Overview:
In a very close race, it looks as though Brad Boyd has won election to represent 49th district in the Kansas House of Representatives. The district includes part of Olathe and Overland Park. In general, the district covers 127th St. south to 145th St., between Interstate 35 east to Pflumm.
In a “Races You May Have Missed” article in our paper and on our website, we pointed out several African American candidates vying for historic positions or to represent communities where Black people don’t reside in large numbers.
In a very close race, it looks as though Brad Boyd has won election to represent 49th district in the Kansas House of Representatives. The district includes part of Olathe and Overland Park. In general, the district covers 127th St. south to 145th St., between Interstate 35 east to Pflumm.
Boyd isn’t a novice to that community. He has served on the Olathe school board for 10 years. He supports reproductive freedom, expanding Medicaid, investing in public schools, tax relief, economic development and protecting communities.
As of our writing, Boyd leads his Republican opponent by 125 votes. Let’s hope his lead holds up as the voting becomes official.
Doing very well, but not leading at this point is Vanessa Vaughn West, who was the Democratic candidate for the Kansas House of Representatives 39th District. As of press time, West has 4712 votes to her opponents 4953. Let’s hope she can benefit from Democratic leaning mail in voters.
If she prevails, West would represent a district that covers Shawnee and a small part of south Bonner Springs. Her district is west of I435N, with the southern boundary being 79th St. The Kansas River is the districts north and west boundary.
West is an involved Johnson County citizen serving on numerous boards, including the Lenexa Police Department Advisory Board and as a member of the board of Starlight Theater. She works at Lathrop GM. She prioritizes reproductive freedom, transportation and transit improvements, fully funding K-12 schools.
If you read the article, none of the other candidates we mentioned won. They included Patricia Smetana who ran to represent the 64th District in Clay County, KS and Jalon Britton, who ran to represent the 83rd District in East Wichita. Both ran as Democrats. Britton ran against incumber Patrick Penn, a Republican, who is African American.