Three candidates endorsed by the Sedgwick County GOP swept Wichita’s City Council elections Tuesday.
In District 2, incumbent Becky Tuttle will remain in the seat.
Districts 4 and 5 will each get new council members – Dalton Glasscock and J.V. Johnston, respectively. Neither of these wins are likely to change the makeup of the seven-member council because both will replace council members previously endorsed by Republicans.
Here’s a roundup of the races:
In District 4, former GOP leader defeats union president
Former-GOP leader Dalton Glasscock won 62% of the vote in the race for District 4’s council seat, defeating union leader Judy Pierce. Pierce was endorsed by the Sedgwick County Democratic Party.
“Fifteen years ago, I served on the Mayor’s Youth Council,” Glasscock said. “ … I think I’m the first Mayor’s Youth Council alum to serve on the City Council, which I’m incredibly excited about.”
He campaigned on improving public safety, particularly improving staffing shortages in the Wichita Police and Fire departments. He also wants to see investment in a new fire station in District 4, which he says is densely populated but lacks sufficient fire coverage
“I want to meet again with the chief of police, meet again with the Fraternal Order of Police, and have an opportunity to do another ride along as well and talk to officers on the streets,” Glasscock said. “Public safety is what I heard most at the doors, so that’s what I’m going to be leading with now.”
District 4 covers southwest Wichita, including the Delano neighborhood and the airport. The current City Council member, Jeff Blubaugh, was prevented by term limits from running for reelection.
Glasscock has extensive experience in local politics. In 2018, he was elected chairman of the Sedgwick County GOP, where he was scrutinized for his sexuality. Glasscock is openly gay.
In 2020, Sedgwick County Republicans elected him to briefly fill a county commission vacancy after a former commissioner resigned. Glasscock is also the CEO of Starnes Media Group and serves as the chairman for the District 4 advisory board, which acts as a sounding board for City Council members.
His opponent, Pierce, hadn’t served in a local government office but is a longstanding leader in local labor groups. She spent 15 years as the Machinists Union’s secretary and treasurer, and more than 20 years as president of the Wichita/Hutchinson Federation of Labor.
In response to questions prior to the election, Pierce said her top priorities were improving infrastructure, maintaining city properties and ensuring adequate staffing at the city level. She said she wanted to increase city workers’ minimum wage, which is currently set at $15 an hour, to $20 an hour.
Glasscock far outraised Pierce, garnering more than $53,000 in campaign donations. Pierce raised just more than $4,500.
Becky Tuttle secures second term in District 2
Incumbent Becky Tuttle was re-elected to her second term on the City Council, winning about 64 percent of the vote among a pool of three candidates.
During the race, Tuttle raised more than $70,000 – far more than her opponents – with donations from a number of developers and other businesses in town.
She says her top priorities in the coming term include expanding the Redbud Trail in east Wichita and growing the city’s economy.
“We have some really great opportunities here in Wichita,” Tuttle said during her election party at Chicken N Pickle. “We have the right skilled workforce; I think we’re just prime to bring new industries here.”
Tuttle was first appointed to the seat in 2019, winning re-election the same year. She was the only incumbent on the City Council running for re-election this year.
Challenger Marcey Gregory finished second with about 32% of the vote. The retired business owner and former mayor of Goddard campaigned on growing Wichita’s economy and public safety.
Gregory did not immediately respond to KMUW’s request for comment on Tuesday.
A third candidate who did not fundraise, Hatim Zeineddine, earned about 4% of the vote. In a previous interview with KMUW, he said he was running to encourage other people to get involved in local government.
J.V. Johnston takes down two opponents to win District 5 seat.
J.V. Johnston has won the District 5 seat. He beat out Gary Bond and Ben Taylor to replace Bryan Frye on the City Council. Frye was prevented by term limits from running again.
Johnston won with 55% of the vote. He is the executive director of the Guadalupe Clinic and previously owned a clothing business for 28 years.
Johnston says that many of his constituents had previous interactions with him through his previous ventures, including time at Newman University.
"It's amazing how many people I sold suits to, or were donors at Newman that I called on, or were donors at Guadalupe Clinic,” he said. “So, I just happened to know a lot of people that I just knocked on their doors."
He says there are several things he would like to tackle when he gets into office in January.
"I do want to focus on a plan for the homeless, focus on the relationship with the police department and pay for the police department — those are the two biggest ones — but also taxes,” he said.
Prior to running, Johnston was on the district advisory board for eight years and acted as chair for six of those years. He says he's lived in the district since 1991.
District 5 covers much of West Wichita, beginning at I-235. It borders Maple to the south and stops short of the city of Maize to the north.
It's mostly middle-class and largely residential, but the area is seeing a lot of growth and development.
