Republicans win all three Wichita City Council races
Two new faces will join the Wichita City Council in January — Dalton Glasscock, former Sedgwick County GOP chairman, and J.V. Johnston, executive director of Guadalupe Clinic — according to Sedgwick County’s unofficial election results.
The Wichita City Council represents six districts within the city while the mayor represents the city at large. Three council seats were up for election along with the mayor, who runs City Council meetings and casts the seventh vote on city business. Lily Wu won the mayor’s seat.
All three council winners had a solid lead throughout Tuesday night.
Glasscock, 29, a Republican, took the District 4 seat with 4,793 votes. The seat is currently held by Jeff Blubaugh, who faced term limits.
“I’m ecstatic and I think we have a bright future moving ahead in Wichita, I want to thank the voters of District 4 for their trust, for those who voted for me, thank you and the ones who didn’t, I hope to earn your trust and I’ll represent you just the same as well,” Glasscock told The Eagle following Tuesday’s results.
Glasscock beat out Democrat Judy Pierce, a longtime local labor union organizer. District 4 is in southwest Wichita.
He said his first priority is to meet with his colleagues.
“I want to get in and meet with the department heads and understand the system of government as a whole and make sure that I get to know my colleagues more. I know that I’m one of seven and my job is to work with my colleagues to advance priorities here in Wichita,” Glasscock said.
Johnston, a 63-year-old Republican, will take over the District 5 seat from Bryan Frye, who is leaving the position because of term limits.
Johnston said his first step will be to speak with colleagues.
“You know, just everyone get together and learn, listen and learn,” Johnston said.
When asked about his priorities, Johnston said responding to homelessness and focus on creating a good working relationship with the Wichita Police Department.
With 7,591 votes, Johnston beat Gary Bond, a Republican home remodeler, and Ben Taylor, a Democrat and Spirit employee. District 5 is in northwest Wichita.
Becky Tuttle, a Republican who was first elected as a City Council member in 2019, is set to begin her second term representing District 2 in east Wichita.
“I just could not be more happy. I just could not express enough how grateful I am for Wichita and this amazing city and the opportunities that they’ve given me,” Tuttle told The Wichita Eagle following the unofficial results Tuesday.
Tuttle, 53, beat out former Goddard mayor Marcey Gregory, a Democrat and Hatim Zeineddine, an engineer who is unaffiliated. She won with 7,551 votes out of 11,897, according to unofficial election results.
When asked about her priorities when she starts her second term, she said there’s a lot.
“We are dealing with our homelessness situation that we need to address, public safety is always an issue, I’m really really interested in infrastructure,” Tuttle said. “I also have done a lot to champion for child care and I think there’s more we can do there to make sure we have a workforce that supports our industries, we need to make sure we have safe and reliable child care.”
All three winners will begin their term in January.
Vice Mayor Mike Hoheisel, who attended incumbent Mayor Brandon Whipple’s watch party, said results didn’t break the way he wanted, but he hopes to find common ground with Wu and the new City Council representatives. Hoheisel and District 6 rep Maggie Ballard were elected in 2021, giving Democrats a working majority on the council.
Wu is a registered Libertarian who describes herself as an “independent thinker.”
“There’s something to be said about ‘nonpartisan.’ We’re seven people who do have to work together,” Hoheisel said. “I look at some of the other candidates . . . coming out winning. I see moderates, so we’ll see what we can reach out and work together on and continue to move the city forward.”
