Half of the Blue Springs City Council is on the April 7 ballot. See who’s running
Half of the Blue Springs City Council is on the April 7 ballot.
Five candidates are competing for three different positions on the six-member council. The District 1 and District 2 seats are contested, while Nick Brummel is running unopposed for the District 3 seat.
Early voting, also called “no excuse” absentee voting, began Tuesday, March 24 and will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on weekends.
Independence residents can vote early at the election board’s Independence office, 110 N Liberty St, or at Woods Chapel Community of Christ in Lee’s Summit, 500 NE Woods Chapel Rd.
Additional information is available at jcebmo.org.
District 1
Jesse Grimm
Incumbent? No
Campaign website: electjessegrimm.com
Jesse Grimm is a retired Air Force mechanic who spent 24 years on active duty, ultimately achieving the rank of Master Sergeant. Grimm was raised in the Seattle area but retired to Blue Springs following his Air Force career. His two children are graduates of Blue Springs High School.
City Council would be Grimm’s first formal political office. Grimm filed to run as an independent, according to Missouri campaign finance records.
According to his campaign website, some of Grimm’s biggest priorities are affordability, hearing from and communicating with constituents, and prioritizing progressive taxes like income taxes over regressive forms of taxation like sales taxes in order to “shift the burden away from households with low and fixed incomes like seniors, young adults, and working families.”
Jerry Kaylor
Incumbent? Yes
Campaign website: N/A
Jerry Kaylor is running for his fourth term as the District 1 representative on Blue Springs City Council. Kaylor, who is also Blue Springs’ current mayor pro tempore, was first elected in April 2017 and re-elected in 2020 and 2023.
Kaylor ran for Blue Springs mayor in 2024 but lost, coming in third place after Galen Ericson and current mayor Chris Lievsay.
Before stepping into city politics, Kaylor spent 38 years as a journeyman electrician. The father and grandfather was also previously a reserve sergeant with the Blue Springs Police Department, which awarded him Volunteer of the Year in 2013 and 2016.
Kaylor has also served multiple terms on the Public Safety Citizens Advisory Board and has volunteered as a fundraiser and auctioneer for multiple community organizations, including the Blue Springs PTA, Blue Springs National Night Out Against Crime and the Blue Springs chapter of D.A.R.E.
Kaylor’s campaign slogan is “Proven Leadership, Experience, Integrity - Make The Right Choice.”
District 2
Byron Craddolph
Incumbent? No
Campaign website: craddolphforcitycouncil.com
Byron Craddolph has been on the Blue Springs Planning Commission since 2019, where he served as chair until 2022. He chaired the city’s Solid Waste Commission from 2009 to 2018 and has also been on the city’s Community Development Block Grant Committee.
Craddolph has run unsuccessfully for a District 2 City Council seat three times before. He lost to Kent Edmonson in 2020 and 2023, and to Katie Tholen in 2025. During his most recent campaign, Craddolph was endorsed by the Labor Beacon, a regional pro-union newspaper.
Craddolph was appointed to the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority Board of Commissioners in 2023 by previous County Executive Frank White Jr.
Interim County Executive Phil LeVota replaced Craddolph with current Commissioner Chris Whiting in January 2026.
A former Jackson County park ranger, Craddolph worked as an assembler at Ford Motor Company for more than three decades. Craddolph is running as a nonpartisan candidate, according to state campaign finance records.
Craddolph’s campaign priorities include fixing blighted property around Blue Springs and rebuilding commercial areas in order to revitalize the city’s downtown infrastructure. He believes that construction projects to fix or maintain existing structures should be prioritized over new builds.
“Blue Springs is growing — and growth brings opportunity,” Craddolph wrote on social media in February. “The question isn’t whether we grow. It’s how we grow.”
Craddolph has said that he feels communication between the current Blue Springs City Council and residents regarding city ordinances and policies has sometimes been incomplete or poorly timed. If elected, he wants to ensure that future developments approved by the council do not have a negative impact on existing traffic patterns, and that school officials have a chance to weigh in before key votes on new construction projects.
Craddolph’s other campaign priorities include funding parks and recreation spaces and supporting police and first responders with city resources.
Brian Markworth
Incumbent? No
Campaign website: brianmarkworth.com
Brian Markworth is currently the vice-chair of the Blue Springs Park Commission.
Markworth has worked in construction since the early 2000s, most recently at McCownGordon Construction in Kansas City, where he became a senior quality specialist in February 2025. He is a Blue Springs School District parent and a member of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America.
Markworth recently completed the Blue Springs LEADership Program, a cohort-style community engagement curriculum developed by the Blue Springs Chamber of Commerce. He also volunteers with the Blue Springs Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association.
Markworth filed as a nonpartisan candidate, according to state campaign finance records.
Markworth is running on a four-part platform focusing on infrastructure maintenance, business growth, neighborhood safety and parks improvement. He hopes to turn Blue Springs into “the regional standard for a vibrant downtown,” according to his campaign website.
Markworth is specifically focused on funding improvements to the Woods Chapel Corridor at the intersection of Wood Chapel Road and U.S. Hwy 40. Blue Springs voters have approved several bond proposals for upgrades to the business corridor, most recently as part of a $40 million bond passed in 2024.
Another of Markworth’s goals has to do with making homeownership more attainable for young families in Blue Springs, thereby incentivizing a higher rate of Blue Springs School District graduates to stay in the area in adulthood. Markworth plans to support development projects that create “a range of housing options”, as well as those that could attract both local and out-of-state businesses to Blue Springs. He plans to advocate for more frequent usage of local labor in construction contracts citywide.
Like some of his fellow candidates, Markworth prioritizes supporting Blue Springs law enforcement officers, which he says will require additional investment in both technology and mental health resources for the department. He also wants to continue the current City Council’s progress on Blue Springs’ parks master plan, including establishing additional sports fields and bike paths along city greenspace.
Markworth’s campaign slogan is “Together We Build Blue Springs.”
District 3
Nick Brummel
Incumbent? Yes
Campaign website: https://www.facebook.com/nick.brummel/
Nick Brummel currently represents District 3 on the City Council and is running unopposed for his same seat. However, this will be the first time Brummel’s name is appearing on voters’ ballots. That’s because the mayor appointed him to his seat in early 2025 after a longtime councilmember, Missouri Republican Rep. Ron Fowler, was elected to the statehouse.
Before his time in office, Brummel started and ran a local landscaping business for nearly 20 years, until he sold it in July to a national, private equity-backed company. In a recent social media post, Brummel said the acquisition came after he “was forced to take a hard look at my priorities and where my time and energy truly needed to go.”
In the same post, Brummel announced his decision to officially run for his seat, “After reflecting on what I’ve been involved in, where Blue Springs is today, and what’s ahead, I made the decision to run. I believe I have the time, energy, and commitment to continue the work that’s been started, and I’m excited to keep serving the residents of the 3rd District.”
Prior to joining the City Council, Brummel chaired Blue Springs’ Parks and Recreation Commission and served on its Charter Commission. He also serves on the board of directors for the Apartment Association of Kansas City, which represents apartment owners, managers and developers, and the National Association of Landscape Professionals.
He raised discussion in the Council about possible regulations that would allow residents to keep backyard hens in Blue Springs.