Johnson County chair Mike Kelly will seek a second term leading the Board of County Commissioners, he announced Wednesday.
In an interview with the Post on Wednesday morning, Kelly said the 2026 election will come at a critical time for the county, which will be welcoming potentially hundreds of thousands of visitors for the World Cup next summer, while the county also tries to maintain its high quality of life and address residents’ persistent cost-of-living concerns.
“Some of the decisions and some of the vision that’s gonna be required in the next four years will have 40 years of impact,” Kelly said.
“As we look toward the future for Johnson County, it’s so important that we have leadership that’s dedicated to helping responsibly grow the county and also maintain our unique quality of life,” he added.
Kelly touts infrastructure, economic development as successes
Kelly won his first term as county chair three years ago, defeating former county commissioner Charlotte O’Hara in a race to succeed long-serving chair Ed Eilert, who retired.
Before that, he served as Roeland Park’s mayor for five years.
He said he’s proud of his record over the past three years. He said he’s prioritized being fiscally responsible while also trying to deliver services that residents say they want.
“I’m proud that we’ve taken care of those in our community,” he said, pointing out increased spending for the county’s Med-Act ambulance service and the opening of a new county health services building.
He also noted economic development projects that have come to fruition in the past three years, most notably the Panasonic EV battery plant in De Soto, as well as the beginning of work on a roughly $600 million project to improve the Nelson Wastewater Treatment Facility in Mission.
“I’m looking forward to continuing to build public safety partnerships, expanding mental health and [senior] services to meet growing needs with an aging population in our community,” he said.
In turn, the World Cup next year will be a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity for Johnson County to showcase itself and put itself on the world stage in a positive light.
“As a native of Johnson County who has invested nearly a decade in public service in Johnson County, I want to make sure that we meet that moment,” he said.
Property taxes, spending are likely to be key issues
Soon after the World Cup ends next year, it will be the thick of the county’s annual budget-making process, and that is likely to play a prominent role in debates over county chair.
The county has come in for consistent criticism from some residents for rising property taxes and the county’s steadily growing levels of spending. The county budget next year will total nearly $2 billion.
In August, a public budget hearing hosted by the county commission drew more than 200 mostly angry residents, with dozens of speakers urging the county to do more to lower taxes and control spending.
Kelly said the county looks for “innovations and efficiencies” when it puts together the budget each year.
He noted that the county has lowered its mill levy, or property tax, rate seven of the past eight years. (Still, with rising property valuations, most residents see increases in their annual tax bills.)
Kelly said he was “proud of our record of fiscal stewardship” in the past three years and said the county has tried to alleviate the burden on vulnerable residents with property tax rebate programs for seniors and veterans.
He said he’s willing to work with state legislators “to make sure that we have adequate ways in which local government can be funded and not be so over-reliant on property taxes.”
Kelly and other commissioners want to ask voters to approve an extension of a special sales tax with a mail-in election in March, but Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach is challenging that move in court.
Two challengers have filed so far
Before Kelly made his announcement on Wednesday, two other candidates had already filed paperwork with the county election office to run for county chair.
They include Karen Crnkovich, a small business owner who unsuccessfully ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House in 2024, and Gene Senesac, who is now retired but spent nearly 40 years working for agricultural conglomerate Archer Daniels Midland.
On their campaign websites, both Crnkovich and Senesac emphasize trying to find ways to cut property taxes and rein in county spending among their top priorities.
In a Facebook post last month, Crnkovich said businesses and residents alike are feeling the squeeze from rising taxes and increased costs.
“As a homeowner, a business owner, and a taxpayer myself, I’m fed up, and I’m running for Commission Chair to do something about it. We need transparency, accountability and a budget that respects the people footing the bill,” Crnkovich said.
Senesac emphasizes the cost of living on his campaign website, too, saying, in part, “In addition to serving the needs of Johnson County’s growing population, we must also be mindful of, and attentive to, an increasingly aging population with limitations on financial resources, requiring us to look harder at where we spend.”
Other commission seats on the ballot in 2026
There will be three other races for county commission in 2026 for seats representing Districts 1, 4 and 5.
Along with the race for chair, that means a majority of the seven-member commission will be on the ballot next November.
District 1 is currently represented by Becky Fast, District 4 by Janeé Hanzlick and District 5 by Michael Ashcraft.
None of those incumbents has yet filed to run for reelection, according to the Johnson County Election Office, and no challengers have stepped forward to file their candidacies either.
