Each year, the Post covers local elections in Johnson County — including hosting a series of candidate forums and publishing candidate answers to questions developed with reader input.
Uncontested candidates are generally omitted from the Post’s regular election coverage so that we can prioritize helping readers prepare to go to the polls and must choose between two (or sometimes more) candidates in a race.
However, there are more than a dozen uncontested candidates running for office in the Post’s coverage area this year, including each candidate running for Mission City Council.
Brian Schmid, who is running for the Mission Ward 3 seat being vacated by Councilmember Kristin Inman, said running uncontested changes the dynamic between candidates and constituents.
As a first-time city council candidate, Schmid said he shifted conversations from telling residents why they should vote for him to understanding their concerns.
Still, Schmid said he prefers a contested election because voters choose their candidate based on the different platforms, “and you feel like you have a mandate.”
“That feeling is absent here, which is why I’ve been focusing on hearing from my constituents about how they’d like to see the city develop,” Schmid said. “That said, running unopposed lets me focus more on learning and preparing to do the work, and less on running a campaign.”
Leawood Ward 3 Councilmember Lisa Harrison, who is running for re-election unopposed, said “it feels like a vote of confidence” from her constituents who are certain of her ability to lead and appreciate the work she’s already done.
Harrison said she remains focused on working with Leawood city staff and her colleagues “to maintain the excellence our residents have come to expect.”
As to whether she’d prefer a contested race, Harrison said that without an opponent, she can focus on her committee work instead of campaigning.
Who is running unopposed in Johnson County?
Here are the several candidates running unopposed in local elections in Johnson County.
Fairway
Ward 4
- Incumbent Jenna Brofsky
Leawood
Ward 3
- Incumbent Lisa Harrison
Ward 4
- Steven Kaster
Merriam
Ward 1
- Incumbent Jason Silvers
Ward 3
- Incumbent Bruce Kaldahl
Ward 4
- Incumbent Staci Chivetta
Mission
Ward 1
- Incumbent Trent Boultinghouse
Ward 2
- Incumbent Mary Ryherd
Ward 3
Ward 4
- Cheryl Carpenter Davis
Mission Woods
Mayor
- Robert A. Tietze
Overland Park
Ward 4
Prairie Village
Ward 1
Roeland Park
Ward 3
Ward 4
- Matthew Lero
Ward 4 (2-year unexpired term)
- Incumbent Miel Castagna-Herrera
Mayor
- Incumbent Michael Poppa
Shawnee
Ward 3
- Incumbent Kurt Knappen
Westwood
Mayor
- Incumbent David Waters
Westwood Hills
Mayor
- Incumbent Rosemary Podrebarac
