EARLIER HAD ANNOUNCED HE WOULD RETIRE
About four months after announcing he would not seek reelection in 2026 because he would be retiring, Platte County Presiding Commissioner Scott Fricker has had a change of heart.
Last week he announced at a meeting of the Platte County Republican Central Committee that he has decided to run again. He confirmed it to The Landmark the next day.
The reversal came just a few days after Fricker had reaffirmed to Fox 4’s Jonathan Ketz that he would not be seeking reelection in 2026.
“What would I do for fun without this gig?” he said in a text exchange with The Landmark on Aug. 5 acknowledging his reversal. “Seriously, retirement sounds boring as hell. Plus, I have a long list of things I still want to do.”
In April after Fricker said he would not be running again, Platte County Recorder of Deeds Christopher Wright announced that he would be seeking the presiding commissioner post being vacated by Fricker.
At the time of his April announcement, Fricker, 61, told The Landmark: “Four years is enough, time to retire. I would have retired already, but I postponed it to run when Ron (Schieber) and John Elliott (former second district commissioner) asked me to run.”
Now he is postponing retirement again, apparently.
With Fricker’s change of heart, Wright has changed course as well. Wright now says he will seek reelection as recorder of deeds in 2026 and will not oppose Fricker for presiding commissioner. The two issued a joint press release announcing their reelection campaigns.
In the text exchange with The Landmark on Aug. 5, Fricker said some of the things he still wants to accomplish include items such as fighting against net zero policies and similar items at Mid-America Regional Council, fighting against big government subsidies to out of town corporations through groups like Port KC, TIFs, etc., and some things he is working on with the state legislature.
“Like finally getting the state law fixed so Platte County gets a seat on the KCATA (Kansas City Area Transportation Authority) board so we can eliminate zero fare that imports homeless and criminals into the Northland,” he told The Landmark.
In the press release issued by Fricker and Wright on Wednesday, Aug. 6, it is stated “Fricker has been a tireless advocate for Platte County taxpayers, most recently leading the charge against an unjust mandate from the Missouri Tax Commission. The commission’s order to increase residential property assessments by 15 percent across the board threatens the financial stability of hardworking families, bypasses the traditional data-driven assessment process and eliminates taxpayer appeal rights. Fricker has vowed to fight this mandate and has already had productive discussions with Gov. Mike Kehoe about reforming state tax laws and keeping big government out of local issues.”
The news release quotes Fricker as saying: “This is about protecting our residents from arbitrary tax increases imposed by an unelected board. We cannot sit back and quietly accept this ruling. It impacts everyone whether they own or rent their home and will be a big burden on Platte County families dealing with inflation.”
The press release refers to Fricker as “a successful commercial real estate businessman.” It says Fricker’s reelection campaign “will focus on continuing to prioritize low taxes, strong law enforcement, improved parks and roads and economic growth for Missouri’s fastest growing county.”
WRIGHT TO SEEK
A SECOND TERM
AS RECORDER
In the joint press release with Fricker, Platte County Recorder Christopher Wright says he wants to seek reelection as recorder “to build on innovative efforts to protect Platte County homeowners from deed fraud, a growing concern nationwide.”
Wright says in his first term he has championed a “first-in-the-nation free deed protection system along with an instant notification system, allowing residents to sign up and protect their deed and receive email alerts whenever activity is recorded on their property deeds.”
Wright says: “Property deed fraud may not be widespread in Platte County yet, but even one case is too many. Our program ensures residents can monitor their most valuable asset–their home. My office is working with multiple states to bring this nationwide in order to combat property theft.”
Wright claims his initiative has already proven its value and provided instant deed fraud evidence in three cases to the Platte County Prosecutor’s Office.
“His reelection will ensure the continued development of this innovative program and modernization of deed retention systems to protect property owners and maintain accurate public records,” it says in Wright’s press release.
