Without much fanfare, two-term Johnson County Commissioner Janeé Hanzlick announced on her Facebook page May 8 that she won’t run for another four-year term.
Although that announcement may have seemed abrupt — she gave no reason at the time — Hanzlick said she actually came to that decision last fall, when she couldn’t generate the enthusiasm to gear up for another campaign. That’s when she started talking up the job to potential replacements.
“I never had the ambition to be a career politician,” she said. Instead, she looked at the job as a chance to advocate for the needs of vulnerable people, befitting her background in social services as former CEO of the non-profit domestic abuse agency Safehome.
“I’m a social worker. I was a social worker before elected office. I still am a social worker. In fact sometimes I tell people I’m a social worker and I happen to be doing social work in the role of a county commissioner right now.”
The list of accomplishments she posted on Facebook mentioned some of the goals she felt had been accomplished, including increased access to affordable housing, expanded mental health services, a property tax rebate program for low-income homeowners, a strategic transit plan and others.”We achieved all this while being fiscally responsible and making efficient and effective use of taxpayers’ money,” she wrote.
“I am proud of the progress we have made together during my two terms, especially in better meeting the needs of our most vulnerable residents,” the post read.
Hanzlick, whose district is completely within the boundaries of Overland Park (see a full map of the six county districts here), said finding a person to run was complicated, since the county commissioner job demands so much time flexibility and many people who were interested were not free to take time away from their occupations.
Toxicity of the political environment from both parties is something that also made people hesitant to run, she said.
Once it became apparent Teresa Erb of Overland Park planned to file, Hanzlick said she delayed her own announcement until Erb was ready. The filing deadline for the nonpartisan election was June 1.
Hanzlick said she has not heard any criticism about the timing of her announcement, but noted that it had been hard to recruit a candidate for the district. Anyone could have filed to run, even if she stayed on the ballot, she said.
Hanzlick, who was elected in 2018, served through some of the most tumultuous years on the commission as the coronavirus pandemic prompted decisions on school and business closings and mask wearing. Debunked conspiracies about election procedures and the 2020 presidential election took the spotlight as the threat of COVID began to ease. The vitriol from that time was something that caught Hanzlick off guard, she said.
She said she had not expected some of those things as she began her term with one COVID-free year. “I had not anticipated having to decide which businesses would stay open or how long people would wear masks,” she said. “But I was very proud of our county and proud of myself for hanging in there and making the best decisions possible based on what we knew. I don’t regret anything that we did because our whole goal was to try to keep people safe and alive.”
After her term is over, Hanzlick said she still plans to stay active and contribute to the community. She said she’d be happy to cheer on her successors from the sidelines. “I believe public service is something you do for a while, but at least for me it’s not my whole life,” she said.
As for running for some other elected office, “I’d never say never but it’s not on my radar at this point in time.”
Keep reading: Who’s on your Aug. 4 primary ballot? Here’s every Johnson County-area race to know
