Shawnee Mayor Michelle Distler will not seek a third term in office.
An elected official who has served in some capacity on the Shawnee City Council for 17 years, Distler leaves behind a mixed legacy, having helped lead the city during a period of rapid growth but also intensifying political polarization, starting with the Great Recession and up through the COVID-19 pandemic.
During her tenure on the council, she pressed for efforts to re-invest in the city’s police and fire departments, oversaw revitalization of the city’s downtown core and led Shawnee in obtaining accreditation of the city’s public works, fire, police, and parks and recreation departments. The city also gained its AAA bond rating and ISO-1 fire rating.
At the same time, Distler leaves public office during a time of political turmoil in one of Johnson County’s largest cities.
She quietly made the announcement not to run again in a post on her personal website on April 7.
“While my heart remains focused on service to this city, it cannot bear another four years of the divisive politics I see happening,” Distler wrote. “As such, I will continue my life of service, working amongst others for the betterment of my beloved Shawnee, but I will not be running for a third term, ending my 17 years of faithful elected service to my hometown.”
Distler was elected to the city council in April 2006 and was sworn into office for her first term as mayor in April 2015. She is the first woman to serve as mayor of Shawnee.
What happens to the mayoral seat?
Distler’s term finishes in December.
So far, two people have filed to run for mayor this November: current Ward 2 Councilmember Mike Kemmling, and former city councilmember Mickey Sandifer, who represented Ward 4.
Distler prioritized community engagement and public safety
A supporter of the city’s police and fire departments, Distler said she fought to get Fire Station 74 built in the northwest part of the city in order to reduce emergency response times for residents who live there.
Response times were 5 minutes at the time. They now average under a minute. Distler also pressed for the full-scale remodeling of fire stations 71 and 73, which are in progress.
She also pushed for a more open government, with efforts to include residents and businesses in major government decisions, particularly the city’s strategic visioning plan Imagine Shawnee and the city’s new comprehensive plan, as well as a community rebranding initiative earlier this year.
“It was very important to me that all of our decisions were guided by the citizens and business leaders, the people who live here and invest in our success,” Distler said.
Shawnee has seen rapid growth, especially downtown
During her tenure, Distler oversaw an overhaul of Nieman Road through the downtown core — a project known as Nieman Now — and supported restoration of century-old buildings like the Aztec Theater and the neighboring Hartman Hardware building, which is being made into a new brewery.
“If I’m being completely honest, I was hesitant initially; I feared that it wouldn’t produce what we were wanting it to produce,” Distler said of the city’s efforts downtown. “And I am pleasantly surprised and just elated that I was wrong in that hesitation and those fears, and that we’re creating a downtown that’s a destination.”
Still, the years-long Nieman Now project frustrated motorists, nearby residents and some business owners on the strip, who complained at times about delays and disruptions caused by the work.
Distler also led a city council through the COVID-19 pandemic in efforts that supported local businesses who faced challenging and unexpected circumstances with the shutdowns in 2020.
The city also saw a spike in residential population, particularly on the western side, which continues to see new single-family and multi-family development.
“I’ve always wanted Shawnee to be home for everyone, a community… that feels like home to everyone that comes here,” she added. “I want everybody to love Shawnee as much as I do and as much as I did growing up and why I’ve invested so much of [my] life into this community, because I care about its future.”
She faced a perjury charge in her second term
Distler, who identifies herself as politically conservative, cited concerns about a growing trend of negative partisanship in Shawnee city government and across the country.
In her post last month, Distler said she was “naive about the political forces that pressure and attempt to bully the position” of mayor at the time she was elected in 2015.
“To me, it’s not a conservative thing or a liberal thing, it’s the focus being on politics instead of the community,” Distler told the Post. “We need to serve every resident and business of our community and not just the ones that we agree with politically or that vote for us or put our signs in their yards.”
In efforts to require transparency in government, Distler pushed for the city to record meeting minutes verbatim, and has repeatedly asked for Shawnee city business to be kept in public view.
That inclination ultimately may have gotten her in legal trouble in March 2020, when Distler reported an alleged violation of the Kansas Open Meetings Act by some city councilmembers in an email thread.
In doing so, she was charged with felony perjury in Johnson County District Court because she used a blogger’s name instead of her own in filing the complaint. The case was dismissed after Distler completed 150 hours of community service.
“I lie down every night, knowing I have always led with integrity,” Distler wrote. “Any mistakes I have made have been just that, honest mistakes for which I have always taken responsibility. No amount of shaming or fabrication of the facts can change my knowing that my integrity is intact.”
Distler told the Post that she hopes future city councils will push for “the utmost focus on transparency and that we’re not leaving residents in the dark on decisions that are being made, but instead, completely including them in everything we do.”
Distler will still be around to volunteer
Distler plans to stay involved by volunteering with several local organizations, including volunteering for the fire and police departments, Flags for Freedom and Hidden Heroes.
She also plans to join the city’s chaplaincy program as support during local emergency responses and start volunteering at the historic Shawnee Town 1929 site.
“Being the Mayor of Shawnee has been a great honor, and I am proud of all we have accomplished,” Distler wrote. “Sadly, the regressive politics at play are beyond my ability to stay the course of running for a third term. Truth be told, I can no longer bite my tongue, a skill required of a good Mayor who needs to be a peacekeeper and an equitable servant voice.”
