Johnson County voter guide: The city candidates and issues in Tuesday’s big races
A major question looms over the mayor and City Council races in Overland Park on Tuesday: Are voters happy with the direction leaders have taken the burgeoning suburb in recent years or is it time for a drastic change?
Half of the council seats are up for election on Nov. 2, and in two of those races, voters will elect new members. Four incumbents are hoping to retain their positions, but some competitors have argued it’s time for a new era in Overland Park, where officials dial back tax incentives given to developers and rethink how to manage growth in Johnson County’s largest city.
And with the mayor’s seat vacant for the first time in 16 years, the race has become more about the identity of the city and how that might change as its population continues to shift.
On the ballot is longtime Councilman Curt Skoog, who believes city leadership over his 16 years on the council has led Overland Park to balloon into the second largest city in Kansas and an “economic powerhouse” of the state. He faces political newcomer and retired business executive Mike Czinege, who says it’s time to start saying “no” to apartment developers and curb the use of subsidies, so the city maintains its suburban feel.
The races in Overland Park are among the most contentious this year, along with several other city races throughout Johnson County, such as the mayoral races in Mission and Edgerton, and the City Council contests in Olathe.
Residents can vote early at several locations. On Nov. 2, polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Find out more at jocoelection.org.
Here are some of the major races to watch (The Star focuses on school board races in a separate story):
Overland Park City Council
In the 1st Ward, Councilman Logan Heley, 28, community engagement manager for Harvesters Community Food Network in Kansas City, is seeking another term representing northern Overland Park.
He said his voting record speaks for itself, touting his efforts to pass a nondiscrimination ordinance protecting the LGBTQ community from job and housing discrimination, as well as to improve transparency by livestreaming city meetings. A recent first-time homebuyer, Heley has advocated for affordable housing, improved public transportation and climate action.
But his opponent, newcomer Ryan Spencer, has been more critical than Heley on tax incentives provided to private development, especially for apartment complexes. Spencer is a payroll specialist with a background in business and the hospitality industry, who also is running on “ending off-camera task forces to decide directional courses for the city forcing all council decisions and discussion to be public,” according to a candidate survey.
Two candidates are competing for an open seat in the 2nd Ward, north of Interstate 435 and south of 87th Street, left vacant by Skoog.
Melissa Cheatham, 37, previously worked in Washington, D.C., where she lobbied for environmental policies. She also has pushed for environmental protections through Overland Park’s Environmental Advisory Council and Climate Action KC.
She has said that tax incentives can be a useful tool, and have helped revitalize areas such as the downtown, but that she would be skeptical of requests and push to ensure incentivized projects meet a high standard, including for energy efficiency.
Her opponent, retired attorney Roger Tarbutton, 70, believes that tax incentives have been overused and that Overland Park will attract new development without them. He has said he is running to “protect our neighborhoods from the encroachment of incompatible high-rise apartments and mixed-use developments.”
Tarbutton served as legal counsel for Johnson County Med-Act and other county agencies before retiring in 2018. He also ran for City Council in 2019.
In the 3rd Ward, north of 119th Street, incumbent Councilman Jim Kite, first elected in 2013, hopes to retain his seat.
Kite, 64, who has had a long career with Sprint and T-Mobile, said he believes that incentive agreements have mostly been used prudently, such as to help reinvigorate the downtown, but is open to a review of the council’s policy on granting them. He has voted against some notable incentive requests, including the controversial $200 million package granted to redevelop the Brookridge golf course.
His opponent is newcomer Amanda Vega-Mavec, 41, who serves as the director of the El Centro Academy for Children, a Spanish/English preschool in Kansas City, Kansas. She is pushing for more diversity on the City Council, so that Overland Park’s leadership better reflects its constituency. She said that fewer projects receive city incentives than many realize, and that she would not suggest a change in policy when granting them, although she would carefully analyze each request.
Incumbent Stacie Gram is seeking a full term after being appointed to fill a vacancy last year in the 4th Ward, which covers a portion of the western half of the city, from 119th Street south to 151st Street.
Gram, 54, is vice president of health care claims for CNA insurance in Overland Park. She also has served on the board of the Overland Park Chamber of Commerce. She has pushed for the police and fire departments to have better access to mental health resources — a major topic this past year — and has said council members need to continue listening to residents with concerns about racial equity and government accountability.
She faces newcomer Scott Mosher, 66, father of Overland Park police officer Mike Mosher, who was killed in a shootout with a suspect last year. He argued council members refused to give him an opportunity to voice concerns about first responders’ pay during the pandemic. Before his son’s death, the family fought against pay freezes for officers, but felt ignored by city officials.
Mosher, a firearms instructor, is mostly campaigning on the city improving transparency and communication with residents.
Voters in Overland Park’s 5th Ward will elect a new council member this year to represent the east-central part of the city, south of I-435 and east of Antioch Road.
On the ballot is Sam Passer, 48, vice president of client experience with TouchNet, a software company in Lenexa. He said the city needs to follow its strategic plans to help guide growth, by maintaining green space and helping to redevelop aging office buildings and infrastructure.
The other candidate is Sheila Rodriguez, 52, an executive at T-Mobile headquarters. She is much more critical of the city’s use of tax incentives for private development. In a candidate survey, Rodriguez said she would push back against an “overabundance of new commercial development over the last few years.”
And in the 6th Ward in southern Overland Park, Councilman Chris Newlin, 44, is seeking a second term. Newlin, who works for Netrality Data Centers in Kansas City, serves as chair of the city’s mental health task force, and has pushed for the creation of a behavioral health unit in the police department, which was approved in the new budget.
He said he is proud of helping to get city meetings livestreamed, to pass a new rule where developers must hold neighborhood meetings before the council considers rezoning requests, plus to add protections for the LGBTQ community. Newlin said a main priority moving forward is bringing the right economic development to the city, adding that he has watched the council use tax incentives responsibly during his term, and pointed out that there were multiple requests he voted against.
His opponent is Jeff Cox, 56, a business executive working in the risk management field. He has taken jabs at council members, including Newlin, arguing they are influenced by developers and “special interests.” He said granting tax incentives is a result of that influence, such as developers donating to campaigns. He also claims to represent residents in his ward who are concerned about affordable housing proposals they worry “will reduce their quality of life and/or property values.”
Mission mayor
Two Mission councilwomen are vying to replace Mayor Ron Appletoft, who is stepping down.
The election comes as the long-stalled, troubled Mission Gateway project remains far from finished, casting a shadow over the city’s progress. Sitting at the highly visible former Mission Center Mall site, off of Shawnee Mission Parkway, Johnson Drive and Roe Avenue, the land has remained largely vacant for 15 years.
Work on the latest $225 million project — planned to include an entertainment complex, hotel, retail and food hall — stalled during the COVID-19 pandemic and has yet to pick up again, and the developer has at times fallen behind on tax payments. The site is now just hulls of two structures and a few concrete posts rising from the mud.
The developer, Tom Valenti of New York’s Cameron Group, has until the end of December to complete the project under the city’s development agreement. Since meeting that deadline is not expected to happen, the next mayor will be left to help pick up the pieces. And some on the council already have voiced opposition to extending project deadlines once again.
Councilwomen Arcie Rothrock and Sollie Flora are competing for the mayor’s seat.
Rothrock, 38, was born in the Philippines but moved to Johnson County as a toddler. She works in IT, and has served on the council since 2014. She said city leadership needs to learn from the woes of the Mission Gateway project, but both candidates emphasized that the developer owns the land, making it difficult for the city to take immediate action.
“I hope and pray (the developer) finishes what he started. If for some crazy reason he does not, I am ready to do whatever is necessary to develop that land in the best interest of everyone here in Mission,” Rothrock said. She also previously told The Star that she likely would not support extending the redevelopment agreement.
Flora, 36, is an attorney who was first elected to the council in 2017. She said that there is a “major trust deficit between the developer, the city and Mission residents with respect to Gateway.”
“The property is privately owned and we can’t force the developer to sell, as many in our community have called for,” she said. “If/when the development agreement expires in two months without a completed project, my number one priority in any renegotiation will be protecting the city’s interests. If the property isn’t sold, we need to be creative and look at how to ensure performance by the developer — namely, by putting stronger teeth into any new agreement.”
Aside from Mission Gateway, Flora said she is focused on improving streets and parks, strengthening city engagement with residents, seeking redevelopment opportunities and helping small businesses thrive, as well as fostering an inclusive culture.
Rothrock said her other priorities include funding infrastructure and park improvements, as well as developing stronger partnerships with the city’s business district. She advocates for better developing the east end of the Johnson Drive corridor, and supporting small businesses through grants, incentives for shoppers, and events.
Edgerton mayor
The tiny, southwest Johnson County town of Edgerton is home to one of the most tense mayoral races this fall.
Longtime incumbent Donald Roberts, who championed the town’s booming industrial park, is challenged by newcomer Brent Carroll, who represents many residents’ concerns about the encroaching development.
Roberts, mayor of 12 years, has touted Logistics Park Kansas City as a great success for the entire region, bringing thousands of jobs and corporate giants like Amazon and Hostess to the town of 1,700. But the warehouses have been met with much opposition from surrounding neighbors, who complain about degradation of the rural land, truck traffic, noise and the property tax abatements granted to the developers.
In unincorporated areas of Miami County, residents went as far as petitioning to form their own town, to try to keep out the development, but the Miami County Commission turned down that proposal.
Carroll is employed at the Logistics Park. But he worries that it hasn’t fully delivered on its promises to the community, and that tax dollars have gone to funding infrastructure needed at the park, rather than improvements in town.
The job of mayor is a lucrative one. Though Edgerton is among the smallest Johnson County communities, the top elected official earns well above peers in much bigger cities. In 2018, the council approved raising Roberts’ salary from $1,000 per year to $90,000.
Roberts has said the job is full-time, particularly because of all that is happening at the Logistics Park. But Carroll has pledged to return the role to part time and cut the salary drastically if he’s elected.
Olathe City Council
Three Olathe City Council seats are on Tuesday’s ballot, in an election that has largely been focused on development and city taxes.
Residents this past year protested the creation of benefit districts, particularly within the Cedar Creek development off of Kansas 10 highway. The special districts impose additional taxes on property owners to fund road improvements.
The issue recently blew up, when more residents came forward, claiming they were never informed of the additional taxes before buying their homes. And they have called on the city to improve transparency. Leaders say they are taking steps to do so.
Voters citywide will elect a new council member to fill an at-large seat. Councilman Kevin Gilmore is seeking a full term at-large, after being appointed to fill a vacancy in the 3rd Ward last year. He also serves as the director of pensions and benefits for the Church of the Nazarene.
Gilmore said benefit districts can be useful because developers don’t have to pay infrastructure costs up front and sellers get better prices for their homes. But he said he would not support a district to levy taxes on existing homeowners for new road construction, like the original proposal for Cedar Creek that was withdrawn following opposition.
His opponent, Dean Vakas, does not support new benefit districts and wants the city to find other ways to pay for infrastructure. He said the city “has the flexibility to slightly lower the level of financial reserves in order to finance a variety of additional capital improvement projects. This fiscally responsible method helps enable investment in capital improvement without adding additional tax burden to residents.”
Vakas, chairman of the Olathe Planning Commission, has 30 years of military experience. He retired last year as chief operating officer of the Kansas State University Olathe Campus.
Voters in Olathe’s 3rd Ward, which sits east of Interstate 35 and south of Santa Fe Street, also will elect a new council member.
In the running is LeEtta Felter, who serves on the Olathe school board and said she’d like to serve in both positions if elected to council. Vice president of AAG Investments, she said the city suffered a great loss with the death of Mayor Michael Copeland last year, and that he inspired her to run.
Her priorities include implementing the city’s strategic plan guiding growth and development over the next 20 years, tackling the city budget and other issues with transparency, and using data to manage the city’s finances.
She faces newcomer Wayne Janner, who serves on the Olathe Planning Commission and founded a local Keller Williams Realty franchise. His priorities are maintaining lower taxes, supporting the Olathe Police Department and “seeking creative solutions for housing opportunities for everyone in Olathe.”
And in the 4th Ward, in the northeastern corner of the city, longtime Councilwoman Marge Vogt is running for reelection. Vogt was first elected in 1997 and is serving her eighth term. She works as a nurse practitioner and clinical manager, plus serves as a board member, and is past chair, of the Mid-America Regional Council representing the city.
She said she is proud of her time on the council, in which she helped pass a clean air ordinance prohibiting smoking in public places, plus pushed for a dangerous dog ordinance that did not discriminate against pit bull breeds.
Vogt said that her priorities are addressing traffic flow and congestion by improving infrastructure, such as at the 119th Street interchange with I-35. She also is focused on completion of the downtown library and continuing work to help revitalize the area, as well as addressing the need for more affordable housing.
Her opponent, Dustin Morris, is a small-business owner running for office for the first time. He believes that city leaders have prioritized developer interests over those held by residents, and believes the city needs a stricter policy for approving tax incentives. He also is focused on attracting more affordable, single-family homes, rather than large apartment complexes, as well as reinvigorating the downtown.
Other mayoral races
Merriam Mayor Ken Sissom, who was first elected in 2009, is retiring at the end of October. Fourth Ward Councilman Bob Pape and Angel Lopez are competing for his seat.
In Gardner, Mayor Steve Shute is stepping down from the role and running for City Council. Council members Randy Gregorcyk, Todd Winters and Tory Kristen Roberts are vying to replace him.
Spring Hill Mayor Steven Ellis is not seeking reelection. Councilmen Steve Owen and Tyler Graves, as well as former councilman Scott Snavely, are running for the seat.
This story was originally published October 29, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
