Independence voters opt for political newcomer Kevin King as city’s next mayor
Harry Truman’s hometown is under new leadership.
Independence residents voted to elect Kevin King as the city’s next mayor.
King secured about 60% of the vote in Tuesday’s election, according to unofficial results from the Jackson County Election Board, beating out Bridget McCandless by 7,779 to 5,081 votes. Across Jackson County, 18.3% of registered voters cast a ballot in Tuesday’s election.
King will take office later this month for a four-year term after election results are certified. He will succeed Rory Rowland, a former Missouri state representative who has been the mayor of Independence since 2022.
“I’m overwhelmed and very humbled and very appreciative that the voters had such faith and faith in me moving this city forward,” King told The Star Tuesday night. “I’m going to work hard, I’m going to listen to them and I’m going to work with them.”
McCandless was not available for comment Tuesday night. She told The Star Wednesday that she was proud of what she was able to do with her time as an elected official in Independence.
“It’s been my absolute privilege to serve the city of Independence,” McCandless said Wednesday. “I feel like I served it with honor and moved this city forward a little bit. That is all anybody can ask for in public service.”
King, a union roofer and former union official and political organizer, has not held an elected public office before. The lifelong Independence resident beat out three former councilmembers – two in the primary election, along with McCandless – and sees his lack of political history as an asset, hoping to bring what he calls “common-sense” leadership to Independence.
King’s plans center around keeping close contact with constituents, revitalizing downtown and residential areas and advancing historic preservation and tourism efforts.
King ran a labor-focused campaign, garnering multiple endorsements from local unions, and plans to prioritize local employment and workplace protections while in office. He’s also pitched a law-and-order approach to minimizing crime in residential areas.)
King will become mayor at a time when Independence is set to come under a lot of new leadership, with new faces in several of the city’s top roles. Two seats on the City Council also turned over in Tuesday’s election, and Independence recently announced the hire of a new city manager and an interim police chief. Both of the city’s school districts will also have new superintendents starting next school year.
King will also be responsible for enforcing the city’s contracts with Nebius, a Dutch artificial intelligence services company set to break ground later this year on a $150 billion AI data center in eastern Independence.
King came out in support of the data center after the City Council approved a $6 billion series of tax breaks for the project. He has said that he is in favor of the project and its impact on the city’s financial future, but that he feels city leaders could have gotten a better deal from Nebius.
Throughout his campaign, he acknowledged the potential financial advantage of welcoming the data center while criticizing a perceived lack of transparency and communication around the details of Nebius’ arrival in Independence.
Along with City Council candidate Jackie Dorman, King signed a petition that residents circulated last month in an attempt to trigger a referendum and public vote on the tax breaks. The petition effort has since been shut down by a Jackson County judge.
This story was originally published April 7, 2026 at 9:06 PM.
