By Ben McCarthy

Leawood voters will have very little to decide on their ballots, as two incumbents on City Council are running unopposed, and one of the other two open seats has, effectively, only one candidate still pursuing it.

Ward 1

In Ward 1, Sarah Meuli will have her name on the November 4th ballot, but has effectively disappeared from the campaign. Attempts to reach her have failed, and she has chosen not to participate in any election activities for several months. She is listed on her Linkedin page as an employee for DraftKings, the popular sports gambling app.

Matt Peppes, who ran unsuccessfully for the City Council in 2023, aims to fill the open seat in Ward 1 (held by Debra Filla). The 41-year-old Peppes grew up in Leawood, went to Shawnee Mission East, and then graduated from the University of Kansas.

His resume of recent public service around Leawood includes everything from chairing the Leawood Economic Development Council to serving on the Leawood World Cup Committee.

Peppes has his eye on reinvesting in aging infrastructure around town, while also proactively attracting new economic development opportunities. He also thinks Leawood should explore raising the mill levy to spur future development, pointing out that it is very low compared to its other Johnson County neighbors. [Peppes has since requested clarification on his position taken in the interview with the Telegraph, saying instead “Leawood already has one of the lowest mill levies in the metro and thoughtful commercial development helps spread out the tax base to reduce the residential burden.”]

He runs a small digital marketing firm called Cuveé KC. He says he’s aiming to engage constituents on how the city, despite being landlocked, can continue to develop in a thoughtful manner, and says Leawood cannot be afraid to look toward more multi-family housing solutions that will help attract younger families into the area.

Ward 2

Ward 2 sees only incumbent Mary Larson running for reelection.

Ward 3

An open seat in Ward 3 remains in play even as one of its three candidates has abandoned the race. Daniel Taylor will be on the ballot, but has not been actively campaigning for office. Taylor told the Telegraph this week that he withdrew for many reasons, including the untimely passing of his campaign manager.

Mitch Lohr, who graduated from Blue Valley North in 2011, describes himself as a full-time dad and independent consultant.

Lohr spoke to the Telegraph about his focus on making sure the Leawood government works for the people and gets them the answers they need. At 33 years old, he would be the youngest member of the City Council.

While in Washington DC, Lohr worked as a legislative assistant to Jan Schakowsky, (Illinois, where he went to DePaul University for his Masters) and helped constituents navigate social security concerns. He also volunteered at the Smithsonian during his tenure there, and you can now find him volunteering at the WWI Museum.

Lohr points to Town Center Plaza and surrounding shopping districts as the “beating heart” of the City and says he looks to keep Leawood business-friendly in the years to come.

Beyond the city’s commercial viability, Lohr says Leawood needs to stay true to what makes it unique in the decades to come. He points to confronting issues like homelessness along State Line Road, and keeping public safety at the forefront of the city’s focus.

“I moved back from Chicago because I wanted our kids to have a place where they can walk safely to school,” Lohr says. “That meant coming back home, and actually buying my childhood home, and now working to make the City appeal to other (prospective) younger families.”

Rachel Rubin, who has been a practicing attorney for 26 years, is also vying for the Ward 3 seat. Rubin grew up in Overland Park and graduated from Shawnee Mission South. She was already through college when her parents moved to Leawood in 1993. She would later move her family to town in 2014.

She’s been on the board at The J (KC – Jewish Community Center) since 2021 and got involved in Leawood issues, surrounding traffic and safety. She points to the need to implement speed reduction measures, which she says are not being adequately addressed.

Speaking to the Telegraph, she specifically mentioned Lockton’s move to Leawood as an example of how the city can and should continue to attract major “players,” given how highly its remaining land is looked upon around the metro area.

Rubin stresses that residents do not want apartments coming to Leawood, but also acknowledges that the city does need to address more housing options, looking toward housing stock such as villas and other senior living solutions.

“It should be a mix of single family villas with a smaller footprint, but still upscale with beautiful parks,” Rubin said. “People move to Leawood for a quieter lifestyle. The residents don’t want more apartments.”

She plans to look at the $18.6 million the city is paying out in private contracts and see how those vendors are spending taxpayers money.

Ward 4

Julie Cain runs unopposed to remain in office in Ward 4. 

 

Prairie Village Government

Prairie Village residents will be met with a rather stark question on November 4th:  

“Shall the City of Prairie Village, Kansas abandon the mayor-council form of government?” 

Two years ago, three resident-led petitions were submitted to the city and the county for consideration on a future ballot. Johnson County District Court determined that a petition to abandon the City of Prairie Village’s form of government complied with statutory procedures and, therefore, could be placed on a ballot. Earlier this year, the Kansas Court of Appeals upheld the judgement, and the Kansas Supreme Court declined to review the decision. 

Prairie Village currently operates with a mayor-council form of government (similar to 15 other Johnson County cities), the same structure the city has operated under since 1951. The Prairie Village city council is currently made up of 12 members with two representatives from each of the city’s six wards. 

A “yes” vote would be a vote to abandon Prairie Village’s current Mayor-Council form of government, while a “no” vote would be a vote to maintain Prairie Village’s current Mayor-Council form of government. An official at City Hall stressed to the Telegraph that if the ballot measure passed, the City would continue to operate in its current form until subsequent actions established a different form of government. 

According to PV United’s website, the group aims to stop a new $30 million city hall from coming to fruition, halt further property and sales tax increases, and prevent further zoning changes that would increase density in single-family neighborhoods. PV United has candidates running for all six open ward seats on the 12-member Prairie Village City Council. The six candidates all declined to participate in a forum held on September 30th by the Johnson County Post (saying they could not participate after the Post declined to accept their conditions, which the Post’s Editor, Kyle Palmer, detailed at length on his site).