Ark Valley News - Candidates needed for changed elections

Candidates needed for changed elections
Last Updated: May 25, 2017

If the intent was to generate more interest in local elections, it appears to be failing.

Kansas lawmakers changed the timeline for local elections, moving them from the spring to the fall.

Now, as the deadline for candidates to register fast approaches, many seats across north Sedgwick County remain open.

Candidates have until June 1 to file for local city council and school board elections. Primaries, if necessary, will be Aug. 1. The general election will be Nov. 7.

Local elections have historically taken place during the spring of odd-numbered years.

It appears that the new election cycle, while later than usual, has caught some local officials and potential candidates off guard.

Of the 18 open seats in local city council and school board elections in north Sedgwick County, only eight candidates had registered as of May 23.

We expect a small flurry of registration activity during the final week, but the clock is ticking.

Here's a list of who has filed:

•Richard Harris is the only candidate so far for USD 262 school board, which will have three seats up for election.

•Ray Strunk is the only candidate so far for Valley Center City Council, which will have four seats (one in each ward) up for election.

•It's a full slate in Park City, where John Lehnherr (Ward 1), George Glover (Ward 2), Gary Aldrich (Ward 3) and Melvin Kerr (Ward 4) have filed to retain their seats on city council and Raymond Mann has filed for re-election as mayor.

•No one has filed for the two seats on the Kechi City Council. However, John Speer has filed for mayor.

•No one has filed for neither the four seats on the Bel Aire City Council nor the mayor's position.

Consider this a challenge to anyone pondering a run for local office. It's not a glamorous job and it's often thankless, but there are very few more important roles in our communities.

The task of shaping the future of our cities and schools is an important one. We expect these jobs to be filled.

— The Ark Valley News