Advance voting in person began Monday, Oct. 28 in Johnson County and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov 5. As residents start heading to the polls to cast their ballots for the Roeland Park City Council and other races, we’re putting together our election primers to give people an easy way to find out where the candidates stand on the issues.
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Who’s on the ballot
Three of the four seats up in this election have contested races. Candidates in the contested races are listed below. We’ve linked to their campaign websites when possible.
Council Member Ward 2
Council Member Ward 3
Council Member Ward 4
Candidate Questionnaires
Earlier this month, we published the candidates’ responses to the questionnaires we developed with input from our readers. You can find each of the five questionnaire items linked below:
Question 1: Managing the city’s budget is one of the primary roles of a city council. What’s your assessment of the current tax environment for Roeland Park residents — are taxes too high, too low, just about right? If you propose lowering taxes, what services or budget items would you cut to make the budget balance? If you propose raising them, what would the additional revenue be used for? Read the answers here.
Question 2: People who run for elected office often have strong views about how things ought to be — views that may differ sharply from their colleagues on the city council. What steps would you take to ensure that you have positive, productive relationships with council peers who may have different views than your own? Read the answers here.
Question 3: The ACLU of Kansas recently made a presentation before the city council suggesting that the city should adopt a policy that city resources would not be used to aid federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in immigration enforcement actions. Do you support the adoption of such a policy? Why or why not? Read the answers here.
Question 4: The future of the city’s aquatics facilities has been at issue since the dissolution of the joint-operating partnership between Roeland Park and the Johnson County Park and Recreation District earlier this year. What’s your vision for the city’s public pool facilities moving forward? Read the answers here.
Question 5: Living expenses in Johnson County have seen double digit increases in the last 4 years. Homeownership is becoming a challenge for people working in a number of professions such as teachers, firefighters, and police officers in Johnson County. Costs for individuals, including those on fixed incomes, who own their home without a mortgage have continued to rise. How would you address the need for more varied priced housing options in Johnson County at large and Roeland Park specifically? (This question was submitted by the Johnson County Health Equity Network, which focuses on housing affordability, stability and safety). Read the answers here.
Roeland Park city council candidate forum
- What’s the biggest challenge facing the city of Roeland Park and what should city government be doing about it? Discussion starts at 11:00.
- What’s your take on the the process for the design and lead up to the Roe 2020 project? Discussion starts at 22:30.
- How should the city be addressing the wave of teardown-rebuild home projects in the city? Discussion starts at 41:35.
- What’s your basic philosophy about using bonds for capital improvements and parks? Discussion starts at 51:00.
- What is your viewpoint on the use of city funding for public art? Discussion starts at 56:20.
- Do you support public as well as private schools? Discussion starts at 1:01:30.
- How would you communicate with your constituents on a regular basis? Discussion starts at 1:04:30.
