Guiding WyCo's future: The Star picks KCK elections to watch | Opinion
Primary season is upon us, but not for every city in our five-county area. The Kansas City Star Editorial Board has decided to focus its resources on Kansas City, Kansas, and Wyandotte County. Often, these races are quiet and insiderish to some. This year, it’s anything but. The future of WyCo and KCK must have leadership and guidance to meet the needs of its residents and business owners, and the city and the county must react to change.
The Star has reported on Wyandotte County residents sick of deteriorating services and the effects of tax freezes. To counteract this, the county pitched higher tax bills and revamped services after a year of cuts. With the World Cup coming in 2026 and a possible Chiefs stadium in WyCo near Legends Outlets and Sporting KC Children’s Mercy Park, the county might see major transformation in the coming years.
Wyandotte County’s Unified Government includes Kansas City, Kansas, Bonner Springs and Edwardsville. The county covers 156 square miles. WyCo is Kansas’ smallest county with the fourth highest population, according to the Wyandotte Economic Development Council. Since 1997, the UG does things differently than other towns and cities: There is an eight-district Board of Commissioners, the Board of Public Utilities ( a three-district community-owned public utility) and a mayor of KCK who also acts as CEO of Wyandotte County.
There are candidates vying against each other in Districts 1, 2, 5 and 8 for the Board of Commissioners, one of the BPU’s at-large slots and the mayor/CEO seat. The two candidates who win each race next week on Aug. 5 will proceed to the general election on Nov. 4.
Our editorial board will weigh in on the commissioners’ race and the mayoral race this week in the Opinion section. Today, we endorse the BPU seats. We’ll also follow up with a roundup Sunday, and a printable handout Wyandotte and KCK voters can take to the polls.
Candidates for Mayor/CEO
Tom Burroughs
Mark Gilstrap
Rose Mulvany Henry
Gwendolyn Thomas
Christal Watson
Janice Witt
Candidates for Board of Public Utilities
(Read endorsements for at-large position 1)
Lisa Walker Yeager
Gary Bradley-Lopez
Michael N. Paulson
Alex Sanchez
Candidates for Board of Commissioners
Read our endorsement for District 1 (covering the northeastern corner of Kansas City, Kansas)
Darnell Busch
Korri Hall
Victor A. Harris
Jermaine Howard
Lisa Walker Yeager
Read our endorsements for At-Large District 2 (includes Districts 2, 3, 6 and 7, which covers the southern half of the county)
Andrew Kump
Philip Lopez
J. Michael Tiner Mackey
Luis “Captain Lou” Madrigal
Kalla McLaughlin
Read our endorsements for District 5 (covering the northwest part of the county, including areas north of Parallel Parkway and west of 78th Street)
Alma D. Hall
LaVert A. Murray
Carlos Pacheco III
Read our endorsements for District 8 (covering the north central part of Kansas City, Kansas)
Andrew Davis
Jacob Handy
Madella Henderson
Nanette Tucker
This story was originally published July 29, 2025 at 5:08 AM.
