Voters reshape Wyandotte County commission with three new faces in Tuesday election

Voters on Tuesday reshaped Wyandotte County’s governing body, adding three new faces following open races and keeping on the two incumbents, according to unofficial results.

The election for five seats on the 11-member Board of Commissioners comes at a critical time for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas as residents have expressed frustrations over rising taxes and fees.

“Property tax is a big one for me,” voter Amy Monroy said after she cast her ballot Tuesday afternoon at Rainbow Mennonite Church in the Shawnee Heights neighborhood.

Evelyn Hill, a consultant, defeated former UG Commissioner Tarence Maddox in the race for the District 4 seat in eastern KCK, which was held by Harold Johnson, who did not seek reelection.

Hill has touted her experience of “working through tough decisions about budgets” when she served from 2014 to 2017 as president of the Kansas City, Kansas Board of Education.

Her top priorities include housing the homeless, improving economic development and working with residents and the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department to “make sure our residents have a safe place to live, work and play.”

Bill Burns, a retired Wyandotte County District Court administrator, appeared to have defeated Anna Cole, a Strawberry Hill neighborhood leader and small business owner, in the race for District 2 by 105 votes.

During the campaign, Burns called for the UG to keep its debt down and said each commissioner needs to be ready to address the government’s “existential financial crisis.”

In recent weeks, Tyrone Garner, the mayor and CEO of the Unified Government, has publicly sounded the alarm about the UG’s finances, suggesting the government is on a pathway to bankruptcy by 2026 or 2028 unless spending habits change.

“I’ve always paid my bills and balanced my own checkbook in addition to balancing the county’s checkbooks throughout my career,” Burns wrote to the Beacon, a digital news outlet. “I’ve never defaulted on my debts, and I’m not about to start now.”

The district, which includes the Riverview and Armourdale neighborhoods, has been represented since 2011 by Brian McKiernan, who did not seek reelection.

Voters reelected At-Large District 1 Commissioner Melissa Bynum, who was first elected in 2015, to the seat that covers several districts. She defeated challenger Ricky Smith, who ran a BBQ restaurant, by more than 4,000 votes.

As a commissioner, Bynum led a task force that pushed for exemptions from a UG fee for senior citizens who make $37,750 or less and for residents who are disabled, which passed this fall. She now wants to lower that PILOT fee — which stands for payment in lieu of taxes — “for all” and remove UG fees from utility bills, which have caused anxiety among ratepayers.

Bynum’s other priorities include lowering the mill levy rates and working with the state to balance property valuation methods.

In District 3, which includes the Rosedale and Argentine neighborhoods, Commissioner Christian Ramirez, who was first elected in 2020, appeared to hold on to his seat against challenger Tina Medina. Ramirez got 554 votes, while Medina came in at 488.

During the campaign, Ramirez, who works as a math interventionist at Horizon Academy, said no other priorities matter if the UG can’t get its budget “in order.” The government needs a budget deep dive to determine which services are being duplicated, he said.

“Where can we find efficiencies? Where can we reduce?” he said at one candidate forum. “But keeping in mind what the community wants and needs.”

In District 6, which includes the Turner and Muncie neighborhoods in south-central KCK, it appeared that Philip Lopez, who owns a tree trimming business, narrowly prevailed over Steve Neal, pastor of First Baptist Church of Turner.

Lopez came in with 812 votes while Neal got 792, according to the unofficial results. The district seat has been held by Angela Markley, who did not seek reelection

Lopez has called for reducing the mill levy and curbing tax incentives for large corporations. Everyday taxpayers, he has said, are “getting screwed.”

“I’m tired of being ran over and seeing everyone else being ran over,” he said in a campaign video.