The filing deadline came and went Monday, and nearly 180 candidates filed to run for local offices in Johnson County, from mayors to city councils to school boards and more.
This is an off-year election, meaning no state or federal races will be on the ballot, just local contests to determine who will govern your Johnson County communities, making decisions on how to use your taxpayer dollars and determine the future direction of your city or school district.
Overall, the Johnson County Election Office says 92 contests will appear on local ballots this November, and 48 of those — just over half — are contested, meaning more than one candidate is running.
The total number of candidate filings this year is 179, down from the previous two off-year elections in 2023, when there were 195 filings, and in 2021, when there were 200 filings.
There is also only one contest with enough filings to trigger an August primary: a three-person contest for a Ward 1 seat on the Lenexa City Council. (Some other contests have three or more candidates, but because of some municipalities’ rules or because they are at-large contests, they do not warrant primaries.)
Here’s the rundown of who you can expect to see on your local ballot this fall:
De Soto
- Mayor Rick Walker is seeking his third term and is being challenged by current city council president Robert Daniels.
- There are also two open seats on the five-person at-large De Soto City Council on this year’s ballot, with four candidates who have filed. They include Zack Bradley, James Doscher, Mark Gulley and Joe Sabo. The top two vote-getters in November will win seats on the council.
Edgerton
- Mayor Don Roberts is unopposed as he seeks his fifth term.
- Two incumbent city councilmembers, Josh Lewis and Bill Malloy, are also running against no additional challengers and will retain their seats on the at-large body.
Fairway
- Mayor Melanie Hepperly is unopposed as she seeks her third term in office.
- In Ward 1, Councilmember Kelly-Ann Buszek is unopposed as she seeks her third term.
- In Ward 2, incumbent Councilmember Dan Bailey is seeking his third term and faces a challenge from Emily Snyder.
- In Ward 3, Bill Stafford, a current member of the city’s board of zoning appeals, is running against James Hafner, who ran unsuccessfully for a Ward 3 seat two years ago. The winner will take the seat currently held by David Watkins, who is not running for reelection.
- In Ward 4, Councilmember Tanya Keys is seeking her fourth term and faces a challenge from PhD student Kiel Corkran.
Gardner
- Mayor Todd Winters is seeking his second term and is running unopposed.
- Two incumbent city councilmembers are also running for reelection, current council president Mark Baldwin and Steve Shute, who is also a former mayor. They face challenges in the at-large field from Kelly Johnson, Dawn Kirtley and John Snyder. The top two vote-getters in November will win the two seats.
Lake Quivira
- Mayor David McCullagh is running unopposed.
- Two at-large councilmembers, Julie Kurland and Tray Vedock, are running to retain their seats and face no challengers.
Leawood
- In Ward 1, Sarah Meuli and Matt Peppes are running for the seat currently held by Debra Filla, who is not running for reelection after holding the position for more than 20 years.
- In Ward 2, incumbent Councilmember Mary Larson is running unopposed as she seeks her third term.
- In Ward 3, Mitch Lohr, Rachel Rubin and Daniel Taylor are vying for the seat currently held by Councilmember Chuck Sipple, who is not running for reelection. Due to Leawood’s own rules, this three-person race will not be subject to a primary in August. The top vote-getter in November will win the seat.
- In Ward 4, incumbent Councilmember Julie Cain is running unopposed.
Lenexa
- In Ward 1, current Councilmember John Michael Handley — appointed to the seat in January to fill a vacancy created by the death of Joe Karlin — will face challenges from Trevor Keegan and Joe Shull. This race requires an August primary. The top two vote-getters will advance to the November general election.
- In Ward 2, Councilmember Bill Nicks is seeking his third term and will face a challenge from Nicole Wasson.
- In Ward 3, sales manager Avery Bell and former councilmember Corey Hunt will face off in a contest for the seat currently held by Melanie Arroyo, who is not seeking reelection.
- In Ward 4, Councilmember Craig Denny, running for a second term, is running unopposed.
Merriam
- Mayor Bob Pape, the city’s former longtime fire chief, is running for a second term and is being challenged by community activist Billy Croan.
- Three current councilmembers — Jacob Laha in Ward 1, Amy Rider in Ward 2 and Christine Evans Hands in Ward 3 — are all running unopposed.
- In Ward 4, Councilmember Reuben Cozmyer, appointed to the seat last year after councilmember David Neal resigned, is running for the seat against challenger Rob Arnold.
Mission
- Mayor Sollie Flora is unopposed as she seeks her second term in office.
- In Ward 1, Councilmember Josepha Haden Chomposy is seeking her first full term after being appointed to the seat last year to fill a vacancy. She is running unopposed.
- In Ward 2, Joe Donaway and Sam Komosa are competing to earn the seat currently held by Lea Loudon, who is not running for reelection.
- In Ward 3, Councilmember Debbie Kring is seeking her eighth full term on the council and is being challenged by Kayla Schiller.
- In Ward 4, Councilmember Ben Chociej is seeking his second term and faces no challenger.
Mission Hills
- Two candidates are vying to replace current Mayor David Dickey: former city councilmember and attorney Braden Perry and current councilmember Andy Weed. Dickey is not running again.
- There are two seats on the five-person at-large city council up for election this year and only two candidates have filed, meaning both are set to win seats on the body: current Councilmember Bill Bruning and Dan Sullivan.
Mission Woods
- Mayor Erica Hartley, appointed earlier this year after the former mayor’s resignation, is running for her first full term unopposed.
- All five at-large city council seats are up for election and five candidates have filed, meaning all five will automatically earn seats on the council. That includes four incumbents — Leslie Carto, Keith Mays, Ramsey Mohsen and Dan Sweeney — as well as newcomer Paul Hartley, who is Erica Hartley’s husband.
Olathe
- In Ward 3, Councilmember LeEtta Felter, who is also a former member of the Olathe school board, is running unopposed for her city council seat.
- In Ward 4, Councilmember and current Mayor Pro Tem Marge Vogt is seeking her tenth term on the council and faces a challenge from precinct leader Kevin Deneault.
- For one of the council’s two at-large seats, current planning commissioner Jeff Creighton is running against former state senator Rob Olson for the seat currently held by Kevin Gilmore, who is not running again.
Overland Park
- Mayor Curt Skoog is running for a second term and is being challenged by former city councilmember Faris Farassati, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2021.
- In Ward 1, Councilmember Logan Heley is running unopposed as he seeks his third term in office.
- In Ward 2, Councilmember Melissa Cheatham is seeking her second term and will face a challenge from Sydney Marsden.
- In Ward 3, former councilmember Tom Carignan is vying against BikeWalkKCs’ Amy Scrivner for the seat being vacated by the retiring Jim Kite.
- In Ward 4, Councilmember Scott Mosher is seeking his second term running against real estate agent Amy Antrim.
- In Ward 5, Andrew Payne and Alexandria Washington are vying for the seat currently held by Sam Passer, who is not running for reelection.
- In Ward 6, Josh Beck, an executive at a business and tax advisory firm, is running unopposed for the seat being vacated by current Councilmember Jeff Cox.
Prairie Village
- In Ward 1, Councilmember Cole Robinson is seeking his second term and faces a challenge from Daniel Garrett.
- In Ward 2, Councilmember Ron Nelson is seeking his third term and is being challenged by Ed Boersma, who ran for a Ward 2 seat two years ago as a write-in candidate.
- In Ward 3, Amy Aldrich and Shelby Bartelt are vying for the seat currently held by Councilmember Chi Nguyen, who was appointed to fill a vacancy last year and is not seeking election to a full term.
- In Ward 4, Kelly Sullivan Angles and Nathan Vallette are running for the seat currently held by Dave Robinson, who is not seeking reelection.
- In Ward 5, John Beeder and Betsy Lawrence are competing for the seat currently held by Greg Shelton, who is not seeking reelection.
- In Ward 6, Dan Prussing and Jim Sellers are competing for the seat currently held by Terrence Gallagher, who is not seeking reelection.
Roeland Park
- Mayor Michael Poppa, appointed in 2023 after former mayor Mike Kelly was elected county chair, is running for his first full term unopposed.
- Two city council incumbents — Tom Madigan in Ward 1 and Jen Hill in Ward 2 — are running for reelection unopposed.
- Two other candidates are also running unopposed: Harold Morales for the Ward 3 seat currently occupied by Kate Raglow, and Debbi Schraeder for the Ward 4 seat currently occupied by Jeffrey Stocks.
Shawnee
- In Ward 1, Councilmember Tony Gillette is seeking his second term and will run against Steele Reynolds.
- In Ward 2, Councilmember Mike Kemmling is seeking his fourth term in office and is facing a challenge from Eric Persson.
- In Ward 3, Dave Myres and Morgan Rainey are vying for the seat currently held by Angela Stiens, who did not file to run again.
- In Ward 4, Erin Aldridge and Laurel Stiffler are running against each other for the seat currently held by Jacklynn Walters, who is not seeking reelection.
Spring Hill
- Current city councilmember Kristin Feeback is running unopposed for mayor, set to replace Joe Berkey who is not seeking reelection.
- For city council, two current at-large city councilmembers — Michael Grant and Brian Peel — are seeking reelection and facing three challengers: Rodolfo Arevalo, Steven Boswell and Ivan Delgado. The top two vote-getters in November’s election will earn the two seats.
- In addition, there is an election for another at-large city council seat currently held by Phillip Thron, who was appointed in the middle of the current term. Thron is now seeking his first full term and is running against Rodolfo Arevalo (who is also running in the other Spring Hill city council at-large race) and James Savage. The top vote-getter in this race in November’s election will win the seat.
Westwood
- Six candidates are vying for three at-large city council seats. The top three vote-getters in November’s election will win seats.
- The field includes current Councilmember Jeff Harris, who is seeking his third term in office.
- The other candidates running include Stephanie Becker, Spencer Day, Greg Hirelman, James Spies and Jennifer Westlake.
- Current councilmembers Andrew Buckman and Jason Hannaman are not seeking reelection.
Westwood Hills
- Mayor Rosemary Podrebarac is running unopposed.
- There are five at-large city council seats on the ballot and five candidates, meaning all candidates on the ballot will win seats regardless of what order they finish.
- The candidates who have filed include current councilmembers Adam England, David Schmitz, Karen Sexton and John Weedman, as well as Laura Carey.
Blue Valley school board
- Current Area 4 board member Sonya Evans, who was appointed to fill a vacancy in 2023, is running unopposed for her first full term.
- Area 5 board member and current board president Gina Knapp is seeking her second term and is facing a challenge from former state board of education member Steve Roberts.
- Area 6 board member Jim McMullen is seeking his second term and facing a challenge from David Benson.
USD 232 school board
- For position #4, Nancy Moneymaker and Lucy Rumsey DeWitt are running against each other for the seat currently held by Danielle Heikes, who is not seeking reelection.
- For position #5, current Board Member Calley Malloy is seeking her second term, facing a challenge from Christian Amend.
- For position #6, current Board Member Brandi Jonasson is seeking her second term, facing a challenge from TJ Finan.
Gardner Edgerton school board
- For position #1, three candidates are vying for the seat currently held by Patrick Ross, who was appointed to fulfill the term last year. Those candidates include Julie Aldridge, Matthew Harlow and Melissa Hershey. The top vote-getter in November will win the seat.
- For position #4, current Board Member Lana Sutton is facing a challenge from Sam Dominguez.
- For position #5, incumbent Board Member and current board president Tom Reddin is running unopposed.
- For position #6, current Board Member Greg Chapman is seeking reelection against Keith Davenport.
Olathe school board
- Current District 3 Board Member Julie Steele is seeking her second term and will face a challenge from Scott Enge.
- Current District 5 Board Member Robert Kuhn is running for reelection unopposed.
- Current District 6 Board Member Becky Johann is running for reelection unopposed.
Shawnee Mission school board
- Three incumbent board members up for reelection this year — Mary Sinclair in the SM East area, April Boyd-Noronha in the SM West area and at-large member Heather Ousley — are all running unopposed.
Spring Hill school board
- Position #4 board member and current board president Nicole Melius is seeking her second term and facing a challenge from Autumn Coleman-Marconett.
- For Position #5, Steve Miller and Chris Olsen are vying for the seat currently held by Sharon Mitchell, who is not running for reelection.
- For Position #6, current board member Keith Ewing is seeking his second term and running against Ted Beauchamp.
JCCC Board of Trustees
- There are four seats on the Johnson County Community College Board of Trustees up for election this year and eight candidates have filed.
- The top four vote-getters in November’s election will earn seats on the board.
- The candidates include three current board members seeking reelection: Lee Cross, Mark Hamill and Dawn Rattan.
- The other candidates include Carlton Abner, Chad Carroll, Jeff Charlton, Geoff Holton and Kenneth Stokes.
- Current trustee Melody Rayl, appointed in 2023 to fill a vacancy, is not seeking a full term.
WaterOne Board
- Current Board Member Kay Heley is seeking her third term and is running unopposed.
- Current Board Member Bob Reese is seeking his ninth term and will face a challenge from Jennifer Gunby. WaterOne board seats are all at-large, so all residents in the utility’s service area will be able to vote on this race.
- Current Board Member Jill Westra is seeking her second term and is running unopposed.
Merriam Drainage District
- There are three seats on the Merriam Drainage District board up for election and all three current board members — Dan Leap, Eric Jackson and Jeff Weisbender — have filed to run with no other challengers, meaning all three will retain their seats.
Monticello Drainage District
- There are three seats up for election for the Monticello Drainage District board but only one candidate has filed, Keith Klemme.
