How Shawnee’s next leaders could handle more people, old pipes that can’t keep up

With neighborhoods steadily growing and more people using city services, Shawnee City Council candidates will have to find a balance between preparing for the future and caring for aging infrastructure.

In particular, the city’s stormwater system is failing as pipes have eroded and caused sinkholes to pop up in some parts of the city.

The Shawnee City Council has talked about stormwater system improvement and pipe replacement projects at least once a month since January, with the 2025 annual pipe repair plans totalling $3.6 million.

“I think that maintenance and maintaining the things we have in the city is extremely important,” said Steele Reynolds, one of the candidates running in this year’s election.

Alongside infrastructure improvements, addressing the need for more housing options and lowering property taxes are among the top issues for candidates running in the Nov. 4 general election.

Shawnee is divided into four wards, with two city council members elected to represent each ward and a mayor who represents the city at-large in four-year terms. This year, all four wards will have contested races, with two candidates running per ward.

While it’s considered a nonpartisan race, the Johnson County Democrats and the Johnson County Republicans are supporting candidates in each race.

Reynolds, a chief operating officer of a local logistics company, is stepping up to bat in the Ward 1 race against incumbent Tony Gillette, who served as chairman of the Northwest Johnson County Republicans before sitting on council.

The other incumbent returning this year is Ward 2’s Mike Kemmling — who has been on the council since 2013. He will have a rematch race with sales manager Eric Persson, who first ran against Kemmling in 2021.

Wards 3 and 4 will have new faces as Angela Stiens and Jacklynn Walters step down from their seats.

Ward 3 voters will decide between Dave Myers, a former chairman of the Johnson County Republicans and board member of the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission, versus Morgan Rainey, a biologist and Shawnee native whose family members have served in several Shawnee leadership roles.

In Ward 4, Erin Aldridge, a senior project manager at a local construction company will face off against Laurel Stiffler, who is president of the Kansas Federation of Republican Women.

Gillette and Myers declined an interview with The Star. Stiffler and Kemmling could not be reached before publication.

The candidates who spoke with The Star want to find ways to expand the city’s sales tax base to lower the burden on residents and keep the city financially secure to help tackle infrastructure issues.

East side infrastructure improvements

With Interstate 435 as the dividing point, Shawnee’s east side is made up of older, more established neighborhoods and is home to downtown Shawnee.

“In my experience out talking to people on the east side of Shawnee, people can feel they have been overlooked,” Ward 1 candidate Reynolds said.

Beyond pipe replacements, some residents on the east side have been waiting for the city to add sidewalks and underground gutters as many communities still have a ditch gutter system to manage the water, which can be problematic for nearby homes due to flooding risk.

“There are people who live incredibly close to our awesome parks but don’t feel safe walking there because they don’t have gutters or sidewalks,” Reynolds said. “Making sure we are investing in and maintaining the infrastructure we already have and caring for the communities that already exist is an absolute must.”

Part of that equation includes ensuring the city has a healthy reserve fund available to help tackle these projects, in particular for any emergency repairs that may come up, he said.

Currently, the city’s 2025 budget projects about $74 million in general revenues and $79 million in general fund expenditures — leaving the city to operate with a $5 million deficit, according to Johnson County Post reporting.

His opponent, Gillette, shared on his website that he wants to focus on basic city services, like stormwater pipe replacement, curbs, gutters and sidewalks. Gillette has voted to cut the property tax mill levy three times, but Reynolds said he isn’t sure tax cuts are the way to ensure the city can tackle stormwater repairs.

“We need long-term thinking to manage finances,” Reynolds said.

Tax burdens

Like Ward 1, Ward 2 also sits on Shawnee’s east side, and residents are facing similar mobility and infrastructure challenges, Ward 2 candidate Eric Persson said.

“We are the oldest part of Shawnee, you see ditches as opposed to sidewalks or curbs. If the ditch overflows, it can flood (a resident’s) basement,” Persson said. “We need to work on sustainability and long-term solutions, not just quick fixes.”

In order to get sidewalks, pathways, and new stormwater systems, it will take balancing the budget, not necessarily property tax cuts, Persson said. However, he’d like the city to explore other ways to lessen the burden of property taxes — like emphasizing its property tax rebate program.

The program can help provide tax assistance to low income residents, according to the city website. The goal is to help make it more affordable for residents to stay in their homes. It’s for a 100% rebate up to $500 of the city’s property tax, excluding any special assessments.

“It’s been underutilized, the bulk of the money has been untouched,” Persson said.

Broadening and diversifying the city’s sales tax could also help alleviate some of the pressures, Ward 3 candidate Morgan Rainey said.

“Taxes are the number one issue when I’m knocking door-to-door, the best way to accomplish that is a diversified tax base,” she said.

She’d like to see more economic opportunities come out west, like the Midland Entertainment District, she said.

“I think our downtown is looking amazing, we’ve done a lot of innovation there, but there’s a lot of opportunity out west,” Rainey said.

When speaking with residents, Rainey said that many residents want to see more sit-down restaurants, and activities or spaces geared toward seniors and children set up closer to home.

“I would almost like to see a mini downtown created out west. So many residents love what they are doing downtown, but I think locally we should create (one) out west too,” she said.

Density concerns

But part of that equation might include higher density developments, a path that concerns many residents on the west side, Rainey said.

“I would be a fan of gentle density solutions,” Rainey said, adding that she’d like to see mixed-use developments that could offer smaller housing units near restaurants and retail out west.

Erin Aldridge, who’s running for Ward 4, wants to see development beyond single-family homes to support the city’s tax base, like adding more businesses to the Midland Entertainment District to support the five hotels in that vicinity. She said she’d also like to bring residents more housing options.

Stiffler, Aldridge’s opponent, could not be reached for comment, but her website says that instead of focusing on “building as many housing units as possible, including apartments” she wants to preserve the parks and green spaces out west for people to enjoy.

“I want to support local businesses and I want to see developments,” Aldridge said. “I’ve seen mailers that I want to change 300 acres to high-density apartments, and that’s not true.”

Recently, Dave Myers, who’s running against Rainey in Ward 3, sent out mailers, which were obtained by The Star, and claimed that Aldridge, Reynolds, Persson and Rainey want to build apartments all over western Shawnee.

The flyer, which was paid for by the Kansas Republican Party, said that Myers supports protecting green space, preserving “suburban charm,” and pushing for lower property taxes.

Aldridge said that any development needs to be intentional, match current neighborhoods and ensure that the city has the infrastructure to support it.

“I care about the direction Shawnee is headed, and I want to make sure that Shawnee is a great place for our kids, not just today but for the future,” Aldridge said.

Editor’s note: The Star updated the story to clarify which candidates are running in Ward 3 and Ward 4 at the end of the story.

This story was originally published October 29, 2025 at 5:57 AM.