Mayor-elect Tyrone Garner today named Shanelle Dupree to lead his transition team.
Dupree is a local attorney who is the Kansas City regional director of the Department for Children and Families. She is married to Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree.
“Shanelle Dupree has managed various campaigns and worked on transition teams across the state. I am confident Mrs. Dupree will lead a steady, thoughtful, and smooth transition,” Garner said in a news release.
The team is tasked with providing advice and counsel to Mayor-elect Garner as he recruits and appoints key positions within his administration and prepares to implement the campaign agenda on behalf of the residents of Wyandotte County.
Garner said he is focused on fostering unity, opportunity, and hope within Wyandotte County.
“I am honored to assist in laying the foundation for a transparent transition. I am ready to lead the transition workgroups over the next few weeks and capture the heart and voice of Wyandotte County through an inclusive and organized process,” he said.
Shanelle Dupree is overseeing five transitional workgroups:
• Community needs • Economic development • Systematic changes • Labor-union concerns • Wyandotte youth advancement
The five transitional workgroups will launch immediately, according to Garner’s announcement. Citizens interested in serving on a workgroup, should visit https://www.garnerformayor.com/. A member of the transition team will reach out to provide additional details.
“Thank you in advance for dedicating time and effort to improving Wyandotte County. It will take all of our involvement, and I am honored to serve as the next mayor-CEO of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County – Kansas City, Kansas,” Garner stated in a news release.
Garner plans to take the oath of office at 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 13.
Final, official results are in for the Nov. 2 general election, and as expected, no election outcomes changed, according to Wyandotte County Election Commissioner Michael Abbott.
Canvassing of votes was held Monday, and the final voter turnout was 16,992 ballots cast, 19.03 percent of the registered voters, according to the official results. Votes are official after a review by the Board of Canvassers.
The final official vote for Unified Government mayor-chief executive officer was Tyrone Garner, 8,531 to incumbent David Alvey, 8,133, a difference of 398 votes. There were 144 write-ins.
In the UG Commission at-large District 2, incumbent Tom Burroughs received 7,857 votes to Claudine Sanders’ 7,460, a difference of 397. There were 92 write-ins.
For UG Commission, District 1, incumbent Gayle Townsend received 970 votes to Melvin Williams’ 814, a difference of 156 votes. There were 6 write-in votes.
For UG Commission, District 5, incumbent Mike Kane received 3,097 votes to Eleanor Morales Clark’s 1,548, a difference of 1,549. There were 10 write-in votes.
For UG Commission, District 7, incumbent James F. Walters received 1,049 votes to Chuck Stites’ 1,493, a difference of 444 votes. There were 11 write-ins.
For UG Commission, District 8, incumbent Jane W. Philbrook received 945 votes to Andrew Davis’ 1,275, a difference of 330 votes. There were 13 write-ins.
For UG Sheriff, Daniel Soptic received 9,471 votes to Celisha Towers’ 6,881, a difference of 2,590. There were 52 write-ins.
For BPU member at-large, position 1, incumbent Mary Gonzales received 8,752 votes to Gwendolyn Bass’ 5,251, a difference of 3,501. There were 94 write-ins.
For BPU member at-large, position 2, David Haley received 8,241 votes to Mark Gilstrap’s 5,942, a difference of 2,299. There were 90 write-ins.
For BPU member, District 2, incumbent Thomas W. Groneman received 3,513 votes to Brian Matlock’s 2,454, a difference of 1,059. There were 30 write-ins.
Three of three candidates for the Turner School Board were elected: Joy D. Beery, 1,063; Steve Russell, 968; and Jeff Davidson, 888. There were 92 write-ins.
Three of three candidates for the KCKCC Board of Trustees were elected: Linda Hoskins Sutton, 9,947; Evelyn Criswell, 9,901; and Brad Isnard, 7,682. There were 329 write-ins.
For Piper School Board, three candidates were elected: John Bakarich III, 1,467; Desiree Fergus, 1,202; and Julian A. Wells, 1,009. Also running were Tiffany Scheffler, 987; Theresa Fisette, 965; and Rebecca Miller Davis, 756. There were 158 write-ins.
For Bonner Springs-Edwardsville School District, three persons were elected: Jeff Tinberg, 985; Kimberly Beets, 933; and Tiffany Sanders, 821. Also running were William Barajas Jr., 581; and Matthew L. Birzer, 482. There were 62 write-ins.
For the Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools, three board members were elected: Maxine Drew, 5,298; Wanda Brownlee Paige, 5,116; and Rachel Henderson, 4,802. Also running were Angelynn Howell, 3,460; and Diosselyn Tot, 2,058. There were 134 write-ins.
For Edwardsville City Council, two advanced: Margaret Shriver, 304 and Mark R. Bishop, 291. Also running was Sandy Millsap Moulin, 213. There were three write-ins.
Johnson County Water District 1 results from Wyandotte County also were included. The district also had other votes from Johnson County.
Tyrone Garner, who won Tuesday night’s mayoral election, pledged to work for all Wyandotte County residents.
“I’m going to be your mayor, work hard for you whether you voted for me or not,” Garner said Wednesday. No one would be left behind, and everybody has value in Wyandotte County, he said.
Asked to what he attributed his victory, he said, “I’ve got to give all glory and honor to God.” He also attributed the victory to the people of Wyandotte County who voted for him.
Garner received 8,243 votes to incumbent Mayor David Alvey’s 7,934 votes, a margin of 309 votes, with 18.47 percent turnout among registered voters.
Voters expressed a need for change that reflected their values, he said. Everyone has values, no matter what part of the community they are in, he added. The northeast, the southern part of the community, Bonner Springs, Edwardsville and Piper, all voices should be heard.
Garner said there wasn’t just one group that supported him, but a collective effort by a variety of persons who voted for him.
“I’m honored that the people had that level of confidence,” he said.
“I want everybody to know I want to be a unifying force,” Garner said. He will be a mayor for everyone and be a strong voice for everyone, he said, governing to the best of his ability.
He is looking forward to working on solutions to the needs and problems of residents.
“The goal is to make Wyandotte County as great as we can,” he said, “a great and safe place to live and work.”
Garner is the first black mayor of Kansas City, Kansas, a historic first, and Garner said he is looking beyond that.
“What’s more important than that, is I want people to see progress,” Garner said. His job will not focus on the historic aspects of the election, but on how to make people’s lives better, he said. Historians can focus on the historical aspects.
“It’s not about me, it’s about improvements I can make in people’s lives,” he said.
He said he would like to get the mayor’s office engaged more with the community, and build great relationships with everyone in Wyandotte County.
“I’ve always said, ‘I can’t do it alone.’ This election is about what we can all do together,” Garner said.
Garner, a former KCK deputy police chief, had called for more investigation into the KCK police force during the campaign. Some local unions, including the firefighters’ local, had endorsed Garner, and Garner also picked up support from some voters who supported lower taxes.
Incumbent Mayor David Alvey, an educator, had a background of public service on the Board of Public Utilities’ board before becoming mayor. He advocated infill housing, in which the city would redevelop areas that already had city services and streets, as an economic development tool to rebuild older neighborhoods.
Alvey said Tuesday night that he was disappointed, but his commitment to the community would stand. He will be looking for another job, he added.
“I have no regrets about how I have led in the past four years,” Alvey said, especially with the challenges of COVID-19 and the death of George Floyd.
“I’ve always tried to take an honest, straightforward approach to challenges in Wyandotte County,” Alvey said.
The fundamental problem of local government is to provide more and better services to the residents and businesses without overburdening them with taxation, Alvey said.
Wyandotte County had been in a downward trajectory, and has rebounded in the last 25 years, he said. It requires economic development and innovative approaches to solve the problems, he said. Whether he is in office or not, the problems will remain the same, he added.
This election cycle was much different than other campaigns, Alvey said. This was a much different campaign cycle than previously.
“There was far more anger, a lot of confrontation, more than we ever experienced before,” Alvey said.
“I also think, in a real way, that people are in a foul mood, frankly,” he said.
“It has to do with COVID, it has to do with all the national rhetoric, it was a different campaign cycle,” he added.
They haven’t dug into all the specific reasons why people voted the way they did, he added.
“My advice for Mr. Garner is to do an honest, straightforward look at the problems, because the problems will not go away,” Alvey said.
They have to let the evidence come forward, and let the evidence tell them what would be the best move for going forward, he said.
Alvey said it was too early to say if he would be continuing in politics, but his next goal would be to find a new job.
