Kansas City, KS, residents advanced two women in the primary race for mayor, guaranteeing the city only its second female elected mayor in history.
Attorney Rose Mulvany Henry and KCPS Foundation CEO Christal Watson advanced to the November general election, winning out in a field of six candidates – four females and two males – in the primary.
Mulvany Henry, received 3,619 votes or 31%
Christal Watson, received 3,031 votes or 26%
In 1995, Carol Marinovich became the first woman elected mayor/CEO of Kansas City, KS, (and Wyandotte County, following government consolidation). She served from 1995 to 2006.
Kansas City, MO, has also only had one female mayor, Kay Waldo Barnes, who served two consecutive four-year terms from 1999 to 2007.
A total of 11,663 people cast ballots in the Aug. 5 primary election, accounting for about 12% of the county’s 92,606 registered voters, according to unofficial election results published by the Wyandotte County Election Office.
Other Wyandotte Commission Races
In addition to the mayor’s race, Wyandotte County had 24 other candidates vying in six different races. Here’s how those races ended.
In the District 1 Wyandotte Commission race, five candidates ran to fill the seat currently occupied by Commissioner Gayle Townsend, who chose not to seek reelection. Advancing to compete in the general election for that seat covering northeast Kansas City are:
Jermaine Howard, with 462 votes or 35%
Lisa Walker Yeager, with 301 votes or 23%
Walker Yeager is also running for a seat on the Board of Public Utilities.
In the District 5 seat that has been occupied by Mike Kane since 2005, Kane did not seek reelection. Three people competed in this primary. Advancing are:
Carlos Pacheco III, with 1,930 votes or 56%
LaVert A. Murray, with 762 votes or 22%
In District 8, incumbent Commissioner Andrew Davis competed again three other candidates but advanced to the general election: Votes and the other candidate advancing are:
Andrew Davis, with 616 votes or 40%
Jacob Handy, with 393 votes or 25%
In the District 2 At-Large Wyandotte Commission race, five candidates ran to fill the seat being occupied by Tom Burroughs, who chose not to seek reelection to this seat and instead ran for mayor. Burroughs did not advance in the mayor’s race, ending his eight years on the commission.
Advancing in this race are:
Andrew Kump, with 1,354 votes or 33%
Philip Lopez, with 1,163 votes or 29%
Lopez currently represents District 6 on the commission. If he wins this race, the commission will appoint an individual to fill the balance of his unexpired term.
Other Wyandotte Races
First-term Wyandotte County Sheriff Daniel Soptic competed against two candidates. Advancing along with Soptic to the general election is Celisha Towers, who competed in 2021. The votes each received are:
Daniel Soptic, with 6,451 votes or 57%
Celisha Towers, with 2,473 votes or 22%
The BPU At-Large District 1 race had four candidates competing for the seat that’s currently occupied by Mary Gonzales, who has served on the board for 20 years and is not seeking reelection. The two BPU candidates who received the most votes are:
Lisa Walker Yeager, with 3,841 votes or 39% (Yeager also advanced in the District 1
Wyandotte Commission race)
Gary Bradley-Lopez, with 2,336 votes or 24%
