Elect leaders who won’t stage a hostile takeover of Prairie Village | Opinion
Prairie Village voters have the opportunity to vote in a pivotal election on Nov. 4.
This year’s election conversation has been dominated by Prairie Village United, a group formed during past zoning debates. Supporters see it as a reform movement. Others see a movement that has deepened mistrust among neighbors.
Council member Lori Sharp, first elected in 2023 under the Prairie Village United banner, stated that the city’s zoning debate should not “be about good guys or bad guys” and that she represented residents “of all political stripes.” Her record since taking office reflects the opposite: exclusion, division and manipulation.
Sharp refused to participate in a candidate forum in the run-up to the 2023 election. Following suit, all six City Council candidates PVU assembled for 2025 refused to attend public forums sponsored variously by the Johnson County Library, The Johnson County Post and the Northeast Johnson County Chamber.
As a City Council member, I would be a leader who unifies rather than divides — a leader who listens, shows up and respects every resident, including those who disagree with me. How we handle disagreement reflects our character. My commitment is to respond with facts, integrity and an inclusive mindset.
As such, I participated in the choreographed Oct. 9 candidate forum sponsored by Prairie Village United. How disappointing that the event avoided questions truly relevant to voters. The discussion focused instead on zoning topics the council formally ended or deprioritized more than a year ago. The forum did not address the petition effort to abandon Prairie Village’s form of government, which will also be before the voters on Nov. 4.
The PVU goal to abandon the Prairie Village government model stands in stark contrast to the headline for then-candidate Sharp. Her Kansas City Star guest commentary from November 2023, under the headline “Elect City Council to keep Prairie Village as the gem it is,” extolled the city’s mature trees, friendly people and neighborhood shops.
A yes vote would bring instability unless and until a new form of government is adopted. The Kansas City Star endorsed a no vote, stating “Prairie Village should not and cannot abandon its form of government just to get rid of the duly-elected mayor, or strip him of his power. That is foolish and undemocratic.”
Prairie Village United cannot have it both ways. After three petitions for ballot questions and nine mayoral recall petitions all failed spectacularly, PVU and Sharp are now asking voters to “trust the process.” Taken together, the 2023 and 2025 PVU campaigns smell like a hostile corporate takeover.
The process that has served Prairie Village well has always relied on engaged residents solving problems through participation, not litigation. Prairie Village deserves stable and trustworthy leadership — leaders who respect constituents’ voices while focusing on long-term community needs such as infrastructure, parks and public safety.
Americans are all too familiar with the now-common ploy of attempting to subvert democracy by way of a judicial end-run around election results they don’t like.
And on Nov, 4, you have a choice whether you want to allow that type of politics to come home to roost in Prairie Village.
I say no.
Shelby Bartelt is a Prairie Village resident and City Council candidate from Ward 3.