Municipal elections set across the county
While April elections don’t generally draw the crowds of a November vote, the impact of the results is more locally felt.
Next Tuesday, April 6 is municipal election day in Platte County, and issues and candidates are on the ballot in most entities throughout the county. See the legal notices section of this edition of The Landmark for a listing of the issues and candidates for various taxing entities.
What’s the level of interest from voters thus far? About the normal for an April election, say officials with the Platte County Board of Elections.
“Interest in absentee voting is pretty much in line with other general municipal elections. As of right now we’ve had 99 ballots cast in our office and 855 total requests for ballots made,” Chris Hershey, one of the directors for the election board, told The Landmark on Tuesday morning.
In the past three years, voters turnout for April municipal elections has had a range of about 10 percent to 16 percent, Hershey says.
“I generally expect about 12 percent,” he remarked.
There are school board races all over the county, and it’s a particularly busy day for voters in the Platte County R-3 School District. Hershey speculated voter turnout percentage inside the R-3 district might hit the upper teens.
Platte County R-3 School District has a $73 million bond issue question on the ballot. To be passed, that question requires a majority vote of 57.14 percent.
Passage would construct a new middle school in the south part of the district at Hwy. 152 and Platte Purchase; would renovate the Pathfinder Elementary School and Barry School to convert both into elementary schools for K-5th grade; would mean the first phase of extensive renovation and rebuilding of the Platte County High School in Platte City. The high school work has brought some opposition from residents of the south portion of the district, who would prefer to see the construction of a second high school in the southern portion before the existing high school is rebuilt.
Also in the Platte County R-3 District, voters will decide whether to “attach” the district to the Metropolitan Community College system. If passed, the measure will mean a tax increase for property owners in the R-3 district, with a tax levy of 21 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. Passage would mean half-priced tuition at community colleges in the MCC system. In the ballot language, there is no mention of passage bringing a tax increase, a fact that has drawn the ire of some residents.
The R-3 school board race will feature three candidates for two open seats. Candidates are Doug Doll (incumbent), Amy MacCuish (incumbent) and Karen Bryant.
OTHER RACES
Six candidates for two open spots are on the ballot for Park Hill School Board. They are:
Kyla Yamada (incumbent), Kimberlee Nicole Ried (incumbent), Tammy M. Thompson, Alberto Rivera, Brandy Maltbia Woodley, Jay H. Blumenthal.
For the Platte County Health Department, there are three candidates on the ballot for one open spot on the department’s board of trustees. Candidates are David Park, Doug Jones, and Jeffrey Kingsley.
At City of Kansas City, voters will decide whether to continue the one percent earnings tax for five years. There are 13 voting precincts for City of Kansas City residents who live within Platte County.
At Dearborn, there are three candidates for two alderman at-large seats. Candidates are Donald Swanstone, Jr., Don Kerns, and Cory Hott.
At Edgerton, there are two races for alderman. In the east ward, candidates Nicole Richardson and Myrna Weese. In the west ward, it is Michael K. Reilly vs. Rick Roan.
In Riverside, there is a contested race for ward one alderman between Al Bowman and Mike Fuller. At Weatherby Lake, there is a contested race for the east ward alderman spot between Russell Monuski and Tyler Patterson. In Tracy, there are three candidates for two open alderman-at-large seats. The candidates are Darrin Addison, Rita Rhoads, and Laura Colstion.
OTHER INFO
“We haven’t had any changes to our poll sites from last November. We’ve gotten a few calls about Hoover. Voting will be taking place at the church there,” said Hershey.
Platte City voters will again be voting at the YMCA (Platte County Community Center off of Running Horse Road).
“We are still voting during a pandemic and we request that voters and poll workers all continue to take the same precautions as last year like social distancing, wearing a mask, and maintaining good hygiene consistent with the current health department order. Of course with fewer voters at the poll site compared to November, those measures should be easier to accomplish,” Hershey added.