JoCo Board Chair Mike Kelly's campaign gave $22,000 to Kansas Democrats last year
"Nonpartisan" local elections can be very partisan
The “nonpartisan” local elections this year in Kansas on Nov. 7 in many counties are mostly partisan behind the scenes. Insiders “know” but many voters do not.
An example of such a partisan local election last year can be found in the campaign reports filed by newly-elected Mike Kelly, a Democrat, now the Chair of the Johnson County Board of Commissioners.
Kelly’s report shows he made three donations to the Kansas Democratic Party, or two of their “victory” funds, last year in the middle of his campaign for JoCo chair. Those donations were reported to the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission by the party committees in their campaign reports.
How did “nonpartisan” candidate Mike Kelly benefit from his contributions to Kansas Democrats? What was the quid pro quo? That’s still a secret.
A fourth Kelly contribution last year was to the local Johnson County Democratic Party for a “gala table,” presumably for election night Nov. 8, 2022. (That contribution cannot be confirmed in the JoCo Democratic Central Committee Jan. 2023 filing with the county election office.)
Party often makes a difference in how local candidates govern when elected.
Why don’t we make it easier for all voters to know the party affiliation of candidates in local elections?
There are other secrets still hidden in Kelly’s reports.
Related
The Myth of “Non-Partisan” Johnson County Local Elections, Will Hoerl, Free State News, Nov. 6, 20023.
I would never know any of this if it were not for you, thank you!