The Kansas City Star’s endorsement in the Overland Park mayoral race | Opinion

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Overland Park isn’t perfect, but it hardly seems broken these days. Last spring, the city ranked sixth on Livability.com’s Best Places to Live list — one in a very long list of similar recognitions in recent years — earning high marks for the local economy, education and health care. Those rankings (and the data behind them) might be part of why Overland Park continues to grow at a dizzying pace: an estimated 10,000 new residents over the last five years.

There are even rumors the Royals could move into the neighborhood.

Overland Park faces challenges, no doubt. There is a need for more affordable housing, and the city’s residents — like those of just about every Kansas community — continue to express concerns about the burden of property taxes. (The city’s rate is low compared to the rest of Johnson County, but high property valuations mean homeowners still feel the pinch.) Longtime residents aren’t always comfortable with the new development that goes along with a growing population, either.

Overall, though, the trend seems solid. Which suggests Overland Park is best served by a steady hand at the helm.

That is why we endorse Mayor Curt Skoog for reelection.

Skoog: Focused on basics

Skoog, 62, might be the steadiest of hands. He has served for two decades in Overland Park city government, arriving on the City Council in 2005, then moving up to the mayor’s office in 2021.

Notably, he won that race against an opponent who ran as an ideologically conservative Republican in an officially nonpartisan race. Voters preferred Skoog, who spent the campaign mostly talking about the boring stuff of municipal government: city services, parks and housing.

Four years later, that remains Skoog’s message.

“As our community evolves, we must ensure our roads and public services keep pace, while also expanding housing options and availability for families, workers, and especially longtime residents,” he wrote in response to a survey from The Star’s editorial board.

Skoog represents Overland Park’s status quo. His opponent, Faris Farasatti, rejects the way business is currently done at City Hall.

Farasatti: Rebelling against ‘tax giveaways’

Farasatti, a 56-year-old cancer scientist, also brings experience to the table: He served on the Overland Park City Council between 2017 and 2023, making a name for himself as a vocal critic of tax incentives that the city government has so often used to encourage development projects.

That remains his focus. In his response to The Star’s survey, Farasatti criticized “upwards of half a billion-dollar tax giveaways to developers” by the city. The biggest challenge facing Overland Park is the “impact of special interest groups,” he said, adding that local government needs to be “free from the intimidation posed by affluent developers and their lobbyists.”

Let’s call that a point in his favor: While tax incentives and big expenditures can be useful for accomplishing municipal goals, it’s always good to have a skeptic at the table.

But Farassati’s independent streak comes with a downside. He skipped a recent candidate forum hosted by The Johnson County Post — attended by Skoog — because the publication would not let him set ground rules for the event. It was a missed opportunity.

Royals: talent driver, or traffic problem?

One issue highlights candidates’ different approaches: baseball. The Kansas City Royals have reportedly eyed the former Sprint campus in Overland Park as a possible future home.

Skoog is open to the idea — and to the idea of using incentives to make it happen — though he says he wants to see the city’s “standard approval process” play out if the team attempts to make the move. The Royals are “a big talent driver,” he said at the Post forum. “We attract workers to the Kansas City region, including our kids and grandkids, because we are a major league sports town.”

Farassati isn’t interested. Overland Park “doesn’t need additional crime, traffic and stress” that research shows would accompany a Major League Baseball team, he said in the survey. “I will do my best to respond to the voice of people in this matter.”

History suggests Overland Park voters like stability in their city government.

Skoog’s four years as mayor so far amount to a relatively short stint by Overland Park standards: His predecessor, Carl Gerlach, was in office for 16 years. His predecessor, Ed Eilert, served as mayor for 24 years.

It seems to have worked out OK. Skoog is the best candidate to build on that tradition.

This story was originally published October 15, 2025 at 5:08 AM.