Meet the 12 candidates running for Prairie Village City Council
After a contentious election season last year, Prairie Village voters will decide both on city council candidates and whether to abandon a mayor-council form of government this November.
Council members faced resident uproar in recent years over issues surrounding zoning, affordable housing and the city’s attempts to build a community center.
Debates in the city council chambers led to strong opposition of city initiatives, petitions proposing to change the city’s form of government and nine recall attempts on the mayor. A group known as PV United formed in opposition to proposed city changes.
Community petitions resulted in an issue which will appear on the Nov. 4 ballot, asking voters, “Shall the City of Prairie Village, Kansas abandon the mayor-council form of government?”
The Star’s editorial board made an endorsement on the Prairie Village form of government ballot question. The Opinion staff is independent and editorially separate from The Star’s newsroom.
City Council Candidates
There are six seats on the Prairie Village City Council up for election this year. Each seat has two candidates in the running. One candidate in each ward is backed by PV United.
City councilors are elected to four-year terms with elections staggered every two years.
Only two incumbents are on the ballot for Prairie Village City Council. Four others, who could have run to stay on the council, decided not to run again.
Council Member Ward 1
Cole Robinson (incumbent)
Cole Robinson is the incumbent candidate for Ward 1. He was elected to the city council in 2021.
Robinson has served on the parks and recreation and finance committees during his term.
He graduated from Shawnee Mission East High School and has a degree in business administration from the University of Kansas. Robinson is self-employed in the area of finance, according to his campaign website.
Robinson played professional poker in several different countries before transitioning into trading in financial markets. He moved back to America in 2016, and lives with his wife and four children in Prairie Village.
Daniel Garrett
Daniel Garrett is an attorney whose work focuses on estate planing, probate and real estate law. He worked in higher education leadership for a decade before starting his own bar exam preparation company.
He holds a law degree from Loyola Law School and a master’s degree in taxation law from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
On his campaign website, Garrett said he is running for city council on a platform of accountability in government spending, among other issues.
Garrett is originally from the Kansas City area and lives with his wife and two children in Prairie Village.
Council Member Ward 2
Edward Boersma
Edward Boersma is the owner of Boersma Enterprises, where he works in business development and investment identification. He previously worked in commercial real estate financing and managed customer relationships with real estate companies, according to his campaign website.
Boersma has a degree in mechanical engineering and worked in the oil and gas industry after college.
He is from Marshall, Texas, and lived in Oklahoma before moving to Prairie Village in 2019 after starting Boersma Enterprises.
Boersma said on his website that he decided to run for city council after seeing “poor city government management by the governing body over the past years.”
Ronald Nelson (incumbent)
Ronald Nelson is the incumbent candidate for Ward 2. He was first elected to the city council in 2017.
Nelson has served on the diversity and finance committees during his term.
He is an attorney and owns his own law firm that focuses on high conflict family law disputes, according to his campaign website.
Before being elected to the city council, Nelson served as president of the Kansas Bar Association’s Family Law Section and was on the board of directors of the Johnson County Library, among other volunteer roles.
According to his campaign website, Nelson is running with the goals of public safety improvements, protecting the “look and feel” and affordability of Prairie Village, among other issues.
Council Member Ward 3
Amy B. Aldrich
Amy B. Aldrich is a sales engineer at a financial technology company. She has spent 19 years in the industry as a sales engineer, according to her campaign website.
Aldrich is also the co-owner of a local senior care company. She holds a degree in finance and banking from the University of Missouri.
She is a current member of the St. Elizabeth School Board and is a member of the school’s advisory council.
Aldrich said on her campaign website that she is running for city council with the goals of fostering thoughtful spending of taxpayer dollars.
Shelby Bartelt
Shelby Bartelt is a loan officer for a mortgage lender in Overland Park. Bartelt has more than 10 years of experience in the hospitality and financial services industry, according to her LinkedIn.
She has a degree in hospitality management and moved to the Kansas City area in 2017. She lives with her family of five in Prairie Village.
According to her campaign website, Bartelt is a 2025 Moms Demand Action gun sense candidate.
Bartelt said on her website that she is running for city council to bring the perspective of someone raising a family in Prairie Village, among other issues.
Council Member Ward 4
Kelly Sullivan Angles
Kelly Sullivan Angles works as a legal advisor to businesses and holds a law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, according to her LinkedIn.
Angles serves as a board member of the Plaza District Council and is a member of the Women’s Public Service Network, which advocates for women in leadership.
She is the co-founder of Leadership in Focus Together KC (LIFT KC), an organization that provides KC-area networking opportunities and discussion on civic interests.
Angles said she is running for city council on a platform of transparency and responsible spending, among other issues.
Nathan Vallette
Nathan Vallette has spent the last 10 years working in specialized real estate finance, according to his campaign website.
Vallette is a founding partner of 503 Capital Partners, where he is responsible for investment opportunities within the K-12 education sector, according to the company website.
He lives with his wife and three children in Prairie Village.
Vallette is running for city council on a platform of transparency and investments in infrastructure, among other issues, his website says.
Council Member Ward 5
Betsy Lawrence
Betsy Lawrence is an adjuct professor at the University of Kansas School of Law. According to her campaign website, she has worked as a business executive, lawyer, mediator and educator.
She worked as a lawyer for Boeing and Honeywell and was a regional trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Labor Office of the Solicitor, according to her LinkedIn page.
Lawrence has lived in Prairie Village for more than 10 years.
Lawrence is running for city council on a platform of community safety and responsible spending of taxpayer dollars, among other issues, according to her website.
John Beeder
John Beeder is a managing partner of an investment firm in Johnson County. He spent 35 years as an executive in the greeting card business, working both for Hallmark and American Greetings before retiring, according to his LinkedIn page.
Beeder now works with up-and-coming businesses “helping them grow and create good jobs,” according to his campaign website.
Beeder and his wife have lived in Prairie Village for more than 30 years.
Issues important to Beeder include government spending and single family housing.
Council Member Ward 6
Dan Prussing
Dan Prussing has worked for almost 30 years as a consultant, recruiter and client manager specializing in engineering and manufacturing, according to his campaign website.
Prussing is a senior consultant and client manager at a Kansas City area recruitment firm for engineers, according to his LinkedIn.
Early in his career, he also worked for the Small Business Administration.
Issues important to Prussing include city spending, community safety and an apolitical city council.
Jim Sellers
Jim Sellers has worked in marketing and management throughout his career.
He has experience in marketing for retail, business services, financial services, healthcare, food and beverage, transportation and consulting, according to his LinkedIn page.
Sellers holds a master’s degree in marketing from Northwestern University.
Issues important to Sellers include public safety, fiscal responsibility, and environmental stewardship, according to his campaign website.
Previous reporting by The Star’s Taylor O’Connor contributed.
