WATCH: The Post’s Johnson County commission candidate forum

Candidates vying for three county commission seats shared their contrasting views on a number of topics at a forum Tuesday night hosted by the Johnson County Post, including property taxes, spending and addressing homelessness.

This was the second-to-last night of forums among eight the Post has hosted this fall for candidates vying for state and local offices in the Nov. 5 general election.

Tuesday’s forum was hosted at Central Resource Library in Overland Park and featured candidates running for Districts 2, 3 and 6 on the county commission.

Together, those seats comprise three of the seven elected seats on the body.

Who is running?

District 2

• Current JCCC trustee Mark Hamill
• Incumbent commissioner Jeff Meyers

District 3

• Julie Brewer, retired former director of United Community Services of Johnson County
• Incumbent commissioner Charlotte O’Hara

District 6

• Incumbent commissioner Shirley Allenbrand
• Small business owner Mike Storm

How to watch the Post’s forum

The Post livestreamed Wednesday’s event on our Facebook page, and a recording of the forum is embedded below.

Following the embedded video are the questions each candidate answered during the forum.

Timestamps are included in bold at the end of each question to help you navigate through the forum video if you’d like to jump around.

Questions and timestamps

1.  Opening statements [5:02]
2. Property taxes: The issue by far we heard about the most from readers was local property taxes. Here’s a smattering of comments we got via email. One reader wrote, “My property taxes have increased again over 5% for 2024!  That is over 20% in the last five years. This is ‘insane’ for many of us on fixed income.” Another reader says, “STOP property tax increases. No double talk. Stop actual increases to homeowners.” Suggesting that keeping the mill levy static or reducing it slightly is not making up for the rise in valuations. Another reader says, “What strategies do the candidates have to lower personal property taxes, while still keeping quality services.” What will be your approach to this issue, which for many readers seems to be the one most top of mind? [13:04]

   

3. Tax follow up: Each candidate was asked a more directed follow-up question based on their responses to the first question about taxes. [21:58]

   

4. Homelessness: A plan to convert a Lenexa hotel into the county’s first year-round homeless shelter for single adults is no longer on the table after the Lenexa City Council voted down a special use permit needed for the project. The proposal garnered both ardent support and intense opposition. Many of our readers still think rising rates of homelessness in Johnson County need to be addressed somehow. If not with this shelter plan, how best can this be done? What, if any, policy solutions will you advocate for if elected? [32:33]

   

5. Housing affordability: One reader emailed this question about housing: “I’d LOVE to hear candidates discuss their thoughts on how they plan to improve housing affordability in Johnson County.” This reader goes on to list some ideas, including zoning reform, transit corridors, bike infrastructure, prioritizing the building of smaller houses, and associated community spaces. This reader goes on to say, “Prairie Village has been dealing with this issue for a while, and I think the conversation is a lot bigger than just saying ‘build more housing.’” This reader wants to hear your ideas for how you address housing affordability. [44:23]

   

6. Mental health services (from the audience): Mental health issues are a continuing challenge, evidence by rising rates of teen suicide rates and calls for police services. What can the county do to improve residents’ access to mental health services while at the same time not overburdening police or law enforcement? [55:23]
7. Elections: As a county commissioner, you will also sit on the county election board, which certifies local election results. In the primaries, at least, many readers wanted to know commission candidates’ stances on Sheriff Calvin Hayden’s years-long investigation into local election procedures. We didn’t get nearly as many questions about that after Hayden lost his own primary contest in August. But we still get some reader questions related to this topic, like this one: “Do you think that our elections in Kansas are well run and reflect the will of the voters?” [1:04:02]

   

8. Transparency and public comments at meetings (from the audience): We do have a couple of comments from the audience about the commission’s current policy on not livestreaming or broadcasting public comments at meetings. One commenter bothered by this, suggesting it limits free speech. Another commenter pointing out that there were was much “false information” said during public comments when it was being aired. What is your position on the commission’s policy of not more broadly airing the public comments portion of meetings? And what is your approach to transparency at the commission? [1:08:55]

   

9. Partisanship (from the audience): One audience member notes that there have been similar vote breakdowns on commission votes, suggesting there are entrenched partisan positions or feelings among commissioners though this is officially a nonpartisan position. This audience member asks, “Are you committed to governing in a nonpartisan manner if elected?” [1:17:47]

*NOTE: The final two answers were cut off from the Post’s Facebook livestream. An audience member captured Shirley Allenbrand’s and Mike Storm’s final answers. Here are those responses:

Shirley Allenbrand’s final answer

Mike Storm’s final answer: