It’s an off-year election, meaning no state or federal contests are on the ballot this Nov. 4.
All the attention will be on local races — competitions for mayors, city councils and school boards. See a full list of the candidates on the ballot this year.
We at the Johnson County Post are always busy during campaign season, but it’s years like this when we feel the urgency just a bit more because it’s local coverage — down to the city and neighborhood levels — that we prize most and that our readers value.
And few things are more impactful to our Johnson County readers than letting them get to know the people running for local office, who would govern their communities and control how their tax dollars are spent.
That’s why every election cycle, we let you, the readers, determine the direction of our campaign coverage.
The Post’s “Citizens Agenda” approach to election coverage
As we’ve done for 15 years now, the Post will be asking the candidates seeking to represent Johnson Countians in office about the issues YOU want to hear them discuss as they compete for your vote.
These elected leaders will be making decisions about how your tax dollars are used, what powers local and state governments exercise and where our communities will head in the coming years, and we feel it’s important to keep you informed about where candidates stand on these important issues and more.
This is part of our “Citizens Agenda” approach to campaign coverage, a philosophy of local election coverage used by media outlets across the U.S. that seeks to center the interests of everyday voters — not political parties, power brokers or pundits.
“When we ask people about what they want to hear candidates talking about, we find it’s almost never the kinds of things that dominate discussion on cable news or talk radio,” said Post publisher Jay Senter. “These candidates want the job of representing you, of being your voice in the rooms where big decisions get made. We think it’s our job to get the candidates talking about the things people say matter most to them.”
So: What do you want the candidates talking about as they compete for your vote?
How to tell us your priorities or questions
📬 Email us at stories@johnsoncountypost.com
➡️ Send us a message on Facebook here.
We’ll use your input to develop questionnaires for the candidates on the primary ballots, which we’ll publish ahead of the start of advanced voting next month.
Who’s on the Nov. 4 general election ballot
The local contests for which we will be asking candidates questions include:
- De Soto: A mayoral contest between incumbent Rick Walker and challenger Robert Daniels, as well as contested races for two at-large seats on the city council.
- Fairway: Contested races for city council in wards 2, 3 and 4.
- Gardner: An open contest for two at-large city council seats.
- Leawood: Contested races for city council in wards 1 and 3.
- Lenexa: Contested races for city council in wards 1, 2 and 3.
- Merriam: A race for mayor between incumbent Bob Pape and challenger Billy Croan, as well as a contested city council race in Ward 4.
- Mission: Contested city council races in wards 2 and 3.
- Mission Hills: A contested race for mayor between Braden Perry and Andy Weed.
- Olathe: Contested races for city council for a Ward 4 seat and an at-large seat.
- Overland Park: A mayoral contest between incumbent Curt Skoog and former city councilmember Faris Farassati, as well as contested city council races in Wards 2, 3, 4 and 5.
- Prairie Village: Contested city council races in all six wards.
- Shawnee: Contested city council races in all four wards.
- Spring Hill: Contested races for three at-large city council seats.
- Westwood: An open contest for three at-large city council seats.
- Blue Valley school board: Contested races for two member seats.
- USD 232 (De Soto) school board: Contested races in three district member areas.
- Gardner Edgerton school board: Contested races for three board seats.
- Olathe school board: A contested race for the District 3 seat.
- Spring Hill school board: Contested races for three board seats.
- JCCC Board of Trustees: Open contest for four board seats.
- WaterOne Board: A contested race for one board seat.
*Note: For some local offices, candidates are running unopposed. For these races, the Post does not plan to ask questions of the candidates.
Once we receive feedback from readers, we will publish our questions for candidates in mid-September.
