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April 3: Elections In Kansas & Missouri

Laura Spencer
/
KCUR

On Tuesday, voters go to the polls in Kansas and Missouri. Polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Kansas, and from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Missouri.

On the Kansas side, there's the Shawnee mayor's race and city council seats up for grabs in Leawood, Mission, Prairie Village, Shawnee and Westwood.

In Missouri, it's a mayoral race in Blue Springs, city council races in Independence and Lee's Summit and the school board in Kansas City. Bond and sales tax issues, city council and mayoral races are also on tap in Cass County, Grain Valley and Raymore.

KANSAS

  • Leawood. City Council candidates: Ward 1, Debra Filla*; Ward 2, Louis Rasmussen*; Ward 3, Carrie Rezac* and Cheryl Schoenberg; Ward 4, Julie A. Cain*.
  • Mission. City Council candidates: Ward 1, Sue A. Grosdidier* and Pat Quinn; Ward 2, James A. Brown and Amy Miller; Ward 3, Jennifer J. Cowdry and Connie Footlick*; Ward 4, Allen L. Anderson and David Shepard*.
  • Prairie Village. City Council candidates: Ward 1, Al Herrera* and Ashley Weaver; Ward 2, Ruth Hopkins*, Ward 3, Andrew W. Wang*, Ward 4, Dale Beckerman* and Brooke Morehead; Ward 5, David Scott Morrison*; Ward 6, Ted H. Odell and Diana Ewy Sharp*.
  • Shawnee. Mayoral candidates: Eric Jenkins and Jeff Meyers*. City Council candidates: Ward 1, Charles W. Macheers and Jim Neighbor*; Ward 2, Mike Kemmling and Neal L. Sawyer*; Ward 3, James Ferris and Dawn Kuhn*; Ward 4, Dylan McAfee and Michael (Mickey) Sandifer*.

The Shawnee Dispatch reports:

In the race for mayor, challenger Eric Jenkins is looking to unseat Jeff Meyers, who has held the position for two terms.
Meyers, 53, is a teacher and head football coach at Olathe East High School. He has lived in Shawnee 31 years and served nine years on the council before being elected mayor.
Meyers has said one of his points of pride has been doing more with less in the city, financially, adding that his tenure as mayor saw Shawnee’s bond rating upgraded twice. Meyers said the city’s spending was stable and that economic development and street maintenance should be priorities.
Jenkins, 63, is a retired colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, retired manager with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and an emergency preparedness consultant. Jenkins has lived in Shawnee 27 years and spent 21 years on the Planning Commission.
Jenkins has said he wants to curb excess spending and tackle what he calls a “decreasing level of opportunity” in Shawnee by keeping taxes and regulations at a minimum to attract more small businesses.

  • Westwood. City Council at-large candidates: J.W. Jake Culwell, Paul Day*, and Matt Jones.

Check here for more information from the Johnson County Election Board.

MISSOURI

  • Blue Springs. Mayoral candidates: Michael Freeman and Carson Ross*.

The Examiner reports:

You would have a difficult time finding two people who differ more than Carson Ross and Michael Freeman.
But both share one thing in common – they both want to be mayor of Blue Springs, one for a second term and the other for the first time.

  • Independence. City Council candidates: 2nd District, Curt Dougherty and Jim Engelman*.
  • Kansas City. Kansas City school board race candidates: 1st Subdistrict (names listed on ballot), Arthur Benson* and Jon Hile; 3rd Subdistrict (write-in candidates), Duane Kelly*, Marisol Montero, Adam Schieber; 5th Subdistrict (write-in candidates), Candace Koba, Demonte Rochester, Curtis Rogers, Nia Webster; At-Large (write-in candidates), Rev. Sam Mann, Jerry L. Sargent, Lyne't C. Smith, H. Lon Swearingen, Airick Leonard West*. Check here to take a look at the sample ballot for the school board race.
  • Lee's Summit. City Council candidates: District 1, Rob Binney and Robert Dye; District 3, Derek Holland and Paul DeWalt.

* - indicates an incumbent.

Kansas City is known for its style of jazz, influenced by the blues, as the home of Walt Disney’s first animation studio and the headquarters of Hallmark Cards. As one of KCUR’s arts reporters, I want people here to know a wide range of arts and culture stories from across the metropolitan area. I take listeners behind the scenes and introduce them to emerging artists and organizations, as well as keep up with established institutions. Send me an email at lauras@kcur.org or follow me on Twitter @lauraspencer.
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