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.

Last year Democrat Mike Kelly defeated Republican Charlotte O’Hara 56% to 43% for JoCo Board Chair in a “nonpartisan” contest. Kelly’s campaign gave Kansas Democrats $22,000 last year. How did he benefit?

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.

Mike Kelly’s campaign finance reports filed with the JoCo Election Office show his contributions to Kansas Democrats.

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.

Nearly 418,000 Advance Mail Ballot Applications sent to "active" voters in Johnson County for the Nov. 2023 General Election costing almost $129,000

“Compelling county interest” trumps Free Speech as JoCo KS Board of County Commission votes for limitations in electronic communications