Woman suing Olathe school district and man endorsed by Democrats win primary election
A newcomer supported by the teachers union and a second-time candidate who is suing the school district were the top vote-getters in the Olathe school board primary race on Tuesday.
Newcomer Will Babbit earned by far the most votes, 7,364, followed by Jennifer Gilmore, with 4,069 votes, according to unofficial final results released by the Johnson County election office before 8 p.m. Tuesday. They defeated challenger Troy Snyder, with 1,144 votes. Charles Carter, with 151 votes, and Vince Weston, with 136 votes, both stopped campaigning ahead of the primary and threw their support to Gilmore.
The two winners advance to the general election Nov. 7, to compete for the at-large seat currently held by Joe Beveridge, who is not seeking reelection.
The Olathe school board race was one of the most heated this summer, out of a handful of primary races scattered throughout Johnson County.
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Babbit, who considers himself a moderate, is supported by the Johnson County Democrats and teachers union. He is a veteran who works as director of business engineering at Stinson LLP. He said he is a dad to an incoming Olathe third grader, and is running for the seat because he has a “special affinity for education, coming from a family of teachers.”
Gilmore, a conservative supported by the Johnson County GOP, is running while suing the district because she was removed from a board meeting for hurling accusations at members. In 2021, she ran for the 3rd District seat and lost by only 65 votes to Julie Steele, a Democrat. She campaigned with a slate of conservatives against mask mandates, and after her race was called, she questioned the integrity of the election in social media posts.
She is suing the district and then-school board president Beveridge after she was kicked out of a January 2022 school board meeting, where she accused Steele of “buying” her seat and Jim Randall, Steele’s father and a former Olathe City Council member, of lying. Randall is also Beveridge’s father-in-law.
A U.S. District Court judge in June threw out most claims brought by Gilmore, but sided with her on her primary claim, saying a jury could reasonably conclude she was prevented from speaking during the meeting because officials did not like her views.
The parties have been in mediation, but if a settlement is not reached, the case could go to a jury trial this fall.
Gilmore said in an email to The Star, “I believe in my first amendment right and hope a jury of my peers will also agree.”
The district had racked up more than $205,000 in legal fees related to the suit as of last week, according to information provided to The Star through an open records request.
If elected, Babbit said his priorities include lobbying for increased school funding, expanding career-readiness programs, addressing the substitute teacher shortage, safe schools and empowering teachers.
“I believe I would be the best candidate because of my common-sense, collaborative approach and my work ethic,” he said in an email. “As a combat veteran and growing up on a farm, I bring total dedication to any project I’m involved in. I’ve learned there is no substitute for plain old hard work. For me, this role is about serving our students and putting kids first, and I’m here to serve them. I’m a moderate politically and I am committed to transparency, honesty, and collaboration with my colleagues and the school community.”
Gilmore said she is a mother of two Olathe students and works in finance. She said her top priorities are “transparency, engagement and curriculum.”
“I am the best candidate because I believe we can do better in the areas of math, reading, technology, special education, teacher recruitment, staff morale and parental partnerships,” Gilmore said in an email. “Anyone who says there is nothing wrong with our public schools is lying. We can always do better; we just have to be willing to put in the work to get there. I will be a champion for all children to thrive in our Olathe Schools and represent our Olathe community.”
