Tag: Election 2015

Witt running for UG Commission, 1st District at large, seat

Janice Witt
Janice Witt

Janice (Grant) Witt is running for the Unified Government Commission, 1st District at large position.

Witt is the founder and CEO of the Reola Grant Civitan Center, located at the Victory Dodge dealership site on State Avenue, where she assists in charitable efforts in feeding and clothing the needy.

Witt said she is running for office because the “powers that be refuse to acknowledge the desires of the people in this community.”

She said the people’s largest issue is that taxes are too high, and she is in favor of lower taxes. However, she said she is not sure if that is possible, since the government is so much in debt. She said she supports an end to excessive spending by the UG.

Witt said she doubted if some recent developments announced in the community would bring any new jobs here.

There previously had been discussion about reduced taxes when the STAR bonds at Village West are paid off.

“They promised us the PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes on BPU bills) is going to go away with the windfall; instead, we get the T-Bones,” Witt said.

“I know that I speak for a huge base of people in Wyandotte County, that have gone unheard,” Witt said. She said she is running to make sure the people are heard.

Witt said she is not a politician and not a community activist, just a community member. She said she did not like all the divisions in the city, and the fighting among the various neighborhoods.

One of her campaign themes is breaking the chains of corruption, greed, favoritism and unfair taxes. She made a reference to Rousseau’s quotation from the Social Contract: “Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains.”

Witt is in her late 40s and has owned small businesses outside of Wyandotte County. She was born and raised in Wyandotte County. She is a graduate of Washington High School and the University of Missouri at Kansas City.

Witt helped start a Civitan group for community service in Wyandotte County and served as its president prior to running for public office.

Witt previously ran for the UG Commission, 1st District at large, against Mark Holland. She also ran for the mayor’s office in 2013.

There are seven candidates for UG Commission, 1st District at large, in the primary election, March 3.

Watson files for UG 1st District, at large seat

Christal Watson
Christal Watson

by Mary Rupert
Christal Watson, president and CEO of the Kansas Black Chamber of Commerce Inc., has filed for the vacant Unified Government Commission 1st District, at large seat.

Watson said she has a strong desire to see change within the district, adding that she wants to see more balance in how Wyandotte County grows.

She said she would like to see a fair amount of growth across the board in the community.

Another candidate in the UG 1st District at-large race is Mark Gilstrap, former state senator. The general election will be April 7. If a primary is required, it will be March 3.

Watson, currently a member of the Kansas City, Kan., Board of Education, said she will not run for re-election this year to the school board, and she hopes to remain an advocate for public education.

A native of Kansas City, Kan., Watson said she cares about the community. She has four areas of focus in this campaign, economic development, government reform, education and workforce initiative.

On the subject of property taxes, she would support looking at the budget, and would want more information before taking a position on it. While she thinks taxes are too high, it would be premature to take a position before looking at the details, she said.

On developments such as the new U.S. Men’s Training facility proposed near the Schlitterbahn water park, and a new convention center that could be built near the Hollywood Casino, she said she would be supportive of new developments in the community.

She said the downtown Healthy Campus project has some valid points, and she would like to make sure the UG is listening to the community. As long as it is in the best interests of the community, she would support it.

She said she supports current efforts to increase the number of minorities in public safety positions.

Watson has a Bachelor and Master of Arts in organizational management degrees from Ashford University, and a graduate certificate in project management from George Washington University.

Watson previously has served in management roles with companies including Sprint, United Way, Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools, and Truman Medical Centers, contributing skills to business process improvement, resource development and human resource management.

In March 2014 she was named to the list of “50 Kansans You Should Know” by Ingram’s Magazine.

She serves on the board of directors of the U.S. Black Chambers Inc., headquartered in Washington; and she was appointed chairman of the President’s Council.

In addition, Watson serves on the board of directors of Wyandot Center Behavioral Health and Rainbow Services. She is Community Council chair for the Heartland Institute for Clinical and Translational Research at the University of Kansas Medical Center – Community Partnership for Health. She serves on the advisory board of the Boys and Girls Club , Wyandotte County Branch.

She and her husband of 26 years, Bryan H. Watson, have four sons.

Four candidates file for spring city, county elections

by Mary Rupert
Four candidates have filed for offices in the spring city and county elections, according to Frances Sheppard, assistant Wyandotte County election commissioner.

The four who have filed as of Monday, Dec. 8, include Christal Watson, Unified Government Commission, 1st District at large; Ann Murguia, UG Commission, 3rd District, incumbent; Nancy Burns, register of deeds, incumbent; and Chuck Stites, Edwardsville city council member, at large.

The filing deadline is noon Jan. 27.

Positions that are on the ballot include UG commissioners in Districts 2, 3, 4 and 6, as well as at-large 1; register of deeds; BPU, at-large position 3 and in Districts 1 and 3; four positions each in the Kansas City, Kan., Turner, Piper and Bonner Springs school boards; four at-large positions on the Kansas City Kansas Community College Board of Trustees; three positions on the Fairfax Drainage District board of directors; three positions on the Kaw Valley Drainage District board of directors; three positions on the Wolcott Drainage District board of directors; mayor of Bonner Springs; Bonner Springs city council positions; three at-large Edwardsville City Council positions; and three at-large Lake Quivira City Council positions.