ShawneeDispatch.com

Both surprised that the incumbent in their race will not go on to the general election, Ward III Shawnee City Council candidates Dennis Kissinger and Jeff Vaught are now planning their next steps.

The two garnered the most votes in last week’s primary election to beat out incumbent Kevin Straub, and they are drawing on their preprimary experience to help get their message out as they move ahead to the April 6 general election.

Kissinger said as he campaigned for the primary election, he often heard concerns from ward residents that the Council was not working well together to help plan for the future. He said he also heard concerns about the disconnect between east and west Shawnee.

“Citizens were clearly cautious financially, and expressed concerns over school financing, even though the City Council is only indirectly involved,” he said. “Most seemed very satisfied with city basic services, though there was some feeling that the further west you live, the city pays a little less attention to the area’s needs and amenities.”

Vaught said what he heard campaigning could be boiled down to taxes and development.

“Ward III residents feel as though they are at the threshold of property taxes,” Vaught said. “Also, they question why more development hasn’t come west.”

Vaught said he has heard of some large developments that had considered west Shawnee but “were passed over at the city level.”

“These were quality projects that would have brought much-needed tax dollars and daytime population to west Shawnee,” he said. “We can’t afford to lose projects like these; the city needs to be more flexible in today’s economic environment.”

Vaught said as the days wind down to the general election, he would focus on communicating that he is a fiscal conservative and a 17-year resident involved in numerous Shawnee organizations.

“I am connected to the community, east and west, but I am not a city hall insider like Kevin Straub tried to portray me as,” Vaught said.

Kissinger said he planned to work to get his message out, too.

“I will continue to try and make a large number of personal contacts, look forward positively, and work to convince voters that my education and experience will serve Shawnee well as the city faces challenges in coming years,” he said.

A big topic of conversation right now in Ward III is the major construction project to create in interchange at Kansas Highway 7 and Johnson Drive/55th Street.

Kissinger called it one of those “huge projects which comes along only every 25 years or so,” but he said it appears the state and city have planned for it pretty well.

“By its very nature it is inconvenient and disruptive of normal traffic patterns,” he said, saying that while the city had limited control over the state-run project, “the city must keep constant project communication and provide strong input with KDOT and the contractor.”

He added that the city should consider opening a 57th Street connection to Hedge Lane to help traffic flow for residents west of K-7.

“Unfortunately the impact on business both east and west of K-7 is likely to be substantial,” he said. “It will be very important for the city of Shawnee to strongly encourage our residents to patronize those businesses during this difficult construction period, rather than choosing to avoid the area.”

Vaught disagreed about the success of the state’s planning efforts, saying he thought the timing and the communication could have been handled better.

“Shawnee should not have allowed the project to start until the connection to Silverheel was made off of Clear Creek on the east side of K-7,” he said. “Having that connection shut down for 5 or 6 months will be devastating to the businesses on that interchange.”

Vaught, who attended a special meeting last week between KDOT and businesses near the interchange, said he would like the city to do all it can to help business owners in the area.

“I stand firmly behind the business owners and as a Council person I would push the issue to the limits,” he said. “The businesses out there have struggled from day one; it doesn’t make sense to do this to them.”

Dennis Kissinger

Jeff Vaught

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