A former Sedgwick County commissioner will be on the ballot for the District 5 seat in the November general election.
Jim Skelton is running as an independent candidate.
Sedgwick County Election Commissioner Tabitha Lehman certified Skelton’s petition this weekend. Lehman says Skelton submitted 234 petition pages. He needed 2,211 valid signatures to get on the ballot as an official candidate.
Skelton represented the commission’s District 5 as a Republican from 2011 to 2015 and did not seek re-election in 2014 due to health reasons. He also served for six years on the Wichita City Council.
Skelton is running against current Commissioner Jim Howell, a Republican, who is seeking re-election to a second term.
Prior to his election to the commission, Howell served in the Kansas House of Representatives from 2011 to 2014. He served in the U.S. Air Force.
The District 5 covers the southeast portion of the county from Wichita to Derby.
The commission’s District 1 and District 4 seats are also up for election this year.
The county commission’s primary responsibility is managing the county’s infrastructure and services. Serving as a commissioner is a full-time job. Terms begin in January and last four years.
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