In just one week, Johnson County residents will be voting in local municipal races for mayor and city council, as well as school board, water board, and countywide races for Johnson County Community College. These low-turnout, low-intensity races have not generated much buzz, but they could have profound implications for all of us (for example, local school boards are responsible for mill levy increases).
Many of the county's cities have intense races for mayor and city council--some of the races could be characterized as bizarre, unpredictable, incendiary, and disorganized, such as the municipal races in Roeland Park and Merriam. As these races are officially nonpartisan, the Kenig Konnection usually refrains from making endorsements, however, we will take this time to highlight the school board races and the JCCC Trustee races.
For Olathe School Board, we endorse known Republicans Mike Poland and Jim Churchman, who are known fiscal conservatives who have worked hard to protect taxpayers while ensuring that Olathe schools grow and prosper.
For Shawnee Mission School Board, we endorse Cynthia Jarrold, for the simple reason that she is not Cindy Neighbor. Neighbor serves simultaneously as state representative and SMSD board member and we feel that she should step down and allow someone else to run for SMSD--her work in Topeka in the legislature keeps her busy enough, and serving on the school board requires additional time and energy, which she just does not have. We know very little about Jarrold other than her PTA experience, but we believe she remains a much better alternative to liberal Neighbor.
Voters will have the option of selecting up to four candidates for JCCC Board of Trustees. Jerry Cook, Bob Drummond, Ben Hodge, John Kanaga, Melody Rayl, and Stephanie Sharp are the known Republicans running for a position on the 6-member board. The ballot includes 10 candidates.
Soon, we will post an interview with John Kanaga, candidate for JCCC trustee, about his campaign. In full disclosure: Kanaga and I have worked together on previous campaigns, and I know Kanaga well--much more so than most of the candidates running for the position in this cycle, which is why I fully support and endorse his candidacy.
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3 comments:
Melody Rayl is a Democrat. Very liberal.
Jerry Cook, while a "Republican," is no different than Rayl and they are campaigning together.
Stephanie Sharp is slightly more conservative than Dennis Moore or Sue Gamble.
Love seeing you endorse Cynthia Jarrold Obama worker and Dem!
Melody Rayl has hired the Dublin Group for assistance in campaign management and strategy. The Dublin Group is a Republican consulting firm.
I did not endorse the individuals mentioned--I just mentioned the known Republicans who are running.
Also, I am supporting Jarrold because she is not Cindy Neighbor. Sadly, we do not have a Republican running for Neighbor's seat on the school board, but we do have a choice.
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