Wichita, Kansas municipal elections, 2015

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The city of Wichita, Kansas, held elections for mayor and city council on April 7, 2015. A primary took place on March 3, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was January 27, 2015. Three of the six city council seats were up for election.

Two of three incumbent city council candidates ran for re-election. In District 2, Pete Meitzner ran for re-election. In District 4, Jeff Blubaugh also ran for re-election. Incumbent council member Jeff Longwell of District 5 did not run for re-election, but faced opponent Samuel M. Williams on April 7 in the mayoral race.

Two of the major issues that shaped Wichita's 2015 election cycle were infrastructure, job creation and a ballot question seeking to reduce first-time marijuana offense penalties. Concerns over infrastructure included how the city will fund upgrades to the bus system, repairs to the street system and pay for a $2.1 billion upgrade to the water and sewer systems. Candidates also debated how the city should encourage business activity and promote job growth. A controversial ballot question seeking to reduce first-time offence penalties for marijuana possession was also on the ballot on April 7. The measure drew both support and opposition from local and state authorities. You can read more about these issues below.

Mayor

Candidate list

The mayor of Wichita serves a four-year term.

Note: Incumbent Carl Brewer did not run for re-election.

March 3 Primary election candidates:

• Robert L. E. Culver
• Sean Hatfield
• Tony Rosales
• Jeff Longwell a
• Dan Heflin
• Samuel M. Williams a
• Tracy S. Stewart
• Jennifer Winn

April 7 General election candidates:

• Jeff Longwell
• Samuel M. Williams

• 

  Jeff Longwell

• 

  Samuel M. Williams

Election results

Wichita Mayoral General Election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Jeff Longwell	59.4%	22,292
Samuel M. Williams	35.9%	13,478
Write-in	4.7%	1,752
Total Votes		37,522
Source: Sedgwick County Elections, "Official general election results," accessed May 28, 2015

Wichita Mayoral Primary Election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Jeff Longwell	28.2%	5,506
Samuel M. Williams	25.6%	5,000
Lavonta Williams	18.1%	3,537
Jennifer Winn	10.7%	2,094
Sean Hatfield	10.4%	2,029
Dan Heflin	2.7%	535
Frances Jackson	1.6%	311
Tony Rosales	1.2%	227
Tracy S. Stewart	0.8%	147
Robert L. E. Culver	0.7%	133
Total Votes		18,166
Source: Sedgwick County Elections, "Official general election results," accessed May 28, 2015

Polling

2015 Wichita Mayoral Election
Poll	Jeff Longwell	Samuel M. Williams	Undecided	Margin of error	Sample size
Survey USA (March 18-23, 2015)	42%	35%	22%	+/-4.5	501
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Note: An asterisk (*) is used to denote incumbency.

City council

Candidate list

A member of city council in Wichita serves a four-year term.

District 2

March 3 Primary election candidates:

• Pete Meitzner a - Incumbent Meitzner was elected to the council in 2011.
• Anthony K. Mitchell
• Jim Price a

April 7 General election candidates:

• Pete Meitzner
• Jim Price

District 4

April 7 General election candidates:

• Jeff Blubaugh - Incumbent Blubaugh was elected to the council in 2013.
• Josh Shorter

District 5

Note: Incumbent Jeff Longwell did not run for re-election.

March 3 Primary election candidates:

• James F. Breitenbach
• Gary W. Bond a
• Bryan Frye a
• William Beliles

April 7 General election candidates:

• Gary W. Bond
• Bryan Frye

Primary

Wichita City Council, District 2 Primary Election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Pete Meitzner Incumbent	72.9%	2,597
Jim Price	14.9%	530
Anthony K. Mitchell	12.3%	437
Total Votes		3,564
Source: Sedgwick County Elections, "Official primary election results," accessed May 28, 2015

Wichita City Council, District 5 Primary Election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Bryan Frye	50.2%	1,941
Gary W. Bond	30.2%	1,166
James F. Breitenbach	12.4%	481
William Beliles	7.2%	277
Total Votes		3,865
Source: Sedgwick County Elections, "Official general election results," accessed May 28, 2015

General

Wichita City Council, District 2 General Election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Pete Meitzner Incumbent	75.4%	5,229
Jim Price	24.1%	1,674
Write-in	0.5%	33
Total Votes		6,936
Source: Sedgwick County Elections, "Official general election results," accessed May 28, 2015

Wichita City Council, District 4 General Election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Jeff Blubaugh Incumbent	62.2%	3,045
Josh Shorter	37.2%	1,821
Write-in	0.6%	29
Total Votes		4,895
Source: Sedgwick County Elections, "Official general election results," accessed May 28, 2015

Wichita City Council, District 5 General Election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Bryan Frye	54.9%	4,393
Gary W. Bond	44.8%	3,586
Write-in	0.3%	26
Total Votes		8,005
Source: Sedgwick County Elections, "Official general election results," accessed May 28, 2015

Issues

Infrastructure

Heading into the 2015 elections, Wichita officials faced questions about how to fund and upgrade the bus system and secure a city water supply for the future. Other infrastructure challenges, such as street repairs and a $2.1 billion upgrade to the water and sewer systems, were important issues for the 2015 municipal elections. The defeat of a proposed one-cent citywide sales tax on the November 2014 ballot extended the debate on how the city will pay for these infrastructure projects. The Wichita Eagle pointed out that continued support for the revival of downtown Wichita was also a relevant issue to the next mayor and council.

Job creation

Boeing Plant in Wichita, Kansas

Economic concerns about the role of municipal government in job creation and retention were key issues for 2015 candidates. According to the Wichita Eagle, following the Great Recession in 2008, the city lost 20,000 jobs. Of those who lost their job, 2,100 were formerly employed at the now-closed Boeing operation. Mayoral candidate Jeff Longwell stated that he would "work to build a better coalition with small business - listen to their needs and develop strategies that will help their success." His opponent, Samuel M. Williams, said that in order for job creation to happen, "taxes and fees must be aligned correctly so government isn't competing for private sector capital."

Marijuana ballot question

See also: City of Wichita Marijuana Decriminalization Initiative (April 2015)

An initiative designed to reduce first-time marijuana penalties qualified for the April 7 election ballot after backers presented a petition containing thousands of signatures supporting the measure. The Wichita City Council voted 6-1 in January to include the measure on the ballot.

It was approved. On January 22, 2016, however, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled the initiative invalid.

This initiative was designed to change the city law to lessen the first-infraction penalties for possession of up to 32 grams — about 1.13 ounces — of marijuana and any marijuana paraphernalia to a fine of $50 and eliminate all jail time for such first-time violations. Without the approval of this initiative, the default would have been state law, which dictates possession of marijuana be treated as a misdemeanor with the possibility of up to a year of incarceration and $2,500 in fines. The initiative was also designed to make small marijuana infractions a matter of citation and summons, rather than arrest. Since the measure was approved, city law changed, but state law continued to feature the harsher penalties, creating a legal gray area likely to be resolved in court.

See this page for election results and details.

Conflict with state law

According to the city attorney's office, the initiative conflicted with state law. Some city officials announced their expectation that the state would invalidate the initiative through a lawsuit upon voter approval in April. Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt sent a letter to the city verifying all of the council's fears and putting the council members in a difficult position. On the one hand, faced with a valid signature petition signed by thousands of the citizens they represent, they voted to put the measure on the ballot. On the other hand, they faced Schmidt's letter demanding they remove the initiative from the ballot. Schmidt wrote that the initiative was unlawful and implied that his office would proceed with litigation against the city if the initiative were to be enacted. He continued, "I therefore respectfully request that the City take the necessary steps to prevent this unlawful proposal from presentation at the April Ballot."

Schmidt gave three reasons the initiative violated state law:

• The first complaint was a technical one. Schmidt said that a full copy of the ordinance was not submitted to the city clerk along with the petition, as state law required.

• The second complaint concerned the content of the initiative in general. He wrote that the initiative contained “provisions that purport to bind law enforcement officers and municipal judges to certain processes for the administrative reporting of various types of criminal justice information” and insisted that such provisions violated the subject restrictions on citizen initiatives found in state statutes.

• The third reason was based on the specific penalties prescribed for marijuana possession and use by state law. Schmidt claimed that the initiative was in “conflict with uniform state law in numerous ways and would be void,” insisting that the city has no legal authority to enact such a law.

Despite this letter, voters saw the measure on the ballot in April since the council had already voted to put the initiative before voters and failed to amend the ballot before the deadline.

Positions of mayoral candidates

Jeff Longwell

Samuel M. Williams

During a debate, the mayoral runoff election candidates argued about the marijuana initiative. Although neither one explicitly advocated for a "yes" or "no" vote, they had very different positions on whether the initiative should have even been on the ballot.

Jeff Longwell:

Jeff Longwell, a city council member and candidate in mayoral election, stated that he was in favor of the initiative going before voters, despite conflict with state law. He said that it was the right of the thousands of citizens that signed the petition to see it on the ballot. He also said that the city council merely followed the law by voting to put the initiative before voters according to the valid petition. Longwell insisted that a public election on an initiative, even an ultimately illegal and invalid initiative, allows city residents to send a powerful message to the state.

Sam Williams:

Sam Williams, however, said that he would have prevented the initiative from going on the ballot if he had been mayor, avoiding the conflict with the state and the possible lawsuit. He said he would have met with petitioners and worked with them to communicate their demands and concerns over marijuana law enforcement to the state. Williams said, “It’s not our issue It should not have been at the city level. … May I suggest that as a leader, I would have worked with our council to help that not to even happen.”

For more details about the marijuana ballot measure, click here.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Wichita Kansas Election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Wichita, Kansas municipal elections, 2015 - Google News

See also

• United States municipal elections, 2015
• Wichita, Kansas

External links

Suggest a link

• City of Wichita
• Sedgwick County Elections - 2015 Candidate List
• Sedgwick County Elections - 2015 Primary Election Results
• Sedgwick County Elections - 2015 General Election Results