by Rick Nichols
While they got a little help from out-of-county voters, it was registered voters in Jefferson County who last week largely did in the bond issues put forth by Jefferson County North USD 339 and Jefferson West USD 340.
For the second time in six months the JCN Board of Education was seeking the authority to issue $5.5 million in bonds to pay for upgraded heating and air conditioning systems, better lighting, a new roof, renovated restrooms, more classrooms, improved security at district facilities, improvements to parking lots, and better access to facilities in accordance with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Meanwhile, the JW school board wanted permission to issue $21 million in bonds to cover the cost of adding classrooms at the middle school and the elementary school, remodeling and upgrading all of the district’s buildings, and constructing a multipurpose facility to include a performing arts center between the high school and the middle school.
According to the unofficial results from the general election Nov. 5, the USD 339 proposal lost by just 28 votes, 494 “Yes” votes (48.62%) to 522 “No” votes (51.38%), in Jefferson County. It also went down to defeat in Leavenworth County, receiving 2 “Yes” votes against 4 “No” votes, but it was victorious in Atchison County. There, the question was answered with 46 “Yes” votes and 29 “No” votes.
So the proposal received a grand total of 542 “Yes” votes (49.4%) and 555 “No” votes (50.6%), a difference of 13.
When the question was put before patrons of USD 339 on May 21, it failed by a mere 19 votes.
After being invited by the paper in an email to comment on the results of the election, USD 339 Superintendent Dr. Brad Kempf issued the following statement this past Friday morning:
“While we are disappointed with the outcome of the bond vote, we understand that this decision reflects the community’s current perspective. However, the infrastructure, accessibility, and safety needs of our district are still urgent priorities that cannot be put aside. We remain committed to providing a safe and supportive environment for all students and staff, and we will continue to engage with our community to explore options. This may include the possibility of a future bond election. Working together with our community, we hope to find a path forward that aligns with our shared vision for the success, safety, and future of Jefferson County North schools.”
The USD 340 proposal suffered a much more severe beating in the county, garnering only 1,014 “Yes” votes (40.99%) against 1,460 “No” votes (59.01%), a difference of 446 votes. And while it also came up short in Jackson County, 13 “Yes” votes to 27 “No” votes, it prevailed in Shawnee County, where 85 “Yes” votes and 68 “No” votes were recorded.
So the proposal got a grand total of 1,112 “Yes” votes (41.69%) and 1,555 “No” votes (58.31%), a difference of 443.
In response to the results of the election, the following statement from USD 340 Superintendent Dr. Brad Neuenswander was posted on the district’s website Nov. 6:
“I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to our community. Your engagement and dedication to our school district are truly commendable. Any school district that goes through a bond process will always experience the anxiety that comes with this large of a change process. That is normal. Although the USD 340 bond did not pass, it has sparked valuable discussions about the facility needs of our schools. These conversations amongst community members are crucial as they highlight the collective concern and commitment we all share for the well-being and success of our Jefferson West students. The needs identified during this process still remain, and we must continue to address them together. Fortunately, the bond process has equipped the district with valuable insights and a prioritized facilities list to help guide future decisions. The School Board is in the process of identifying and setting goals for the district and this bond process will be extremely important for their discussions. Throughout this bond effort, I have seen how deeply our community cares about our district, our children, and the facilities that support their education. It is this shared passion and involvement that will drive us forward. Let’s continue these important conversations, as they are vital for our ongoing efforts to improve and enhance our district’s educational environment. Thank you for your dedication to our students and schools. With your continued support, we can achieve great things for the Jefferson West School District. GO TIGERS!!!”
Given a set of choices that included a Libertarian candidate for president and an independent candidate who had already dropped out of the race but which essentially pitted the current vice president, a woman of color from left-leaning California, against a twice-impeached former president with a felony record, the county’s voters went with the latter and apparently without a second thought whatsoever.
The unofficial results compiled by the Office of County Clerk Julie Dunkle, who also serves as the Election Officer for the county, show that former President Donald Trump, a real estate mogul from New York City, easily carried the county in winning Kansas’ six electoral votes en route to topping Vice President Kamala Harris, a former U.S. senator and state attorney general, to earn a second stay in the White House.
A Republican, Trump picked up 6,538 votes (67.39%) in the county while Harris, the Democratic candidate, had to settle for 2,967 (30.58%). The independent candidate with the famous last name who ended his campaign to back Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., got 144 votes (1.48%), and the Libertarian, Chase Oliver, collected 53 (.55%).
Statewide, according to the unofficial returns reported by the Office of the Secretary of State, the ticket of Trump and J.D. Vance emerged with 735,592 votes (roughly 57%), the ticket of Harris and Tim Walz with 523,249 (roughly 41%), the ticket of Kennedy and Nicole Shanahan with 15,602 (roughly 1%), and the ticket of Oliver and Mike ter Maat with 7,282 (roughly 1%).
Day 1 of a second Trump presidency could conceivably find “The Donald” sitting in a New York state prison cell serving time for 34 counts of falsifying business records. Then again, the judge overseeing the case could simply place him on probation for some period of time since he didn’t have a criminal history prior to his conviction on the charges that had been levied against him.
Trump is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 26.
In any event, when the oath of office is administered to Trump on Jan. 20, he will become just the second president ever to serve two non-consecutive terms, joining the “Grover Cleveland Club,” if you will. A Democrat, Cleveland occupied the highest office in the land from March 1885 to March 1889 and again from March 1893 to March 1897.
The only other national office county voters were asked to help fill this year was that of the 1st Congressional District seat in the House of Representatives. And those voters decided to return Tracey Mann, a Republican, to Capitol Hill for another two-year term.
Here, 6,403 voters (67.7%) selected Mann’s name at the polls. His opponent, Democrat Paul Buskirk, was the recipient of 3,055 (32.3%) votes.
Mann’s vote total across the so-called “Big First” was 204,351 (roughly 70%), while Buskirk tallied 89,361 votes (roughly 30%) altogether.
County voters also had a hand in sending two state representatives back to Topeka to serve for two more years in the legislature. The two, Lance Neelly and Ron Ellis, are Republicans.
Neelly will continue to represent the 42nd District at the capitol after fending off his Democratic challenger, Eddy Martinez. The victorious Grand Old Party candidate attracted 869 votes (66.59%) votes in this county and 7,685 (roughly 66%) overall.
Martinez was the pick of 436 voters (33.41%) in this county and 3,880 (roughly 34%) all told.
Ellis will keep representing the 47th District in the lower chamber on the strength of his triumph over his Democratic opponent, Mary Williams. The former teacher was backed by 5,663 voters (68.61%) in this county and 8,139 (roughly 66%) overall.
Currently an educator, Williams pulled in 2,591 votes (31.39%) in this county and 4,128 (roughly 34%) altogether.
The race to replace Republican Kristen O’Shea in the state Senate was won by another Republican, Kenny Titus, who had little trouble brushing aside his Democratic opponent, Matthew Robin, with the assistance of county voters.
Titus received 5,035 votes (66.43%) in this county and 24,959 (roughly 67%) across the district in capturing the 18th District seat in the upper chamber. Robin was preferred by 2,544 voters (33.57%) in this county and 12,380 (roughly 33%) all told.
Meanwhile, Craig Bowser, a Republican, was unopposed in his bid to lock up the 1st District seat in the Senate, which has been held by another member of the GOP, Dennis Pyle. Bowser ended up with 1,594 votes in this county.
In addition to helping choose the next president and two new state senators, plus helping fill a chair in Congress and two chairs in the statehouse, county voters put the occupants of six county offices back in office and tapped a political newcomer to occupy a seventh county office.
None of the candidates for a county office faced a challenger at the polls. All of these candidates were Republicans.
The vote total for the 2nd District county commissioner, David Christy, was 2,904. Christy is the current chairman of the three-member Board of County Commissioners.
The vote total for Richard Malm, the 3rd District county commissioner, was 2,250. Malm is the board’s vice chairman.
The aforementioned Julie Dunkle was a first-time candidate and pulled in 8,111 votes to ensure that she will remain on the job for four years as the county clerk. She assumed her duties in early April following the retirement of Linda Buttron.
Likewise, Douglas Bond was a first-time candidate and will be succeeding Lisa Buerman as the county treasurer when her term expires in early January. He collected a total of 8,023 votes.
Re-elected as the register of deeds was Delia Heston, as the county attorney, Josh Ney, and as the sheriff, Jeff Herrig. Their vote totals were 8,178, 7,791 and 8,149, respectively.
Collectively, county voters also filled 23 of the 24 township offices that needed to be filled this year by marking their ballots for the declared candidates, a mix of 20 Republicans and three Democrats.
The candidates, the offices they were after, and their vote totals appear below.
Jerry Franz, Republican, Kaw Township Trustee, 651; Douglas Brumbaugh, Republican, Kaw Township Treasurer, 655; Leon Bidinger, Republican, Kentucky Township Trustee, 693; Lucy Patterson, Republican, Kentucky Township Treasurer, 682; Richard Williams, Republican, Rural Township Treasurer, 350; Kim Swearngin, Republican, Sarcoxie Township Trustee, 452; Roberta Renz, Republican, Sarcoxie Township Treasurer, 445; Kevin Gibson, Republican, Rock Creek Township Trustee, 1,299; Gene Tarwater, Republican, Rock Creek Township Treasurer, 1,318; Michelle Dillman, Republican, Fairview Township Trustee, 729; James Durand, Republican, Fairview Township Treasurer, 737; Roger Bostwick, Republican, Ozawkie Township Trustee, 720; Amy Kramer, Republican, Ozawkie Township Treasurer, 736; Kevin Fowler, Republican, Oskaloosa Township Trustee, 897; Vinnie Southiere, Democrat, Oskaloosa Township Treasurer, 827; Paul Shirey Jr., Republican, Union Township Trustee, 752; Bill Hansen, Republican, Union Township Treasurer, 751; Nelda Bodenheimer, Republican, Jefferson Township Trustee, 492; Monte Moore, Republican, Jefferson Township Treasurer, 486; Philip Huffman, Democrat, Delaware Township Trustee, 647; Lee Welborn, Republican, Delaware Township Treasurer, 817; David Schneider, Democrat, Norton Township Trustee, 319; and Ashlei Babcock, Republican, Norton Township Treasurer, 350.
There wasn’t a candidate for the position of Rural Township Trustee.
Finally, county voters came out in favor of retaining the seven Kansas Court of Appeals judges whose names appeared on the ballot. Here is a breakdown of the votes cast in connection with the retention question:
Chief Judge Karen Arnold-Burger, Yes, 4,873 (62.18%), No, 2,964 (37.82%).
Judge Sarah E. Warner, Yes, 5,370 (67.89%), No, 2,540 (32.11%).
Judge David E. Bruns, Yes, 5,279 (67.09%), No, 2,589 (32.91%).
Judge G. Gordon Atcheson, Yes, 4,836 (61.71%), No, 3,001 (38.29%).
Judge Rachel Pickering, Yes, 5,084 (64.49%), No, 2,799 (35.51%).
Judge Angela D. Coble, Yes, 5,099 (64.91%), No, 2,757 (35.09%).
Judge Kathryn A. Gardner, Yes, 5,439 (69.04%), No, 2,439 (30.96%).
According to Dunkle’s office, 9,818 of the 13,704 registered voters in the county (71.64%) participated in the election.
Covering the communities in Jefferson County, Kansas
