Meet the candidates running for Overland Park mayor and seats on City Council
Overland Park residents can expect at least three new faces on the City Council as three incumbents step down, with one newcomer having an uncontested spot in the Nov. 4 election.
The Overland Park City Council is made up of the mayor and 12 members, with two members representing six wards. Seats are elected from each of the city’s wards and serve staggered, four-year terms.
In recent months, residents from Johnson County’s largest city have seen a historic state deal with tech company Fiserv, mega engineering firm Black & Veatch’s promise to expand its headquarters, and speculations about a possible Royals stadium coming to the former Sprint campus.
Some of these new projects have sparked some continued transparency concerns from new candidates around the city’s decisions, and questions circulate around how Overland Park will create housing options as its population continues to grow.
All of the races are considered nonpartisan, but the Johnson County Democrats and Johnson County Republicans are each publicly supporting certain candidates.
The Johnson County Democrats have listed Mayor Curt Skoog as he runs for reelection after his first term serving as mayor, following about 16 years as a City Council representative.
In addition, the Democrats recommend Ward 1 incumbent Logan Heley, Ward 2 incumbent Melissa Cheatham, both Tom Carignan and Amy Scrivner in Ward 3, Amy Antrim in Ward 4, and Alexandria Washington in Ward 5.
The Johnson County Republicans are recommending Faris Farassati for the mayor’s race, Sydney Marsden in Ward 2, Scott Mosher in Ward 4, Andrew Payne in Ward 5, and Josh Beck in Ward 6.
Johnson County’s website lists all candidates running for election this year, and voters can see sample ballots on the Kansas Secretary of State’s website. The Star’s Editorial Board recently shared its endorsements for these races. Find more coverage of Johnson County politics on KansasCity.com, or sign up for a free newsletter with news for the county.
Mayor’s race
Curt Skoog
Curt Skoog was first elected to the City Council in 2005, representing Ward 2. He served in that role for about 16 years until his predecessor, Carl Gerlach, stepped down. As mayor, Skoog has supported the city’s growth and helped bring FrameworkOP — a community-driven, comprehensive plan for growth to 2045 — to fruition after two years of effort.
If reelected, he says he wants to continue planning for future generations to be able to afford to live in Overland Park and maintain a high quality of life — with an emphasis on supporting public safety and maintaining infrastructure. He’d like to move Framework OP forward, with an emphasis on addressing the city’s housing shortage, developing more transit options and focusing on city investment that can redevelop existing structures and bring in high-paying jobs.
Faris Farassati
Faris Farassati is coming back to local ballots this year after losing his seat in Ward 5 to Inas Younis in 2023. He was first appointed to serve on the City Council in 2017 and elected to serve in 2019.
Farassati works as a cancer scientist and virologist at the Kansas City Affairs Medical Center, according to his website. He received his PhD from the University of Calgary School of Medicine and completed his post-doctoral fellowship at the Harvard Medical School and Mayo Clinic.
His priorities in this campaign include reducing property taxes and the mill levy rate, opposing incentives for large apartment complexes and companies, and supporting public safety and local businesses. While it’s unclear if the Royals will pursue building a new stadium in Overland Park at this time, Farassati says he would oppose any stadium development within city limits.
Ward 1
Logan Heley
Running uncontested to reclaim his seat in Ward 1, Logan Heley is running to help expand housing options for residents in Overland Park, protect the city’s green spaces and promote an accessible and equitable transportation system, according to his website.
He has lived in Overland Park for more than 30 years, and four generations of his family have called Overland Park their home. He was first elected on the City Council in 2018 and served as its president last year. Outside of his civic work, Heley is the executive director of the Heartland Conservation Alliance, a nonprofit organization that works to restore the Blue River Watershed and its urban greenspaces — which includes Overland Park.
He wants to run for reelection to continue the work he’s done at the city level — including extending the property tax rebate program to help lower housing costs, increasing housing options within the city, help make sidewalk and street repairs and continue park preservation and sustainability efforts.
Ward 2
Melissa Cheatham
Melissa Cheatham is running for reelection after winning her first term in 2021. The incumbent first got into local politics as a regular at City Council meetings who pushed for environmental reforms across the KC metro.
Prior to her time on City Council, she lived in Washington, D.C., where she attended George Washington University and worked at a national environmental advocacy group.
This time around, she wants to emphasize strong public infrastructure, public safety supports and continued sustainability improvements. Specifically, Cheatham says she wants to make it easier to build diverse forms of housing and for local businesses to thrive, and to expand the property tax rebate pilot to cover more residents and give some relief to homeowners.
On the public safety side, she wants to establish a disclosure policy for body camera footage and ensure that the police department is fully staffed with adequate salaries.
Sydney Marsden
Newcomer Sydney Marsden came into the race after the City Council approved a 300-unit apartment complex in her district, with her representative breaking the split vote to move the complex forward, she told The Star in a recent interview.
The Overland Park resident currently commutes to the Missouri side, where she works as a paramedic and dispatcher and previously worked as a firefighter. She received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Columbia College of Missouri. She spent part of her childhood in Overland Park before moving to Columbia, Missouri, but she said that she always felt like Overland Park was home.
Marsden’s campaign emphasizes government transparency with new economic developments moving into town and supports developing housing options for constituents. According to her website, she also wants to see lower property taxes, prioritization of first responders and promoting health and wellness for the city.
Ward 3
Amy Scrivner
BikeWalkKC Development and Communications Director Amy Scrivner decided to run for City Council after seeing her dad struggle to age in place, she said.
BikeWalkKC is a nonprofit organization that advocates for transportation and mobility infrastructure that makes it easier for residents to get around the metro without cars. Before joining this organization, Scrivener helped raise millions for historic preservation, social services, health care, workforce development, and veterans and people with disabilities, according to her website.
If elected, she wants to see more housing options for seniors who are looking to downsize their home without stepping into assisted living — a gap she saw when looking for smaller homes for her dad, she said. Additionally, she wants to see other transportation options to make it easier for seniors to practice independence without needing a car to get around town.
With the emphasis on more housing options, she wants to see more homes with smaller footprints to create more attainable housing options for first-time homebuyers or residents looking to downsize.
Tom Carignan
Tom Carignan is coming back to local politics to run for City Council again after losing his seat to Richard Borlaza in 2023. He was previously elected in 2019, when he served on the city’s Finance Administration and Economic Development Committee and Public Safety Committee.
This time around, he wants to focus on investing in the city’s infrastructure and first responders, enhancing the city’s parks and recreation facilities, and addressing the need for more housing options in the city — as guided by Framework OP — the city’s plan for growth through 2045.
In the community, Carignan serves as a board member of United Way of Greater Kansas City and the Kansas Leadership Center. He’s also served as a commissioner of the Kansas Hispanic Latino American Affairs Commission, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Kansas City and the Health Forward Foundation.
He was born and raised in Hutchinson, Kansas, before pursuing a degree at the University of Kansas in 1997. He and his wife, Lizbeth, purchased their home in Overland Park in 2007, where they now live with their two children.
Ward 4
Amy Antrim
Newcomer Amy Antrim started out her career as a case worker serving adults with severe and persistent mental illness in Emporia shortly after graduating from Kansas State University.
When she moved to Overland Park with her husband, she began working in the construction industry, which showed her how the community is shaped and how developments impact families, according to her website. Now working in real estate, Antrim has seen how the fluctuating housing market has impacted first-time homebuyers and wants to focus on creating housing options that future generations will be able to afford.
In addition to housing, Antrim wants to see resources geared toward continued mental health training for the city’s first responders, maintenance of the current infrastructure and trail system as the city grows, and pledges to keep her residents in Ward 4 informed about projects or community interests.
Scott Mosher
Scott Mosher is running for reelection after first being elected in 2021 with the promise of the City Council backing law enforcement. His son, Mike Mosher, encouraged him to run to help advocate for higher wages and improved benefits to first responders a month before he was killed in the line of duty, Scott Mosher said.
Mosher moved to Overland Park around 2011 to be closer to his son’s family. He worked in the McDonald’s Corporation and other executive roles in the restaurant industry.
Along with continued support to first responders, Mosher wants to see the city develop more housing options aside from the large apartment complexes he said he’s seen develop during his time in office. He said he also supports exploring tax breaks for residents as those who are on fixed incomes to help them stay in their homes.
On the economic side, he said he wants the city to be more thoughtful about where they provide tax breaks to large businesses — supporting those who would remodel existing buildings as opposed to building new ones — and see continued support toward the city’s infrastructure, with an emphasis on road improvement.
Ward 5
Alexandria Washington
Ward 5 welcomes two new faces to the race, including Alexandria Washington. She has lived in Overland Park for more than 20 years and currently works at a financial firm after working in the nonprofit sector for most of her career. She attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School and later obtained a master’s degree in organization development from Avila University in 2013 and another master’s in financial planning from Kansas State University in 2023.
If elected, she wants to provide more transparency to the city’s decisions and planning efforts for the future. She wants to see the city ensure support for public safety as the community continues to grow and provide a wider variety of housing than apartment complexes. Economically, she wants to focus on redevelopment and ensure that the city continues to invest in existing buildings and infrastructure to keep up with the city’s growth. When it comes to tax incentives, Washington said she wants to see the businesses the city selects for tax breaks provide improvements to neighborhoods.
Andrew Payne
Andrew Payne joined the race because he wanted to serve his community and be a part of the changes being made at a local level.
He has lived in Overland Park for 12 years and graduated from the University of Kansas to later earn a law degree from Washburn University School of Law. He now works as vice president and general counsel for an Overland-Park based financial services firm. In his freetime, he served as vice president of the Hampton Place Homeowners Association and contributed to FrameworkOP’s land use advisory committee.
Payne’s priorities include fully supporting the city’s first responders, ensuring that roads, utilities and public spaces are built to last, avoiding unnecessary tax increases, bringing in economic opportunities that provide high-paying jobs, and developing housing options that meet a variety of needs.
Ward 6
Josh Beck
Josh Beck is the one newcomer guaranteed a spot on the dais next year as he runs unopposed for the open Ward 6 seat. He’s coming in with an emphasis on public safety, investing in infrastructure planning, and bringing in quality jobs for residents.
He lives on five acres in Ward 6 and works as a managing partner of MarkNelson, an accounting and advisory firm in Kansas City. He previously launched and led his own small business after serving in executive roles for nonprofit organizations, according to his website.
If elected, he wants to focus on ensuring the public safety teams are fully staffed, maintaining the city’s infrastructure to last into the future and redeveloping old districts in the city for new business opportunities.
