South Kansas City seat opens in Jackson County race, new candidates added

By Kathy Feist

The race for the Jackson County Executive has hit a few bumps on the road to its August 4 Primary Election race. Now a game of musical chairs, one candidate’s withdrawal from the race opened up room for new candidates and left a vacancy in the 1st District, which includes south Kansas City.

Those who would like to run for 1st District County Legislator have from May 6-12 to file with the county clerk. The 1st District boundaries follow State Line to Troost Avenue and from the Martin City area to the Missouri River.

The 1st District seat has opened up due to Legislator Manuel Abarca IV’s bid to run for County Executive. Abarca, the incumbent 1st District Legislator, announced his candidacy May 5.

The deadline for filing for any of the Jackson County seats, executive or legislative, was initially set for March 31. In the late hours of that deadline, current interim County Executive Phil LeVota made the controversial decision to run for office. LeVota previously promised he would not run for the seat this year when he was chosen to replace former County Executive Frank White Jr. in October. White had been voted out of office the previous month. Not running for office was a required stipulation in order to qualify for LeVota’s interim position.

LeVota withdrew from the race on April 24. The move triggered a state statute that reopens candidate filings once an incumbent withdraws.

On May 1, filing was reopened and ushered in two new candidates: Abarca and former county legislator Dan Tarwater.

Because Abarca is also an incumbent, the same statute was triggered, and that reopening for candidates for the 1st District commenced on May 7.

There is currently only one other candidate in that race: a former Washington, D.C. journalist and community organizer named Kelly Thompson.

Those now running for Jackson County Executive are Democrats Stacy Lake, Ryan Meyer, Holmes Osborne, Bill Baird, Erik Steffen, Dan Tarwater and Manuel Abarca IV, as well as Republican Alan Rohlfing. County Legislator for the 4th District DaRon McGee withdrew from the race on April 21.

A candidate interested in the 1st District position must file in person at the Jackson County Courthouse at its second-floor legislative offices by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 13. The candidate must fill out an Affidavit of Tax Compliance form, an application for Candidate Clearance and a $100 check payable to the county party committee. Applicants must be a qualified voter and a resident of at least one year.