Voters gave Prairie Village Police Chief Byron Roberson the edge Tuesday as the county’s top law enforcement officer, according to unofficial final results.
Assuming the results hold, he will become the first Democrat in most residents’ memories to hold the position.
Roberson emerged the apparent winner in a close contest over former Johnson County Undersheriff Doug Bedford, a Republican, 50.5% to 49.3%.
The vote total was 161,035-157,335, a difference of 3,700 votes.
The Post is seeking comment from both Roberson and Bedford, and we will update this story when we get it.
Roberson will take over for outgoing Sheriff Calvin Hayden
Roberson and Bedford faced each other this fall after a high-profile primary in which Calvin Hayden, who currently holds the job, was defeated.
Hayden gained national attention for publicly voicing suspicions about the integrity of the county’s election process, for his long-running investigation of it and for his association with hard-right Republicans touting voter fraud theories that had been debunked.
Hayden’s investigation did not produce any charges and he put it on pause before the primary, but never closed it.
During the campaign, both Roberson and Bedford said they’d close it after examining Hayden’s files to determine if there was cause to keep it open. They each said they’d publicly share what he found and what it cost.
Both candidates are law enforcement veterans
After Hayden’s defeat in August, the race revolved around the relative experience of the two men.
Roberson is in his thirtieth year at the Prairie Village Police Department and has been chief since 2021. During the campaign he stressed transparency, and mental health and pledged to use the sheriff’s resources to help short-staffed city police departments.
He also has said he’d work to get more participation in a countywide drug task force and would repair the working relationship with the county commission that had been damaged by Hayden’s personal remarks about some of them.
Bedford held the number two job as undersheriff to Calvin Hayden for four of his 25 years in the sheriff’s office. He left that spot in early 2022.
This story was originally published by the Johnson County Post.
