DaRon McGee wants to become Jackson County executive | Opinion
The cat is out of the bag: Jackson County Legislature Chairman DaRon McGee wants to replace Frank White as the next Jackson County executive.
McGee confirmed his political ambitions with The Kansas City Star Editorial Board after he announced former Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes would fill the position on a temporary basis.
On Tuesday, Jackson County voters recalled White in a special election by an 85%-15% margin.
“I would like to run for the full position if I’m selected by my colleagues,” McGee said. “But ultimately that’s first up to my colleagues to select me and then it’s up to the voters to retain me and so that would be my desire.”
McGee told us the four-day application process for the permanent interim ends Monday, and over the next several days, we will learn more about other potential candidates. But as the body’s current chair, McGee certainly has a leg up on the competition.
As he alluded to in the conversation with our board, he must first gain the support of his colleagues to be named permanent interim.
With that, there are no guarantees that McGee will be appointed to the position. But I cannot imagine someone who is not currently in county government having a better understanding of how the Legislature operates, so he does have an upper hand.
During our meeting with him, McGee said he would first apply for the permanent interim position to fill the remainder of White’s term for one year, and if selected, he’d run to serve a four-year term of his own.
Of course, any of these potential scenarios are contingent on first the Jackson County Legislature, and then county voters.
Picking a new county executive
Under the Jackson County Charter as chairman, McGee appointed a temporary interim executivefrom the same political party as the outgoing county executive, who in this case was White, a Democrat. Barnes will serve in the role for at least the next 30 days, so long as the Jackson County Legislature affirms her appointment.
The Jackson County Legislature appoints a permanent interim executive. Whoever is appointed would serve until Jan. 1, 2027. McGee made no bones to us about his interest in the full-time position.
“I think it is a mistake for anybody to apply for this job to say they just want to serve for a year because the issues are so great, you really need more than a year to fix this place,” he said.
On Thursday, McGee sat down with members of our board in a wide-ranging conversation, from his interest in the executive position, to the process of selecting one, to where the Royals should (or shouldn’t) find a new home.
Q&A with DaRon McGee
These questions and answers have been edited for clarity and length.
The Star: So, how do you as chairman get a majority of the people on that board working in cohesion, because that’s important to the community?
McGee: I think it’s what I’ve been doing. As chair, I try to talk to everyone, even if they don’t agree with me. I try to keep people included. I talk to my members. So that’s a reflection of what the membership said they wanted — hearings or open presentations to the community. They wanted an application process. So that’s what was included. And so I said, “OK, this is what we’ll do.” And so before I even picked Mayor Barnes, I went to them and said, “Hey, these are the list of people I’m looking at. What are your thoughts?” And we went back and forth. I wanted to make sure whomever I appointed, they felt comfortable with.
The Star: What are you looking for in the permanent county executive?
McGee: The No. 1 thing is that this person can work with the Legislature. That is the main crux of this job. You’ve got to have a relationship with legislators, and if you don’t, it doesn’t work.
The Star: What makes a great county executive?
McGee: I think the key from my perspective is constant communication. So, I think, if I’m county executive, I intend to have town halls to hear what people think. I don’t want to be walled off in the downtown courthouse from the public. I think it’s important for you all to hold elected officials accountable. I think that’s important to a free democracy.
The Star: Anybody you have in mind? Any particular candidate you would like to tell us about that you’re considering?
McGee: I would say in segueing, that I would like to run for the full position if I’m selected by my colleagues. But ultimately that’s first up to my colleagues to select me and then it’s up to the voters to retain me and so that would be my desire.
The Star: Talk to us about the process.
McGee: So, we’ll give people four days essentially. It’s a simple application. They have to just fill out the application (and) upload their resume.
McGee then mentioned a scheduled public listing session Saturday, Oct. 4 at Longview Community College.
McGee: We’ll hear from residents to hear what they want to see in a county executive. So, that will inform the Legislature what we should be looking at and we’ll meet on Monday and consider applications. And then I’m hoping to call for a vote next week.
The Star: Other legislators, can they go in this pool?
McGee: It’s open to anybody. So it is open to legislators. It’s open to anybody.
This story was originally published October 6, 2025 at 7:14 AM.