Here’s who won Johnson County city, school races that were too close to call Election Day
Roeland Park City Councilman Benjamin Dickens has won reelection by only six votes, according to official Johnson County election results certified during this week’s canvass.
Dickens was leading by 11 votes on election night. But with all votes counted, the incumbent councilman won 50.4%, or 181 votes, to challenger Haile Sims’ 48.8%, or 175 votes.
The race was one of a handful that were too close to call on election night last Tuesday.
The results announced Wednesday maintained a sweep by Democrat-backed candidates in races across Johnson County.
Kansas law allows mail ballots postmarked on Election Day to be counted through Friday. Since Nov. 7, election workers have counted and reviewed those remaining mail ballots, provisional ballots and write-in votes, for the final total certified on Wednesday. It is still unclear whether any candidates will request a recount.
Voter turnout was 26.7%, higher than in 2021, 2019 and 2017.
“I have witnessed the remarkable dedication and tireless efforts of over 1,000 election workers,” Johnson County Election Commissioner Fred Sherman said in a statement. “Their commitment to ensuring the integrity of our elections is truly commendable.”
Final results
In a closely watched race, Prairie Village City Councilman Ian Graves has won reelection by 33 votes. Graves received 573 votes, or 51.3%, defeating challenger Kelly Wyer, with 540 votes, or 48.3%.
Wyer ran alongside a slate of candidates who oppose the city’s consideration of amending zoning laws to allow for a wider variety of housing, such as duplexes and small apartment buildings that could be more affordable than the city’s large, single-family homes. It was a critical issue leading up to the election, after a year marked by resident efforts to limit rezoning and restructure the city government.
Four of the candidates on Wyer’s slate won seats on the 12-member council, defeating two incumbents. But Councilwoman Inga Selders, and now officially Graves, held onto their seats.
In Shawnee, a race for an open City Council seat remained close last week. On Wednesday, Laurel Burchfield won with 51.4%, defeating challenger Megan Warner, 48.6%. Burchfield is one of three candidates backed by Democrats who won seats in Shawnee, where two incumbents lost their seats. That’ll weaken the council’s 7-1 conservative majority that it gained in 2021, shifting it to a 5-3 majority.
And candidates running for two Gardner Edgerton school board seats were left biting their nails after last week’s election.
Incumbent Katie Williams, who is currently the majority-conservative board’s lone progressive, won reelection by 39 votes in Johnson County, with 50.6%, defeating Allen Vonderschmidt, with 49.4%. As of Friday, Williams had picked up 16 votes in Miami County, while Vonderschmidt won 18 votes there. If those results stay the same, Williams will have won by 37 votes.
Heath Freeman, who also was backed by Democrats, won the at-large race by only 25 votes, receiving 50.3% of the vote, to challenger Threasa Lang’s 49.6%, according to Johnson County results. In Miami County, Freeman won an additional 12 votes as of Friday, and Lang had won 21. If those results stay the same, Freeman will have won by 16 votes.
Miami County’s canvass is on Friday.
In addition, two incumbent Gardner Edgerton school board members, Russell Ellis and Jeff Miller, won their reelection bids.
