Incumbent Carla Fields, Gresia Cabrera face off for Jackson County Legislature 2nd District At-Large seat

Donna Peyton currently sits as the Chair of the Jackson County Legislature and the representative for 2nd District At-Large, a position that is voted on by the entire county, not just those in the 2nd District. She is being challenged by Republican Gresia Cabrera, a healthcare professional.

Gresia Cabrera (R)

Gresia Cabrera has led a fascinating life, one that has led to her strong stance on Republican issues. Cabrera, 39, was born in Cuba, where her father was a preacher and youth pastor. In communist Cuba, his preaching was considered an act of rebellion, and he was placed in prison. After four years, thanks to Pope John Paul II’s 1998 visit to Cuba, her father was released. The family immediately left for the United States as political refugees. She was 11 years old when they settled in the historic Northeast. Her father took a job with the American Past Co. but continues to preach to this day.

“My father refused all the welfare that we were programmed to have for the first six months of being here while we resettled,” says Cabrera. “He started working right away.”

After high school, she worked at Samuel Rogers Health Care, a nonprofit health center, for 11 years. Her career focused on clinic operations, staff training and executive assistance at a variety of health centers before she moved into community outreach and health insurance. Cabrera says her role as a Medicare insurance provider is what motivated her to run for county legislator.

“I’ve talked to a lot of seniors in the last few years who are struggling to pay their property taxes and just keep up with the cost of living in general,” she says. She would like to see a senior property tax freeze that goes beyond its current form. “The county froze it after the taxes had already been increased,” she says. She would like to see property taxes for seniors set back to pre-2019 assessments. She would also like to explore eliminating property taxes for homeowners over 60 who have paid off their homes, potentially with an income threshold.

For the homeless, she said that Jackson County’s spending on homelessness organizations has not produced sufficient results. Rather than tying funding to the number of people in a shelter, she said, support should reward organizations for helping people transition out of homelessness.

On county spending, she said she wants fairer bidding processes for public contracts and plans to pursue a forensic audit. She said residents should have more input on major projects, in particular the sports stadiums.

Donna Peyton (D)

Peyton is Chair of the Jackson County Legislature as of July, when the former Chair, Legislator Manuel Abarca IV, was ousted in a unanimous vote. She is also an administrative assistant at Macedonia Baptist Church; a graduate of Carver Baptist College, Institute & Theological Seminary. She began her political career after retiring from the postal service after 26 years and then caring for her mother. She went to work in the Hickman Mills School District as an attendance clerk, which transitioned into the administrative attendant to the superintendent and board secretary. She later became a school board member of the Raytown School District.

She was elected to the county legislature in 2022 and is seeking reelection to the At-Large 2nd District seat. Peyton said she is running because after four years on the Legislature, there is still work left to do. Although she represents the 2nd District, she said she has demonstrated capability, knowledge, and commitment to service in serving all of Jackson County. She wants to
build on this experience. Last year Peyton co-sponsored a senior tax levy designed to help seniors safely stay in their homes.

Peyton’s top priority, like other candidates running for Jackson County office, is property tax reform. That includes working to reform assessment, collections, and Board of Equalization processes, she said. Peyton supports the Legislature’s recently-passed Tax Credit Program to address what she calls “unlawful” increases to property taxes in 2023 and 2024. She said splitting up refunds over the course of three years, as laid out in the program, is an effort to soften the financial impact to taxing jurisdictions such as public schools and libraries.

Finally, Peyton wants to gather leaders from all the county’s municipalities and unincorporated areas for a Housing and Homelessness Committee, which would discuss issues such as housing and regional transit. She said a countywide conversation about homelessness has yet to be had.

“Let’s bring Buckner, Sibley, Oak Grove, Grain Valley, into the room,” Peyton said. “We represent the entire county, and we need to have that regionalism — or umbrella organization — in mind, because we touch each and every one of the citizens of Jackson County.”