Alvey seeks second term as Unified Government mayor; four candidates file against him
It will be a busy primary election season across Wyandotte County with several competitive races, including for mayor of the Unified Government where five candidates have filed to run.
David Alvey, the current mayor of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, will seek a second term in office.
Alvey will face four candidates in the Aug. 3 primary election; the five-way contest was set on Wednesday after the deadline to file for the municipal elections expired. The primary will whittle the race down to two candidates, who will square off in the November general election.
Alvey’s challengers are former Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department official Tyrone Garner, former Kansas state senator Chris Steineger, community activist Janice Witt and relatively new KCK resident Daran Duffy.
Alvey defeated mayor Mark Holland in 2017, marking the first time an incumbent did not win a second term since Richard Walsh in 1975.
Alvey’s first term faced an historic crisis in the coronavirus pandemic, which hit Wyandotte County harder than most of the surrounding counties in the Kansas City area. Alvey lauded the Unified Government’s handling of the pandemic as government leaders followed the directives from the public health department.
“I would say the way we handled COVID was exceptional,” Alvey said. “We let the data direct us, we did what was necessary to protect the people of Wyandotte County and I’m proud of that.”
Alvey said if elected he would continue to pursue new economic development in Wyandotte County to broaden the tax base to pay for improved services.
“The first thing I want to do frankly is to change the narrative on taxes and investment in our city,” Alvey said. “It’s a dual problem: It costs money to do improvements. If we can do improvements and broaden the tax base we’re going to have more money generated for services through taxes.”
Garner seeks ‘engaged leadership’
Garner retired from KCKPD as deputy chief after starting his career with the department in 1987 as a cadet.
Garner said that in the early stages of campaigning he has discovered that the public often cannot identify the current mayor. He adds that residents also discuss lowering the tax burden — the combined KCK and Wyandotte County property tax rate adds up to one of the highest in the region — and lowering surcharges on their utility bills.
“I’ve talked to people in our community: The recurring theme is they want engaged leadership, fair taxes,” Garner said. “They want a BPU (Board of Public Utilities) bill that is a real utility bill.”
Garner said that City Hall should do more to focus on neighborhoods and small businesses.
Garner, 52, also said he wants to pursue law enforcement reforms in Wyandotte County.
“I want a police force that better reflects the community that it serves,” said Garner, who is Black.
Witt runs again
Janice Witt, a community activist and nonprofit leader, is making her third run for Unified Government mayor. She ran most recently in 2017 and did not make it past the primary election.
Witt, who is Black, is often critical of the Unified Government establishment for what she said is its secrecy and neglect of underserved communities in KCK.
Witt is also critical of the high taxes in Wyandotte County, the fees that residents pay on their BPU bills — namely, the payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) — and the debt that the Unified Government has incurred over the years. A significant portion of the city and county property tax for KCK residents and businesses goes to pay down municipal debt.
“We are the collateral that builds their credit to borrow,” Witt said. “And they just keep borrowing more and borrowing more.”
Because of KCK fiscal policies, Witt said her first priority would be to replace Doug Bach, the current administrator of the Unified Government.
“The minute we win, Doug Bach is out immediately,” Witt said.
Witt is chief executive of the Reola Grant Center for Family Life Development, a nonprofit that she runs with her husband that she describes as a community help organization.
Daran Duffy
Duffy, 51, moved to the Muncie area of KCK a few years ago from Merriam.
He works as a truck driver for a business in the Fairfax Industrial District; he declined to name the business.
“I’ll keep that one to myself,” Duffy said. “It’s just a shipping business.”
He said the Unified Government’s economic development strategies have not done enough to produce high-paying jobs.
“They talk about all these jobs they created but it seems like these jobs aren’t high end jobs where people can make a living,” Duffy said.
Duffy doesn’t have a background in politics in KCK and his mayoral campaign represents his first effort at elected office.
Chris Steineger
Wyandotte County Election Office records show that Chris Steineger, who represented KCK in the Kansas Senate, made a late entry into the mayor’s race.
Steineger served in the Kansas Senate, most of that time as a Democrat but switching to the Republican Party late in his career, which spanned from 1997 to 2013. He lost to Pat Pettey in 2012, a seat she still holds.
Other Unified Government races
The August primary will feature several competitive races for the Unified Government Board of Commissioners.
In the 1st District, which primarily covers northeast KCK, incumbent Gayle Townsend faces a primary challenge from Lisa Walker-Yeager and Melvin Williams.
In the 5th District, which covers northwest KCK, incumbent Mike Kane faces a primary challenge from Latoura Chinn and Eleanor Morales Clark.
The 8th District seat, currently held by Jane Philbrook and which covers north-central KCK, is a crowded race. Philbrook will run to defend her seat against Andrew Davis, Geoffrey Kump, Tscher Manck and Diana Whittington.
For the 2nd District at-large seat, incumbent Tom Burroughs faces a primary challenge from Ned Kelley, Claudine Sanders and J. Michael Tiner Mackey.
Only two candidates filed to run for the 7th District seat that covers southwest KCK, Bonner Springs and Edwardsville, so there will be no primary. Incumbent Jim Walters will face Edwardsville City Council member Chuck Stites in the general election in November.
Wyandotte County Sheriff Don Ash did not file to run for another term. Charles Bunnell, Daniel Soptic and Celisha Towers have filed to run for sheriff.
Edwardsville
John “Tiny” McTaggart, who has served as Edwardsville’s mayor since 2009, did not file to seek another term. Current Edwardsville City Council member Carolyn Caiharr was the only person to file to run for Edwardsville mayor.
