Category: Election 2019

by Mary Rupert

Incumbents are facing challenges in the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 5, for Board of Public Utilities seats.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5, in Wyandotte County. Voters should go to their assigned polling places and bring their driver’s licenses.

The general rule that incumbents have an advantage in local elections did not hold true for all of the BPU candidates in the primary election. State legislators with high name recognition took the lead in two of the three contests.

The incumbent in the at-large, position 3, BPU seat, Norm Scott, did not advance in the six-person primary. The general election will decide whether David Haley, a state senator, or Rose Mulvany Henry, a utility attorney, will be the next BPU member in position 3 at-large. Haley received about 35 percent of the vote to Mulvany Henry’s 23 percent in the primary.

In the primary, Stan Frownfelter, who also is a state representative, received around 200 more votes than incumbent Jeff Bryant in the BPU, 3rd District.

In the BPU’s 1st District, incumbent Bob Milan was the clear winner in the primary, leading with about 62 percent of the vote. La Ron Thompson was second with about 36 percent of the vote.

The candidates discussed the issues at a candidate forum Oct. 15 at Kansas City Kansas Community College. The forum was sponsored by Business West, neighborhood organizations and KCKCC, and can be seen on YouTube.

BPU, at-large, position 3

David Haley, a state senator, is a native of Kansas City, Kansas, who has served in the state Senate and House for about 25 years. He has been involved in real estate development and is a public affairs counsel. He is a graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, and Howard University Law School in Washington, D.C. 

He said there are still many questions left to be answered about the BPU that are not being addressed.

During the past 30 or 40 years, people have run for BPU office and promised transparency, accountability and a sense of reality for more livability, he said. However, often the candidates in the past have not fulfilled those promises.

Why, Haley asked at the candidate forum Oct. 15, are some entities disconnected after a month and a half, while other entities can go years without paying their bills.

At the Oct. 15 forum, Haley said he is against selling the BPU to a private utility. He has been sent several proposals, some which suggest that the ratepayers would be better off with a sale, but he said he agrees with the majority of people who think that the city owning its own utility is a plus.

Rose Mulvany Henry, an attorney who specializes in utility issues and who is a native of Kansas City, Kansas, said she feels she is uniquely qualified for this position. She has an undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas and a law degree from Washburn University.

She said her priorities were to bring about more accountability, more transparency with the BPU, and to create a culture of safety.

She also said she wants to look at and evaluate the utility rules that apply to ratepayers, and try to improve them where they can. She also would like the BPU to negotiate the union contract on time and early if they can, to bring stability to the employees.

“How I plan to get there is building consensus among the board members, something I have a lot of experience doing,” she said at the candidate forum. “I expect to listen to the ratepayers of Wyandotte County, and I’d like to roll up my sleeves and get to work.”

Mulvany Henry said she does not support the sale of the BPU, and she does not support regulation of the BPU by the Kansas Corporation Commission.

“Unequivocally, I would not be in support of the sale of the BPU,” she said.

BPU, 3rd District

Incumbent Jeff Bryant said when he first ran for the 3rd District, his platform was simple, he just wanted to make sure people’s voices were being heard.

“Working together we can find answers to the questions and concerns we have about the public utility,” he said.

He said he would treat everyone with the respect they deserve and that his goal is to demonstrate public service can still exist in a public servant.

A native of Kansas City, Kansas, Bryant has worked more than three decades for Plastic Packaging, a company in the Muncie area of KCK. His work involves analyzing costs.

Bryant said he would be against selling the BPU to a private utility.

“We currently have a municipal utility that we’re all invested in, we all gain from, the employees of our utility are required to be Kansas City, Kansas, citizens, which means those jobs that are paid above poverty level are paying taxes in Wyandotte County, are held by Kansas City, Kansans,” Bryant said. “I think that’s important. We don’t need to lose more tax dollars and more good-paying jobs out of our city.”

Stan Frownfelter, also running for 3rd District, has been a state legislator for 13 years, with one year left on his term.

He said he has looked at what is going on at the BPU and is not happy with it.

“There are questions that need to be asked, that haven’t been yet, and they need answers for them,” Frownfelter said.

He said he would fight for the BPU and make sure it is around for the next decade or two.

Frownfelter does not support the sale of the BPU to a private utility. He said there is too much invested over generations of people who work there. Also, if the BPU is sold, would the community get what they want out of it, he asked. The BPU currently is the third largest revenue source for the city, and “we couldn’t sell it if we wanted to,” he said.

BPU, 1st District

Incumbent Robert “Bob” Milan has served on the BPU board 28 years, with five different general managers. He is retired from the Department of Labor, where he worked more than 30 years, ending as a federal representative. Milan has been a member of the Northeast Optimist Club and NAACP, and is a past state president of AARP, in 2001.

Milan said the BPU has provided 1,900 street lights worth $5.4 million, 9,000 traffic lights, and 6,000 fire hydrants. The BPU provides $45 million a year to the Unified Government, in addition to services.

Milan does not support the sale of the BPU.

The street lights, traffic lights and fire hydrants BPU provides now would not be available from a private company if the BPU were sold, he said. The city would have to come up with additional resources for them. The BPU has invested its resources to make sure the community has the services it needs, he said, and the profits don’t go to stockholders in Wall Street.

“We must reinvest in our own community, and that’s what public utilities is all about,” Milan said.

LaRon Thompson, also a candidate for the 1st District, said he is running because the time is right and the 1st District deserves honest and consistent representation.

“We’ve seen the same representation for 28 years, I’m 28 years old, and for all of my life we’ve seen the same representation,” Thompson said. “I believe it is time for that to change. It’s time for us to invest in our younger generation, and the leaders of today.”

The mission of the BPU is to focus on the needs of the customers, while improving the quality of life and providing safe, reliable and sustainable utilities, he said.

“I don’t believe the current board or any previous boards have done an adequate job of fulfilling that mission,” he said.

Citing the poverty rate of 34 percent in the the 66101 zip code area, he said the BPU needs to do what it can to ensure the individuals who live in Wyandotte County have a sustainable life.

Thompson, a native of Wyandotte County who serves as a pastor of a church, is in favor of more transparency by streaming BPU board meetings on YouTube or social media.

Thompson said he would not support the sale of the BPU to a private company. That would eliminate the voice of the public, and he said he would not support anything that eliminates the voice of the public in Wyandotte County.

Other issues such as the environment, collecting back payments from the T-Bones, and individual customers who believe that mistakes had been made on their bills were discussed at the forum on Oct. 15. The Oct. 15 forum was sponsored by Business West, KCKCC and neighborhood organizations.

To see a video of a candidate forum with BPU candidates, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWD4FaDy_hM.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5, and the polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters should go to their assigned polling places and bring identification such as a driver’s license.

Past stories about the elections in 2019 are found under the category, Election 2019, on the Wyandotte Daily website, at https://wyandotteonline.com/category/election-2019/.

To contact Mary Rupert, editor, email [email protected].

by Mary Rupert

In the Wyandotte County register of deeds contest on the Tuesday, Nov. 5, general election ballot, incumbent Nancy Burns has opposition from Tscher Manck.

There was no primary election for this office, and it will be on ballots county-wide in the general election.

Burns has served as register of deeds since 2011 and previously worked in the county appraiser’s office for almost 14 years. She is a past Wyandotte County commissioner in the 1st District from 1992 to 1996, and she left that office when the city and county were consolidated.

Burns is currently the vice president of the Kansas Association of Register of Deeds, and if re-elected this fall, she will be president of the state association.

“I feel we’re very qualified for this job, we’re very customer service, everything is open records in our office, and we’re basically covered by state statute in our office,” Burns said at the Oct. 15 candidate forum held at KCKCC.

At a June forum, Burns said customer service was “No. 1,” and if anyone has called her office, she feels that the register of deeds office has always tried to help them.

Manck, a certified clinical hemodialysis technician, said she wanted to educate the community and have clinics to facilitate home ownership and property ownership here.

At the June candidate forum she noted that she had passed a real estate exam. A native of Wyandotte County, she attended Schlagle High School.

Manck also mentioned transparency and engaging the community to find out what is needed from the register of deeds office.

Burns started an anti-fraud program in the register of deeds office about three or four years ago. The property fraud alert will notify residents if any activity is going on with their property, if residents sign up for it, she said.

Manck said an anti-fraud program would be a good program for residents.

Some of the questions asked at the Oct. 15 forum concerned what the register of deeds office does, and should it be an elected position.

Burns said the office files about 110 different documents such as federal tax liens, mortgages and deeds. The register of deeds office is the beginning for paperwork that then goes to the clerk, county appraiser and other offices. Many other offices go to their office to get mapping information, she said.

“I encourage people if you are buying or selling property, go to a title person, go to an attorney who knows what they are doing,” Burns said. “There are certain criteria when you file a document in our office, according to statute.”

If elected, she said she would continue the customer service she has provided since 2011.

“All the people that come into my office are welcome and assisted at all times,” Burns said. “I enjoy the people. If elected again, I will continue to go out front and help the people like I always do.”

Her office is the only one in the UG, she believes, that doesn’t have a voice recording and a “press one, press two” answer for phone calls – “you get a voice,” she said.

Manck said as an elected position, the register of deeds also should be an advocate for the citizens. If the Land Bank was to bring some property confiscated from a resident, the register of deeds office should make sure they followed the proper steps to confiscate that property, Manck said.

She said a register of deeds office brochure stated that the register of deeds employees are recorders, not researchers.

“Outstanding customer service to me means going the extra mile to assist the community with anything and everything that is legal for the register of deeds office to do,” Manck said.

“I believe the register of deeds should go out and engage the community and get to know the people in the community, not just the people who own property, maybe even help the ones who want to own property one day, have some clinics for people because some people don’t know how to start or begin to purchase property,” she said.

Should the office be elected or appointed?

Burns said the question of why it is an elected position perhaps could be answered by the former consolidation committee. Perhaps it is an elected position because of all the state statutes that it is required to follow, she added.

“We are kind of a unique office as far as filing documents,” she said. There’s not a lot of other offices the register of deeds office would fit into, she said.

Manck said it should be an elected position because it leaves out any chance for bias, without someone appointing a friend or relative for their own agenda.

The Oct. 15 forum was sponsored by Business West, KCKCC and neighborhood organizations. A video of the forum is online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAcLyBxyqWY . The forums are on YouTube and also on the KCKCC cable television station.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5, and the polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters should go to their assigned polling places and bring identification such as a driver’s license.

Past stories about the elections in 2019 are found under the category, Election 2019, on the Wyandotte Daily website, at https://wyandotteonline.com/category/election-2019/.

To contact Mary Rupert, editor, email [email protected].

by Mary Rupert

Five Unified Government Commission seats will be on the general election ballot on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Of the five UG seats, only one contest, the 1st District at large, will be county-wide, as incumbent Commissioner Melissa Brune Bynum is challenged by Mark Gilstrap, a former state senator.

The other commission seats on the ballot on Tuesday, Nov. 5, include 3rd District, incumbent Commissioner Ann Brandau Murguia and Christian A. Ramirez; 4th District, incumbent Commissioner Harold Johnson and Jorge Luis Flores; and 6th District, Incumbent Commissioner Angela Markley and Diana Aguirre. Also, 2nd District Commissioner Brian McKiernan is running for re-election and is unopposed.

In the August primary election, the incumbents who were on the ballot led in all UG Commission contests.

UG Commission, 1st District at large

Incumbent Commissioner Melissa Bynum faces a challenge from Mark Gilstrap, a former state senator from the 5th District.

In the Aug. 6 primary, Bynum received 2,788 votes to Gilstrap’s 1,402.

Bynum is executive director of the Shepherd’s Center, Kansas City, Kansas. She graduated summa cum laude from Sumner Academy and has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Kansas State University. She is also a past publisher and past editor of the Wyandotte West.

She has been involved in the Women’s Chamber of Commerce, Livable Neighborhoods, the Kansas City, Kansas, West Kiwanis Club and other community organizations.

She ran for the UG Commission, 1st District at large, previously in 2003. She also applied for the 1st District vacancy in 2013, but the position was not filled until the 2015 election.

At the Oct. 15 candidate forum at KCKCC, Bynum said the UG continues to look at ways to lower the mill levy rate. For three consecutive years, the commission lowered the city mill levy rate a total of 6 mills for Kansas City, Kansas, she said. The commission continues to conduct community surveys every other year and uses the results for budgeting and strategic planning, she said.

“We’re listening to what the community is asking us to do, such as increase spending on street maintenance and infrastructure,” she said at the forum, which was sponsored by Business West and neighborhood organizations.

Bynum said she is really glad to have been involved in the Northeast Area master planning process, which engaged hundreds of residents of the area to help determine a future for the area’s redevelopment and reinvestment.

Mark Gilstrap did not attend a candidate forum held in October at KCKCC, a candidate forum held July 17 at KCKCC-TEC, nor a candidate event held in June at the First Baptist Church, 500 Nebraska.

Gilstrap also ran for the commission seat in the spring elections of 2015, and took second place in the primary by one vote over Nathan Barnes. Bynum won the general election over Gilstrap in 2015 by a margin of more than 1,200 votes.

Gilstrap is a former state senator for the 5th District, who is retired from the UG Finance Department, treasury division, where he worked 33 years. He is a former city treasurer, former deputy county treasurer and was deputy revenue director. Gilstrap ran as a Republican in 2012 for the state Senate, and lost in the primary to Steve Fitzgerald.

He was a state senator from 1996 through 2008. For several years in the state Senate, Gilstrap ran as a Democrat, then changed his affiliation to Republican. A lifelong Wyandotte County resident, Gilstrap is a graduate of Rockhurst University and Bishop Ward High School.

UG Commission, 3rd District

Candidates for the UG Commission, 3rd District, are incumbent Commissioner Ann Brandau Murguia and Christian A. Ramirez.

In the August primary, Murguia received 395 votes to Ramirez’ 250 votes.

“Our focus has been on economic development, public safety and constituent neighborhood services,” Murguia said at the October candidate forum at KCKCC.

Murguia, who grew up in Iowa, has an undergraduate degree in human services from Ottawa University and a master’s in business from Baker University, and also serves on the Kansas Board of Regents. She has worked in community and neighborhood nonprofit organizations.

“I accredit that education to the success we’ve been able to have in an urban core district in Wyandotte County,” she said. “Those projects that we worked on have been sustainable because of my business background, and sustainable because they’ve been able to connect very closely and dearly with the people of greatest need.”

Murguia outlined the new economic development projects during her term in the 3rd District, including two new grocery stores in an area that was formerly a food desert, a new library, a new police station, a $60 million development on Rainbow Boulevard, a $40 million development on County Line, a $30 million development with hotel near the KU Medical Center, plus a new medical education building in Rosedale.

She said the economic development projects provided more than 200 entry-level jobs for youth, which is what youth indicated in interviews that they most wanted.

She also said the private fitness program operating in the Argentine community center now is serving 1,500 people at an affordable rate, as compared to serving only 50 people previously with older equipment.

Christian A. Ramirez said he is a native of the 3rd District, and his family originally lived in Rosedale before moving to the Argentine area. His grandfather came over from Mexico and helped give back to his community, he said

“That’s why I’m running, is to give back to my community,” Ramirez said, “to ensure everyone is getting the services.”

He said he wants to work on rebuilding a sense of community and creating more youth programs. He works at the Johnson County Recreation Department, as an assistant director of an after-school youth program.

He said he sees how the community programs enhance children’s abilities to be effective adults when they grow up, and that is what he hopes to bring.

He also said a for-profit program operating in a community center is not right, and that youth need a safe place to go. He was referring to the Argentine center, where a for-profit fitness program operates in part of the center.

Ramirez said it was not right for the for-profit operation to not pay property taxes, rent or utilities. He also added that Rosedale does not have a community center. He said he would like to create a mobile recreation center program once a month outdoors at parks.

In 2018, Ramirez served as the volunteer coordinator and finance assistant for Brent Welder’s Congressional campaign. He also served as chairman of the Wyandotte County Young Democrats and treasurer of the Kansas Young Democrats.

UG Commission, 4th District

Incumbent Commissioner Harold Johnson faces Jorge Luis Flores in the 4th District.

Johnson led the district with 321 votes to Flores’ 236 votes in the August primary.

A graduate of Sumner Academy, Johnson also has a degree from Kansas City Kansas Community College, a bachelor’s in management and finance from Park University, and a Master of Business Administration from Avila University in finance. He is pursuing a theology degree. He said he has lived in the 4th District about 50 years.

Johnson worked 22 years in the banking industry, as a bank vice president, mostly working with nonprofit organizations. He ran for office because he wanted to see development in a district where there had not been much development in decades, he said.

Since being in office, a strategy for development has been developed for the Northeast area. It’s the first master plan for the Northeast area ever approved, he added.

A new $12 million development, Boulevard Lofts, is the first affordable housing mixed development in decades in that area, he said. The new master plan now is being used as a template for other areas, he said.

Also in the 4th District, Donnelly College is constructing a new academic building, and the Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools are building the new Carl B. Bruce Middle School.

“There’s over $70 million of economic development that’s going on in the 4th District,” he said. ”We’re not done yet, there’s still a need for economic development.” Jobs that pay livable wages and more housing also are needed, he added.

He said he has proven results, the experience and the focus to get the job done.

Johnson also is pastor of the Faith Deliverance Family Worship Center in Kansas City, Kansas.

Jorge Flores, a native of Wyandotte County, and a graduate of Wyandotte High School, KCKCC and the University of Missouri at Kansas City, is a former police officer who served with the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department for nine years. He is an entrepreneur who has his own real estate and financial business.

“My overall goal is to empower and enhance the quality of life of the residents in our community,” Flores said at the October candidate forum. “I want to break the barrier that we currently don’t have representation in my community.

“I believe that everyone deserves a voice, and it’s one of the main reasons I’m running,” he said.

Flores currently serves on the board of El Centro and Black Excellence KC.

“My goal is to continue to serve the community, whether elected or not,” he said.

“While I am the new face, I bring a lot of passion and energy for service,” Flores said. “I am 27 years old, and I would hope that anyone that’s out there that is seeing this will be passionate about running for something one day. I would like to see more younger individuals getting involved and working in their community.”

UG Commission, 6th District

Running for UG Commission, 6th District are Incumbent Commissioner Angela Markley and Diana Aguirre. There was no primary in this district.

At the October candidate forum at KCKCC, Commissioner Markley said during her term in office she focused heavily on neighborhood-level issues including blight reduction and code-enforcement related items, leading to the formation of the SOAR program, an initiative to improve the look, feel, safety and marketability of neighborhoods.

“We’ve done a lot, but there is a lot left to do, and I look forward to shepherding that program through the coming years,” Markley said.

She also has been focused on transparency through data-driven decision-making. This effort includes the community survey every two years, strategic planning as a commission, which happens twice a year, and the extension of the budget schedule to allow for additional comment and discussion by the public and commission, she said.

“We have lowered the mill levy, but I recognize that many of our community members haven’t felt that impact in their wallet, due to the corresponding increase in property values, so I look forward to continuing efforts to lower the mill levy until we see real tax relief for our residents,” Markley said.

As a lawyer, Markley said she likes to deal with the policies, the details and the long-term projects, and she has served on a lot of UG committees.

Markley graduated from Turner High School, where she was valedictorian, and went on to Pittsburg State University, where she graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in communication, and then to Washburn University School of Law, where she graduated cum laude in 2006.

She has worked on the Turner Days Committee, Share the Bear nonprofit program for Turner, and SAFE Neighborhood Group. She is a past board member of the Turner Recreation Commission.

Diana Aguirre said transparency in the local government is a top concern, along with keeping community programs public in the recreation centers.

She did not attend the October candidate forum at KCKCC, but she spoke at another candidate forum in June.

She has volunteered more than 20 years in the community, including holding youth programs and trick-or-treat villages in the Argentine community center to keep the kids safe in the community, she said.

She was previously a candidate for the Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Education. Aguirre is a past member of the UG Ethics Commission.

At the candidate forum in June, Aguirre said she really had wanted to run for 3rd District commissioner, but district boundaries have been changed so that her home is now in the 6th District. The 6th District now includes part of Argentine as well as the Turner area.

“I actually live in Argentine, and my concerns are Argentine,” Aguirre told the audience at the June forum. She did not know the district’s boundaries had changed.

“There’s no transparency in our government,” Aguirre said at the candidate forum.

She said the private for-profit fitness center now operating at the Argentine Community Center gets free rent, free utilities and is tax-exempt at the community center building.

“They kicked out the kids from our community center,” she said.

People who use the fitness center pay $19.99 per person per month, with more than 1,000 people enrolled, she said. That business makes more than $200,000 off the community, she said.

Aguirre said she objected when the same concept of a fitness center was being discussed for another community center.

“I went before the commission and let them know that that was unfair,” she said at the June candidate forum.

“I want our community centers back,” she said. “We should make sure our parks are safe.”

UG Commission, 2nd District

Incumbent Commissioner Brian McKiernan is running unopposed for a third term for the UG Commission, 2nd District.

McKiernan is a graduate of Bishop Ward High School, attended Donnelly College and received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Kansas. He also has a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy and a doctorate in physiology from the University of Kansas Medical Center. He has taught physical therapy classes, and also serves as an announcer at events.

He spoke at a candidate forum in June.

“I am proud of the hard work we’ve done in District 2,” McKiernan said at the forum.

He said there has been a lot of housing and commercial development along Minnesota, Central and Kansas avenues.

He said he was proud that the UG reinstated the citizen survey, and the UG will continue to work on blight reduction; infrastructure improvements to roads, curbs and alleys; and communication.

“I think we’ve done a lot of great things and we’re going to continue to do a lot of great things,” he said.

He said he would continue to try to work with those in the community who are actively trying to improve the social determinants, which would then improve the overall health of the community.

Election details

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5, and the polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters should go to their assigned polling places and bring identification such as a driver’s license.

Early voting continues on Monday morning from 8 a.m. to noon at the Election Office, 850 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas. For more information about voting and polling places, visit www.WyCoVotes.org, facebook.com/WyandotteElection, or call 913-573-8500. A story about voting details is at https://wyandotteonline.com/early-voting-begins-saturday-at-three-sites/.

More information about the candidates and their views of issues can be found in a video of a candidate forum, online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlURCn044gE.

To see an earlier story with the candidates’ comments about what they would do about collecting debts from the T-Bones’ owner, visit https://wyandotteonline.com/candidates-support-collecting-debts-from-t-bones/ .

To see a story about the UG Commission primary contest, visit https://wyandotteonline.com/ug-commission-contests-on-tuesday-include-some-rematches/.

Past stories about the elections in 2019 are found under the category, Election 2019, on the Wyandotte Daily website, at https://wyandotteonline.com/category/election-2019/.

To see a story about the Amayo Argentine Recreation Center and the fitness center, visit https://wyandotteonline.com/renovations-completed-at-amayo-recreation-center-in-argentine/ .

To contact Mary Rupert, editor, email [email protected].