New county advisory committees on diversity and sustainability now have their initial twenty-eight members, after a little under an hour of debate and sometimes raised voices at the Johnson County Commission Thursday.
Commissioners approved the members for the two new committees — also referred to as “coalitions” — on diversity, equity and inclusion with thirteen members and sustainability with fifteen.
County Chairman Mike Kelly initiated the discussion in April, with the aim of filling the coalitions with people who have expertise and lived experience on those topics.
The coalitions are intended to inform county officials on ways to address environmental and diversity issues.
Jae Moyer, who will be on the new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Coalition, said, “My personal experience living in Johnson County unfortunately hasn’t always made me feel safe.”
Moyer, an LGBTQ activist, expressed love for the county and added, “I envision a Johnson County where we don’t fight with our neighbors, but we work with them.”
But the idea to form the coalitions has received steady pushback from Commissioner Charlotte O’Hara and some residents since Kelly introduced it. That opposition continued Thursday.
Traditionally, committee appointments are not controversial and relegated to the consent agenda to be approved without debate. However, Commissioner Michael Aschraft, with O’Hara’s assent, asked that the appointments to these two new bodies be open for discussion.
Kelly agreed but limited the discussion to the concept of the coalitions and not the individual appointees.
Why some commissioners, commenters objected
A few regular attendees to county commission meetings strenuously objected to the coalitions during the public comment period Thursday, which is not streamed or archived.
In general, the objectors said the diversity, equity and inclusion coalition would create divisiveness. Johnson County is already diverse and welcoming, they contended.
One commenter, Jill O’Connor said, “If we strive for equity it will be a race to the bottom, to the lowest achievers,” adding that Kelly is trying to turn the county “Communist.”
Nancy Moneymaker argued that the coalition appointments made by Kelly show that “this body has become extremely partisan in practice.”
Maria Holiday, chairwoman of the Johnson County Republican Party, said Johnson County already is welcoming to diversity and values all its residents. The new coalition will divide people, exclude those with differing viewpoints and indoctrinate children, she said.
Holiday also objected to the sustainability coalition, calling it a business model to transfer taxpayer money to the Mid-America Regional Council and Climate Action KC.
Both of those groups are nonprofits. MARC is an association of local governments that serves as the metropolitan planning organization for the bi-state region. Climate Action KC, co-founded by Kelly, is a regional collaborative with the aim of making environmental improvements.
Decisions about spending taxpayer money still rest with the full County Commission.
During discussions Thursday, O’Hara concurred with that later point about the sustainability coalition.
“The green energy dream is nothing but a huge transfer of wealth,” she said.
She also continued to object to the fact that the coalitions were set up with members nominated by Kelly and ratified by the commission, rather than by nominations by district from each commissioner.
“I’m just totally disgusted at the process,” she said.
The new coalition members
Ultimately, the commission voted 5-2 to approve the appointments, with O’Hara and Ashcraft in dissent each time.
Commission members in the past have said advisory committees are often hard to fill. But Kelly said he believes there were more applications for the two committees than any others in the history of the county, “which shows that people care about this and that these are topics they want their government to focus upon.”
He added that making the county a safe and healthy community is a priority of the commission.
Following are the new coalition members:
Sustainability – Kim Winslow, Sara Greenwood, Piercyn Charbonneau, Shaun Pietig and Emily Randel through Oct. 31, 2024; Kristin Riott, Chris DeVolder, Scott A. Schulte, Lara Isch and Jennifer Gunby through Oct. 31, 2025; Ashok Gupta, Megan Parsons, Lindsey Constance, Tom Jacobs and Ajay N. Kasarabada through Oct. 31, 2026.
Diversity, equity and inclusion – Jae Moyer, James Terrones, Sandy Geduldig, Dr. Victoria Haynes and Charles McAllister Jr., through Oct. 31, 2024; Samantha von Ende, Kathleen Smith, Jeffrey Mendoza and Saaliha Khan, through Oct. 31, 2025; Thamara Subramanian, Graciela Couchonnal, Michael Poppa and Paulina Tabares, through Oct. 31, 2026.
Roxie Hammill is a freelance journalist who reports frequently for the Post and other Kansas City area publications. You can reach her at roxieham@gmail.com.
