The four candidates vying for two places on the Johnson County Commission started a forum Tuesday night on the subject of county spending.
But before their hour was up, they had also delved into a variety of other topics, including tax incentives, public transit, affordable housing and — in a blast from the past COVID years — support for the county health department’s vaccination program.
The Post is hosting seven nights of forums for Kansas Statehouse and local races ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.
The forum for county commissioner candidates running to represent districts 1 and 5 took place at Central Resource Library and was hosted and live streamed by the Johnson County Post. A full recording is available here and embedded below, beginning at 13:43.
Questions were provided by Post readers and from among the about 130 attendees who submitted questions on notecards.
Who is running?
The forum featured views of candidates for two contested seats on the commission. In District 1, the northeastern part of the county, incumbent Becky Fast faces challenger Ben Hobert. In District 5, which includes the central part of the county west of Overland Park, incumbent Michael Ashcraft is being challenged by Ben Mitchell.
The 4th District seat occupied by Commissioner Janeé Hanzlick is open this year since she is not running for reelection. But that seat is uncontested and was not included in the forum.
Audience members also heard two candidates for chair of the commission in a later part of the forum.
The races are non-partisan, meaning no party labels will appear on the ballot. The election is Nov. 3.
District 1
- Becky Fast, of Roeland Park, is nearing the end of her second term, having been first elected to the commission in 2018. She also served two terms on the Roeland Park City Council including a stint as council president and has a background in social work.
- Ben Hobert, of Westwood Hills, is a retired lawyer in a firm that specialized in business law, including mergers and acquisitions. He has not run for public office before, but has frequently shared his views on county government during public comment periods at county commission meetings.
District 5
- Michael Ashcraft, of Olathe is currently the longest-serving member of the commission. He was first elected in 2010, and his fourth term will expire in 2027. Ashcraft was a consultant for 30 years with an emphasis on management and performance auditing. His LinkedIn page lists him as semi-retired.
- Greg Mitchell, of Olathe, is a semi-retired hospital executive specializing in supply chain operations.
On county spending and cuts
The discussion started with a question to candidates about the county spending and property tax rates, but quickly turned into discussions of the commission’s veto power over tax incentive plans approved by cities.
Hobert — said county officials have been misleading when they say they have made mill levy cuts, because the cuts in taxing rate still result in a bigger tax payment from people whose homes increase in value.
“The valuation increases post-COVID were so great that if they would have kept the mill levy static, people wouldn’t have just been screaming about property taxes; they’d be saying we need to tar and feather some people,” he said.
He added that he would cut 11 new full-time positions that were added to strategic communications, because he said they were “duplicative” and “wasteful.”
But when pressed on what further cuts he might make, he objected to the question. “This is always a catch-22 type question. You’re not willing to just look at inefficiencies. You want to get some catch-22 phrase where I’m going to cut something,” he said. He added he was thinking more of “trimming” than of cuts.
Fast — said that the commission has diligently pursued efficiencies in operations and used an AI program called Resource X to find $32 million in savings by modifying services, plus $15 million in cuts.
She also said the counties have been disadvantaged by state legislative policies that have shifted more of the tax burden to residential homeowners while giving breaks to commercial and agricultural interests.
Ashcraft — “You don’t have to be Euclid to know that the cost of government is going up,” he said. “As money is available we find ways to spend it unless we have the discipline to say no. That’s the challenge.”
Mitchell — agreed that the cost of government is going up and said commissioners will have to be creative about dealing with it. “We’ve got to find other ways to generate revenue for the county other than foisting it all on the homeowners.”
On tax incentives for development
Tax increment financing takes place at the city level, but the county and school district boards have the option to veto it if they feel it impacts them negatively.
Commissioners struggled at a recent meeting with an incentive proposal for a De Soto assisted living facility that they worried would add costs to the county. The commission considered vetoing that project but deadlocked, which allowed it to move forward.
Ashcraft — has often been skeptical of TIFs. “I believe any TIF has an adverse impact on Johnson County governmental services because if it didn’t then why don’t we just TIF everything,” he said. The De Soto tax incentive should have been vetoed, he added.
Hobert — said tax increment financing can be a good thing to encourage development of a blighted or difficult area, but it is a vehicle that has been used too often. “I do think there has to be a scrutiny of TIFs; you can’t just do a lackadaisical review of them as I’ve noticed with the board of county commissioners.”
Fast — said the county can’t implement TIFs on its own. But the commission is usually asked for its decision on a veto without having the full incentive plan to look at. “We don’t even know what the city is going to do when we are given the veto pen,” she said.
The county has 30 days after the city’s public hearing to make its decision, according to state law.
On vaccine program support
Although the vaccines have not been a subject at commission meetings recently, one attendee asked whether the candidates supported the county vaccination offerings. What followed was an extended back-and-forth between Fast and Hobert.
Fast — called out Hobert, who had introduced himself by saying he’s been to the commission meetings 200 times to share his views on various subjects. He had many times referred to the COVID vaccine as the “clot shot.”
“A large percent of those (trips to the dais) was to remove our public health guidance, to ask us not to support mitigation measures,” Fast said. “He even asked us to support Ivermectin (a medicine primarily used by veterinarians that had gained a following during the COVID-19 pandemic years but whose effectiveness against COVID was not proven).
Fast also said Hobert had spoken against vaccines for RSV and the flu, and that he was “peddling RFK, Jr. misinformation,” referring to U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic.
Hobert — responded, “much of what she said was inaccurate.” He continued, “I am totally in favor of vaccines that are tried and true,” such as tuberculosis and measles, mumps and rubella. He said he did object to the county’s presentation of then-Health Director Dr. Sanmi Areola as an expert, saying Areola’s degree in environmental toxicology was insufficient to define him as an expert.
“I didn’t suggest the county remove general public health guidance. I told the public, you are being deceived as to the relative benefits and detriments of COVID MRNA vaccine,” he said.
Fast — referred the audience to tapes of the meetings. “It’s on the record because he came every week after week,” she said.
Hobert — said earlier that his remarks probably weren’t recorded because the public comments were not being included in the recordings for a time.
The District 5 candidates also answered the vaccine question.
Ashcraft — “That’s an interesting question. Why would you not support the vaccine program?” he said, highlighting tuberculosis as one of the health department’s offerings that is useful because the county has had past outbreaks.
“I’d be surprised if anyone would say vaccines are bad, but if you choose not to then you’ll have to live with the consequences,” he said.
Separately, Ashcraft called the COVID vaccine “a whole different ball of wax” that has been controversial.
Johnson County supplies vaccinations for COVID, flu, childhood and travel vaccines, but a tuberculosis vaccine is not among them. The county does offer TB screening, however.
A vaccine against tuberculosis exists, but according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is typically given to children in countries where TB is common and is not generally used in the United States.
Mitchell — voiced his support of the county immunization services with one word. “Yes.”
On public transit
Fast — noted the commission’s initiative for a transit strategic plan that involved focus groups, a survey and outreach. She said a top priority for her is transit for older adults and those who lack transit mobility options. She also said the buses need to be “right sized” to be efficient.
Hobert — said traffic congestion is being caused by overbuilding of apartments, and that the county should be very diligent about planning a cost-effective way to serve people who need bus service.
At the end of the forum, he said the future of Johnson County is a key challenge commissioners must face. “What do we want Johnson County to look like in 10 years? I don’t want Johnson County to become west Chicago,” with density and quality of life “going downhill,” he said.
Ashcraft — suggested artificial intelligence be used to coordinate traffic signals throughout the cities in Johnson County and improve the traffic flow.
Mitchell — “In terms of public transit at many levels there’s more interest in it than there is demand for it,” he said. But as traffic becomes thicker and the costs of driving a car go up, that could change. He suggested the county start planning by building bus infrastructure into developments. “As time goes on we’re probably going to see a greater demand for mass transit,’ he said.
Affordable housing
Hobert — “The reality is you cannot counteract market forces,” he said. “I’m not going to have taxpayers throw money down a sinkhole” in a quest for a goal like affordable housing that is not clearly defined, he said.
Fast — said there are only about 10 homes in her district valued at $200,000 and that she’s worked on bringing home repair programs to help older adults stay in their homes. She also said she’d like to see more affordable housing brought about by gap financing for nonprofit developers.
Ashcraft — “Unless you have more supply than demand, costs are going to go up,” he said, suggesting the county should look at building code regulations that he said drive up the cost of building a home. He added that he’s also interested in the concept of “shared living,” where non-married individuals pool their resources to afford housing that would normally be out of their reach.
Mitchell — said he’d like to find ways to incentivize developers to build less expensive homes. The county should also examine tax policy on large companies that buy up hundreds of homes in suburban areas, squeezing the housing supply, he said.
“I would agree that this is a market-driven issue, but what’s at risk here? The American dream.” he said.
