Rita Rhoads ousted at Tracy
Platte City’s next mayor will be a man who has served as an alderman and mayor pro-tem for around a decade.
Tony Paolillo, veteran ward two alderman, won an extremely close race over David Sharp, president of the Platte City Chamber of Commerce. The margin of victory was three votes, with Sharp receiving 201 votes to 198 for Sharp.
Voter turnout in Platte City was 15 percent on Tuesday, according to the Platte County Board of Elections. Weather on Election Day was clear, with temperatures approaching 90 degrees by late afternoon.
“I’m glad that Platte City voters came out and voted today. I knew it was going to be a close race,” Paolillo told The Landmark late Tuesday evening. “I would like to thank David Sharp for a good race.”
Paolillo, age 46, later this month will be sworn in as the new mayor, replacing longtime mayor Frank Offutt, who earlier this year announced he is retiring from elected office.
“I only hope that I can serve the city half as well as Mayor Offutt,” Paolillo said.
The morning after the narrow defeat, Sharp said: “I look forward to the future of Platte City and our focus of people, progress and quality.”
Sharp, 41, added: “Congratulations to my opponent, Tony Paolillo, on your win.”
Voters also received a thank you from Sharp.
“During these unprecedented times, I would like to take a moment to thank those who took the time to vote. While we may have come up a few votes short, I am proud of the campaign my team and I ran, giving a special thank you to campaign manager Tina Anderson,” Sharp said. “A heartfelt thank you to all of my supporters who continue to make a difference in our community.”
Sharp added: “I encourage everyone who is not registered to vote to register with the Platte County Board of Elections and exercise your constitutional right to vote this November.”
In addition to the tight result in the race for mayor, Platte City had a use tax question on the ballot. The tax passed by only four votes, with 206 in favor to 202 opposed.
The use tax extends the city sales tax rate to apply to out-of-state and online purchases delivered to Platte City addresses.
DEARBORN OKAYS CHICKENS
Dearborn voters approved a question that will allow up to six chickens per household. The vote was 68 in favor to 50 opposed.
Two at-large aldermen seats were up for grabs at Dearborn. Elected were Pat Downing with 87 votes and Breanna Cheadle with 64. Also running was Donald Swanstone, Jr. with 52 votes.
CITY OF TRACY
Tracy will have a new mayor. Incumbent Rita Rhoads was handily defeated by challenger Nathan Larrabee. Final count was 33 for Larrabee to 15 for Rhoads.
Two at-large aldermen spots were open at Tracy. One of them will go to Sean Van Tol, Sr., who had 25 votes. There is a tie for the second spot among Laura Colstion and Kristi Colstion George, who both finished with 23. The tie will be broken in the coming days via a method decided on by the candidates. Also running was Darrin Addison with 21 votes.
NORTH PLATTE
Top three of these candidates were elected to the North Platte School Board:
*Bennett French 263
*Jeffrey Scott Hinton 228
*James Kubly 208.
Jennnifer Hernandez 198.
WEST PLATTE SCHOOL BOARD
Top 3 elected:
*Shane Bartee 422
*Ronald Rowe 287
*Matthew A. Parker 283
Phillip Pattison 255
Antonio John Cutolo-Ring 243.
PARKVILLE ALDERMEN
Ward 1:
*Tina Welch 112
Patricia Robinson 48
Ward 2:
*Dave Rittman 151
Brett Krause 21
Ward 3:
*Robert J. Lock 150
Doug Bias Jr. 41
Ward 4:
*Marc Sportsman 58
Unopposed
RIVERSIDE ALDERMAN
Ward 1:
*Marilee Dawn Cockrell 78
Mike Fuller 59
CAMDEN POINT ALDERMAN
Ward 1:
*Todd Wolf 25
Donn Swaggerty 7
KANSAS CITY FIRE TAX
Platte County voters residing within the city limits of Kansas City followed the citywide trend in approving an increase of a quarter cent in the sales tax rate for the city fire department. The tax will go from a quarter cent to a half cent.
Platte County’s totals were 1,577 in favor to 1,418 opposed, roughly 53% to 47%. Citywide, the issue passed with 54% of the vote.