Commission
The outcome of the county commission race helps determine how the county — which recorded its highest daily total of new COVID-19 cases on Friday — will continue to approach the pandemic. The board has grown increasingly divided over coronavirus mandates, resulting in closely split votes and threats of lawsuits.
Brown, 51, a contractor who lives in Olathe, has been a frequent dissenter on the board and strong critic of mandates. He also came under fire for a Facebook post where he warned of a violent uprising, then told his constituents to “buy a firearm” and prepare for a “coming war.”
Four of Johnson County’s seven commissioners rebuked him, saying his post incited violence. Brown argued that he was “only speaking out against violence” and calling on others to do the same.
Allenbrand, 63, used the moment to her advantage, arguing that Brown’s behavior “creates chaos” and that she would take a much different approach on the board. Allenbrand also disagrees with Brown’s views on coronavirus restrictions. Unlike Brown, she said that she would have approved the mask mandate, for example.
With Allenbrand winning the seat, the seven-member board, which is nonpartisan, gains two more female members. The board was exclusively white and male for years until Commissioners Becky Fast and Janeé Hanzlick won election in 2018.
Voters in the 3rd District were choosing a replacement for Steve Klika, who chose not to seek reelection. Klika has been another opponent of COVID-19 restrictions, and O’Hara, who won the seat, agrees with that view and would not approve countywide mandates.
O’Hara, 69, is a construction and development professional who served one term in the Kansas House. She also ran for Overland Park mayor a few years ago, but lost to incumbent Carl Gerlach. She campaigned on the need to curb the use of tax incentives for private development.
Her opponent, Obringer-Varhall, views herself as a more moderate candidate who agreed with implementing the county’s mask mandate, arguing that it is helping keep businesses open. Obringer-Varhall, 47, is serving her second term on the Blue Valley school board.
And in the 2nd District, two newcomers ran for the seat left vacant by Jim Allen, who is retiring.
The winner, Meyers, 61, former mayor of of Shawnee, is a retired teacher and spent 32 years working for the Olathe school district, including as a teacher and head football coach at Olathe East High School. He said he is a proponent of requiring masks until outbreaks of COVID-19 and rising cases are under control.
His opponent, Patterson, 51, said he would survey the residents in the district before deciding on any mandates. Patterson is a Shawnee resident and president of a trucking company in Kansas City, Kansas.
District attorney race
The race for Johnson County district attorney was especially heated this fall.
Howe has been a prosecutor for more than 31 years and has run the district attorney’s office since 2009. He hasn’t faced a challenger in that time. And Tuesday night’s results show he has won another term.
Thomas, a first-generation Indian-American, owns a law firm in Olathe. During the campaign, he attacked Howe’s record, pointing out that violent crime has been rising while conviction rates have dropped.
But Howe has challenged Thomas for his lack of prosecutorial experience. He warned that an experienced leader will be needed next year, as the courthouse faces a backlog of criminal cases due to the pandemic.
Liquor law on ballot
Voters also decided to repeal the county’s liquor-by-the-drink law, which requires businesses serving alcohol to make 30% of sales from food.
With the law repealed, many business owners said, it will be easier to operate and open craft breweries, cocktail bars and wineries in the county. Some owners said they are hemorrhaging cash while trying to make the quota each year. Some hope the law’s repeal will help businesses that are struggling to stay open during the pandemic.
The liquor-by-the-drink rule is one of the last vestiges of the strict alcohol regulations dating back to the 1880s, when Kansas became the first state in the country to write prohibition into its constitution. The state rolled back liquor regulations slowly over time.
In 1986, voters approved a state constitutional amendment allowing liquor sales at public businesses. But Johnson County, and many others, did so while requiring that restaurants earn 30% of their income from food.
This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 6:59 PM.
