Who’s running for Wichita City Council in 2023? Meet the 10 candidates
Wichita will choose its next mayor on Nov. 7, but three City Council seats are also up for grabs in this year’s local elections.
Council members are paid $49,064 a year to pass laws, establish policy direction, adopt the annual city budget and levy taxes, among other responsibilities.
Ten candidates have filed to run for City Council but just one race — District 4 in southwest Wichita — has enough contenders to appear on the Aug. 1 primary ballot.
District 2 council member Becky Tuttle is the only incumbent running for re-election. Her counterparts in District 4 and 5, Jeff Blubaugh and Bryan Frye, respectively, both face term limits and are eyeing other offices.
District 2
District 2 in east Wichita is bordered by Bel Aire to the north and Andover to the east. It generally stretches from Woodlawn Boulevard to 159th Street East.
Marcey Gregory
Position: Retired
Previously: Goddard mayor, owned retail sportswear store
Education: Wichita North High School, attended Wichita State
Party registration: Democrat
Age: 61
Gregory was mayor of Goddard from 2007-2017. She has run unsuccessfully for the Sedgwick County Commission twice and the Statehouse once, losing to Patrick Penn in 2020.
A retired small business owner, Gregory said it’s up to city leaders to create a business-friendly environment. On her watch, Goddard opened its first Walmart.
“If we continue to pursue getting employers in town that would provide high-paying and good security jobs, I think our local talent will be more inclined to stay rather than move to a coast,” Gregory said.
She said elected officials earn their constituents’ trust by answering the phone and helping them when they have problems.
“I truly believe our elected officials are our customer service representatives for whatever services are provided by the city, whether it’s water and sewer or police or whatever,” Gregory said. “I want people to know that they can call me, and if they have a question or concern, I will get an answer for them.”
Becky Tuttle
Position: City Council member
Previously: Community development director for the Greater Wichita YMCA
Education: Bachelor’s degree from the University of South Dakota, master’s degree from Appalachian State University
Party registration: Republican
Age: 53
Tuttle was appointed to the City Council in 2019 and won a three-way race to retain the seat that November against Joseph Scapa and Rodney Wren.
She recently brokered a deal with Scheels that led to the sporting goods store agreeing to pay for $625,000 in upgrades at the Stryker Sports Complex in exchange for naming rights at the privately run city facility in east Wichita.
Tuttle said two of her first-term achievements include getting a city ordinance changed to increase the number of children allowed at in-home daycares and playing a key role in the development of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Food System Master Plan, which aims to address disparities in access to fresh food.
With a projected city budget deficit of $18 million looming in 2025, Tuttle said the incoming City Council will have to make a series of difficult judgment calls. She wants to hear from constituents what city services they think are essential.
“We know that police and fire and public safety and public works will absolutely have to be preserved, but after that, we’re going to have to make some hard decisions,” Tuttle said.
Hatim Zeineddine
Position: Sales lead at The Vitamin Shoppe
Previously: College student
Education: Bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Wichita State University
Party registration: Unaffiliated
Age: 28
Zeineddine (pronounced zay-nuh-DEEN) grew up in Wichita and graduated from WSU in 2022 with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering.
He told The Eagle he decided to run for City Council last summer after Wichita was placed under its second boil water advisory in eight months.
“The status quo is leaving people behind,” Zeineddine said.
“I was just thinking to myself, you know, I bet there are a lot of disillusioned, dissatisfied people who just don’t even remember that they can go out to vote for City Council.”
Zeineddine said the city’s focus on improving highway infrastructure has left the public transit system behind the times. If elected, he said he would advocate for adding more city bus routes.
“People who don’t have a car or reliable transportation just can’t really get around the city easily,” Zeineddine said. “I challenge any of the City Council members to try to get to work without using their car.”
District 4
District 4 in southwest Wichita stretches to the edge of Goddard at its northernmost point and Haysville at its southernmost point. The northern boundary runs along West Maple Street and its eastern edge generally follows South Seneca.
Bentley Blubaugh
Position: Store manager at Mr. Bs Daylight Donuts
Previously: Construction
Education: Completed high school diploma online, studied theology online through the New St. Thomas Institute
Party registration: Republican
Age: 20
Blubaugh is the nephew of current District 4 City Council member Jeff Blubaugh, who cannot run for re-election because of term limits. His father is Jamey Blubaugh, the former Goddard mayor.
Bentley Blubaugh has been critical of the City Council’s unanimous decision in April to approve an expanded $6.15 million plan for District 4’s South Lakes pickleball complex.
“I liked the original proposal,” he said. “I think it was good. I think it’s a good thing for Wichita, obviously, if the budget is right for it at the time. But with the new proposal and the new budget, I just think it’s kind of a slippery slope of ‘how much is it really going to be at the end?’”
Blubaugh said he supports a housing-first approach to ending homelessness and would like to see the city create more low-barrier housing options.
“I would love to see if there’s a possibility where some of the abandoned buildings, somehow we could convert — that’s why I’m sort of glad I have the construction connection because I know some of the best contractors who are not the most expensive and do a lot of government work,” Blubaugh said.
Dalton Glasscock
Position: Starnes Media Group CEO, Wichita State lecturer
Previously: Sedgwick County Republican Party chair
Education: Bachelor’s degree from Wichita State University, master’s degree from George Washington University
Party registration: Republican
Age: 28
A former chair of the Sedgwick County Republican Party, Glasscock also briefly served on the Sedgwick County Commission in 2020 after he was appointed to fill Michael O’Donnell’s seat.
Glasscock, who has received sitting District 4 council member Jeff Blubaugh’s endorsement, identified some of his major priorities as ensuring competitive salaries for Wichita police officers and firefighters and “cutting red tape” by amending zoning regulations to encourage development.
“I have a passion for I think what people consider the boring stuff, but it has the biggest impact on your day-to-day life. Roads, bridges, transportation, parks and recreation,” Glasscock said.
Glasscock is the CEO of Starnes Media Group, which owns a talk radio station in Memphis and produces national broadcasts for Todd Starnes, the former Fox News host who branded himself “America’s conservative blowtorch.” But he said his political philosophy is all about bridging the gap to find solutions.
“I think almost any problem can be solved over a cup of coffee,” Glasscock said. “We can disagree with people but disagree respectfully and figure out ways to work collaboratively.”
Alan Oliver
Position: Retired; part-time Uber driver
Previously: Car salesman
Education: High school diploma
Party registration: Republican
Age: 63
Oliver, who worked at a Wichita car dealership for 42 years, said Wichita needs to invest in its business community and aggressively recruit major employers. He supports using city incentives to do so.
“In the last year or two, they’re bringing in some IT companies and what have you, but we need to be stronger at that. We need to step up our game,” Oliver said.
He said one of his major priorities if elected would be infrastructure investment.
“These streets need a lot of work,” Oliver said. “I do some part-time Uber driving, and as an Uber driver, if you’re out on the streets, you very well know what streets — especially in my area — need some major work done on them.”
Oliver said secrecy at City Hall has eroded public trust in recent years. If elected, he said he would advocate for more transparency across the board.
“I think it’s all-encompassing,” Oliver said. “There’s a lot of things that we need to be more forthright on and be able to be more transparent on.”
Judy Pierce
Position: Wichita/Hutchinson Labor Federation president
Previously: Aircraft manufacturing
Education: High school diploma
Party registration: Democrat
Age: 75
After hiring on at Beechcraft at 18, Pierce became involved in the Machinists union, where she held several leadership positions before becoming president of the Wichita/Hutchinson Labor Federation, which represents roughly 30 local unions.
“I feel sorry for the underdogs. You work, you collect pay from work, and there are still people out there now working that are not getting paid a living wage,” said Pierce, who supports raising the $15 minimum wage for city workers.
She said that if elected, she would push to have City Manager Robert Layton removed from his position. “I don’t think he’s doing his job,” Pierce said.
She said the decision to outsource the cleanup of thick brush and poison ivy at parks to a herd of 130 goats for $5,000 when city employees could do the work demonstrates how out of touch city leaders have become.
“That’s ridiculous to me when we’ve got people that do that job and can do a good job,” Pierce said.
“The recent privatization of Century II is another shining example of city government lessening their obligation and turning over city assets to private industry.”
District 5
District 5 in northwest Wichita borders Maize and follows West Maple as its southern boundary. Its eastern boundary is generally Hoover Road, although it stretches as far east as Meridian in one place.
Gary Bond
Position: Home remodeler, Historic Preservation Board member
Previously: Real estate agent
Education: Wichita Southeast High School, studied at Butler Community College and Wichita State University
Party registration: Republican
Age: 65
Bond, whose wife Kathy Bond is a member of the Wichita school board, narrowly lost the District 5 City Council seat to Bryan Frye in 2015.
“I’ve been wanting to serve the public for eight years now. You get the fever, and once you get the fever, it’s hard to get rid of,” Bond said.
He said his top priority is public safety.
“I think we need to mend the relationship between the police department and the council,” said Bond, whose father was a Wichita officer for 30 years and whose brother spent 17 years with the sheriff’s department.
“The mayor had some rough moments here with the police department in the last year, and there are also council members that lean that way too on the defund the police side,” Bond said.
He said another of his priorities is Wichita’s need for more rooftops to match housing demand. Sedgwick County Appraiser Mark Clark has said the current need is 25,000 to 50,000 residential units. Bond said the city should loosen restrictions to make the building process more efficient.
J.V. Johnston
Position: Guadalupe Clinic executive director, District 5 Advisory Board chair
Previously: Men’s clothing store owner, Newman University vice president of institutional advancement
Education: Newman University
Party registration: Republican
Age: 63
On Johnston’s watch, Guadalupe Clinic, which provides free healthcare to uninsured patients, began offering same-day visits and providing eye exams in partnership with the KU School of Medicine-Wichita.
“We say it’s the working poor because almost all of our patients are working. They’re just basically doing the jobs that no one else wants to do,” said Johnston, who told The Eagle he would stay on as executive director if elected to the City Council.
Before that, Johnston spent 35 years running a men’s clothing store in Wichita. He said a hands-off approach to regulation is the best way for the city to support its business owners and economy.
“Honestly, I still think like a businessman,” Johnston said. “But now I know the nonprofit world. I know most all the leaders of the nonprofits, especially in human services, health care, mental health.
“That perspective will help with a lot of things, including finding a solution for the homeless, which I think is important for Wichita’s growth.”
Johnston, who chairs Frye’s District 5 Advisory Board, is also a member of the joint Wichita-Sedgwick County task force to end homelessness.
Ben Taylor
Position: Maintenance electrician at Spirit
Previously: Electrician at Textron Aviation
Education: High school diploma, five-year electrical apprenticeship
Party registration: Democrat
Age: 46
Taylor, who was born in Wichita, has worked as an electrician at Spirit AeroSystems for 11 years. He said he’s running for office for the first time because he doesn’t feel represented by city leaders.
“I think their focuses are in different areas than what people like me and a lot of my neighbors value,” Taylor said.
“I have a better grasp on what regular people want and need. I’ve never owned a business. I’ve always worked for an employer, never been on a board anywhere.”
He said his major priority in office would be pushing for the construction of more affordable housing.
“I’ve got a 27-year-old daughter and a 19-year-old son, and them and a lot of their friends are seeing the cost of housing go up,” Taylor said. “I’d like to see them own houses.”
He said the influx in luxury developments does nothing to make Wichita more appealing to working class families.
“That all has a waterfall effect, too. That inflates the value of surrounding areas and then raises the property taxes.”
