Property taxes are top of mind in long-overlooked KCK district. What candidates say
Two Kansas Republicans will compete in an Aug. 4 primary election that’ll determine who has a shot at representing a key, historical state district located in Wyandotte County.
Those two candidates, Alex Sanchez and Lisa Walker-Yeager want to represent District 35 in the Kansas House of Representatives.
That district — encompassing Wyandotte County’s historic Northeast neighborhood, the Quindaro Ruins and Townsite, parts of midtown KCK and some important industrial sites — is one that many residents have said is long-overlooked and in need of new resources.
And, it’s a place of growing opportunity, with numerous housing developments sponsored by locally grown developers trying to bring real, affordable housing back to the city’s urban core.
Whoever wins in the race between Sanchez and Walker-Yeager will have to face incumbent Democrat Wanda Brownlee-Paige in the November general election that will determine who will have that seat in Topeka come next year.
The person who represents District 35 will ultimately be tasked with standing up for an area that is trying to cement its historical ties to the abolitionist movement by achieving landmark status. It’s home to an industrial corridor, a coal plant and is eyed for additional industrial projects. And it is acutely aware of the effects that rising home values have had on low-income residents’ property tax bills.
Both Republicans running for this seat identified the ongoing need for property tax relief and increased accountability and governmental transparency as priorities in their campaigns.
Alex Sanchez
Sanchez, who also serves as a member of the board governing Kansas City, Kansas Community College, is centering his campaign on eliminating residents’ excessive property tax burdens and ensuring government officials are more transparent.
His campaign is also advocating for financial responsibility in spending taxpayer dollars, and for listening to residents’ concerns through community engagement.
Sanchez is also interested in improving his district’s educational outcomes, according to his website.
Lisa Walker-Yeager
Lisa Walker-Yeager is running a campaign focused on abolishing or significantly reducing the property tax burden that residents, particularly senior citizens, have at a time when most goods and services are more expensive. Part of reducing people’s financial burdens would also include increasing the state minimum wage to $15, according to her campaign social media page.
She’s also concerned about preserving and uplifting historic neighborhoods. She wants to advocate for state tax credits and grant funding that would help homeowners and businesses restore and maintain their properties.
Walker-Yeager also wants to enforce strict community benefits agreements for any major developer that wants to build in Wyandotte County. That would include legally-binding requirements outlining hiring, wages, safety protocols and environmental protections that would benefit residents locally.
Her other goals include expanding affordable housing and access to a grocery store within the district, enforcing stronger oversight over local prosecutors offices and how they monitor violent offenders.
Walker-Yeager is also facing charges for shooting her contractor in 2024. That case is pending in the Wyandotte County District Court.
During a July 15 hearing, a Judge Michael Russell denied Walker-Yeager’s motions to dismiss the case against her or to grant her another hearing to determine whether she qualifies for self-defense immunity. Walker-Yeager’s counsel filed those motions after alleging that the state intentionally withheld evidence in the case and are violating Walker-Yeager’s constitutional rights to a fair trial.
Russell denied those motions nonetheless.
She maintains she fired out of self-defense and to protect her daughter, something she believes people have the right to do through their Second Amendment right.
Wanda Brownlee-Paige
Wanda Brownlee Paige currently represents District 35 as a Democrat and has held her seat since 2024.
She will not compete in the August primary election, but will face whoever wins that race in the general election.
Brownlee Paige retired from Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools after serving the district as a social studies teacher for 30 years. She now serves on the district’s governing board.
During her time in the statehouse, she advocated for legislation expanding eligibility for homestead property tax refund claims; a sales tax exemption for hygiene products and diapers; increasing eligibility for earned income tax credits; and paid family leave, among others.
Brownlee Paige, who has lived in KCK for 61 years, is a member of the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc., Heart of America Sisterhood, Inc. and Tabernacle Baptist Church.
