Dalton Glasscock and Judy Pierce are relative newcomers to Wichita’s City Council — neither have run for or served in the office before.
But neither are they novices.
Glasscock began his ascent into local politics in his teenage years on the Mayor’s youth council. Since then, he’s served as chairperson on District 4’s Advisory Board, been appointed to a 40-day term on the Sedgwick County Commission and led the Sedgwick County GOP. Glasscock is also the CEO of Starnes Media Group.
Pierce hasn’t served in a local government office but is a longstanding leader in local labor groups. She started work at Beechcraft in the 1960s, where she became active in the Machinists Union. She spent 15 years as the group’s secretary and treasurer and more than 20 years as president of the Wichita/Hutchinson Federation of Labor.
District 4 covers southwest Wichita, and includes the Delano neighborhood and the airport. The current City Council member, Jeff Blubaugh, is prevented by term limits from running for reelection.
Here's where the candidates stand on issues and questions facing the district.
What are your top two priorities if elected to the Wichita City Council?
Dalton Glasscock: The primary function of local government is public safety. I commit to working with the Wichita Police Department and the Wichita Fire Department to find innovative solutions to pay and personnel challenges: retention bonuses, college reimbursement options, longevity bonuses, and health care retention incentives. Both departments face staffing and resource challenges while we see increased crime and response time.
We must also build a new fire station in District 4. There is no station west of the airport and south of Kellogg, one of Wichita’s fastest-growth areas and D4’s most densely populated. I’ve ridden with Wichita Fire, spoken with the fire union, and seen their challenges firsthand. I support adding and prioritizing this in the Capital Improvement Plan and championing this with my six other colleagues. We must give WFD the tools to be successful. If we don’t do public safety well, we fail as a city.
Judy Pierce: I'd like to make sure that our infrastructure is strong, and that our city and properties are well-maintained and then we have adequate staffing levels to do that. And second would be to increase the quality of life by drawing in new businesses and growing the ones we have.
The City has employed tax incentives – such as TIF districts – for a variety of development projects. Do you think safeguards should be in place to protect taxpayers if a project fails to meet expectations, and if so, what?
Dalton Glasscock: Developers must be held accountable for what they promise when asking for incentives. We’ve seen many examples of the City’s failure to properly vet contracts and ensure taxpayers are not on the hook for a deal that falls through. Wichitans demand more transparency; from the ice skating rink debacle to the $1 an acre land near the baseball stadium, we deserve better.
If incentives are necessary, the process must be transparent and fiscally responsible, and the City must be guaranteed, at a minimum, a 2x return on investment. I support auditing the City’s finances and ensuring that we hold outside contractors accountable for their promises and obligations to the taxpayers.
This is not the Mayor or City Council’s money — this is your money.
Judy Pierce: I absolutely think that there should be some type of safeguards when dealing with (TIF) districts, and contractors in general. Too often government is accused of wasteful spending because money gets lost in the bureaucracy. I want to make sure that the tax incentives provided to a business are a win for the city and its citizens.
Far too often we've given tax incentives to organizations that have promised the sky but the project fails to really even make it off the ground. … We shouldn't be giving tax breaks to big developers at the cost of our citizen population. … So I guess the short answer is, I would take my time and scrutinize any tax incentive proposals that are placed before the council, and make sure that the incentive for our City, if a project fails to meet expectations, we need to find out why, and force the entity that created the failure of the responsibility of their obligations.
A 2021 study found Wichita has an estimated gap of 44,000 affordable housing units. If elected, how would you address the affordable housing shortage in the city?
Dalton Glasscock: There is a role of government and a part of the private sector. The government must create an environment that allows the development of these units, and that happens through the zoning process. As chairman of the District 4 Advisory Board, many zoning and development cases come before us before moving to the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission or Council. In nearly every case, except with overwhelming neighborhood character protests from neighbors, I have voted to expand housing options in the district.
The City must avoid onerous regulations on the building and rehabilitating of homes. Specifically, I would oppose any transfer tax on properties in the community; this discourages home ownership and does more harm than good in addressing our affordable housing crisis. I oppose additional stormwater regulations as part of new development for those same reasons.
Judy Pierce: It's true that there is a gap in affordable housing units in Wichita. I think I would take a twofold approach in addressing the affordable housing shortage. First and foremost we have to have good living-wage jobs and companies that provide benefits in health care. This is the first step in making housing affordable, but at the same time, allowing people the opportunity to become personally responsible for the affordable housing, wherever they might choose to live.
Secondly, I think that as a city we need to have more options like the recent voucher program that the City has developed with landlords who accept these vouchers. We have to develop win-win situations as we move forward.
What is your vision for the future of the Delano district?
Dalton Glasscock: As a proud resident of the Delano District, I am deeply invested in the growth of this neighborhood. The Delano District is the living room of this community, a space where people can come from any region of town into a centrally located district and find shopping, dining, and entertainment. I am an active member of the Delano Neighborhood Association. I’ve also met with Delano United and the Delano Business Association to discuss this district’s future. The concerns I have heard center around public safety and the rise of homelessness in the area, negatively affecting residents and business owners. In addition, there are serious concerns around parking and quick access for retail. I support development in the area. Still, it must be development that honors the residents and businesses that have built the area and made it the part of town where I have decided to plant my roots.
Judy Pierce: Delano has always been a really neat area. It's not quite as big as Old Town, but the diversity of restaurants and little shops, make it a perfect little neighborhood. Of course, some of the extra taxation for the baseball field could drive some of the long-term homeowners out of the neighborhood due to the pricing. I want to make sure that residents are not overtaxed in certain areas that the entire city benefits from. I am committed to looking for innovative ways to keep this balance off the backs of the average (taxpayer), and hopefully transfer the cost of those to utilize the entertainment in those areas. As people frequent more events in Delano, I think that we will see an uptick in revenues and the strength of the businesses in that region.
An informal poll from a 2023 District 4 newsletter found “the homeless along west Kellogg” was residents’ number one concern in District 4. What solutions will you seek for this?
Dalton Glasscock: We need a unified regional approach to address homelessness.
Nearly all of our crisis is due to unaddressed mental illness or substance abuse and addiction. As a former Sedgwick County Mental Health Advisory Board member, I know a regional mental health facility is critical to any solution. Our community does not need another committee to study this issue; we need action.
We need a housing-first solution that gets people off of our streets. With any housing-first solution, we must pair substance abuse counseling, health care, job training, and more with these services.
I’ve ridden with the Wichita Homeless Outreach Team and the Wichita Police Department. I’ve seen the challenges they face firsthand.
Homelessness cannot be normalized. It is not healthy or safe for those who live on the streets, nor healthy or safe for our housed citizens — enough talk.
Judy Pierce: First and foremost, I try to keep in the front of my mind something that my younger friends remind me. These people are not homeless they are unhoused. Obviously, Wichita is their home that they have chosen. Just because they don’t have a regular dwelling to inhabit doesn’t make them homeless it simply means that they have challenges finding ... consistent housing.
In the studies I've looked at some of the biggest barriers for people … getting house in the room are the restrictions. For instance, some housing communities you have to be completely drug-free and others you have to have a job. Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is if you were completely drug-free and had a job you probably wouldn't be in the situation where you needed assistance getting housing. We need to do something that works. We need more social workers, and we need to put more effort into helping raise up these people who fallen through the cracks. It really doesn't matter if it was a fault of their own or if they're a victim of their own mental illness, we can, and should do better for the citizens.
