Colleen Cunningham's Voter Guide

Farassati has taken on increasingly extreme views in recent years, such as limiting Council members to 2 terms. He continues to rail against chip seal, the alternative to which is about 10 times the cost, but he also wants to cut property taxes, without specifying what cuts he would make to balance these priorities. He refused to attend the Johnson County Post forum because they would not submit to his demands.

Marsden's initial website rollout included a photo of a protestor holding a sign opposing LGBTQ+ rights. Her website was redesigned, removing that photo and adding the same platform planks as Melissa Cheatham. She appears to be telling voters what they'd like to hear, without regard to the policies and procedures in place that the city council is required to follow. Marsden is NOT a Gun Sense Candidate, meaning she has not pledged to govern with gun violence prevention in mind.

I really appreciate Scrivner's "political origin stories." When she was a kid, she got a taste of political work saving a tree at her school. She is running for city council now after helping her aging father who lives in Overland Park and seeing what services could be implemented to better support that population in our community . At the Johnson County Post forum, I was impressed with Scrivner's research and ideas that she had learned about being implemented in other cities. Scrivner is a Gun Sense Candidate, meaning she has pledged to govern with gun violence prevention in mind.

Carignan has served previously on the city council, and supported a lot of great initiatives as he served. He and his family are longtime residents of Overland Park, and he is enthusiastic about bringing his neighbors' voices to the council. Carignan is a Gun Sense Candidate, meaning he has pledged to govern with gun violence prevention in mind.

Mosher is very passionate about supporting our first responders, which is certainly admirable. He appears to me to have a one-track mind for this area, however. During the Johnson County Post forum, he mentioned that he has only knocked the doors of people whose homes display an American flag. I believe that Amy Antrim has a wider breadth of knowledge and interest, and is interested in hearing from all constituents in Ward 4, and as such, is the better candidate in this race.

Washington's website does not include a lot of specific policy positions, but I appreciate her commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, which she does include. She also includes a Survey link, was responsive to the feedback I'd submitted earlier this year, and seems eager to hear from, and talk with, Ward 5 voters. Washington is also a Gun Sense Candidate, meaning she has pledged to govern with gun violence prevention in mind.

Payne has a thoughtful and well-stated plan for his policy priorities. He also has a varied and extensive history of community engagement.

Roberts received criticism in 2014 for using the n-word during a State Board of Education meeting, and then doubled-down on his use of the word. Earlier this year, Roberts spoke during public comment and stated that he believes the cap for accepting out of district students should be at 100%, meaning that any student outside of the district should be able to attend here if there is a single space available for that student. This would leave no seats for students in families moving into the district mid-year.

McMullen has consistently voted against even basic technology funding, as well as against mental health initiatives, even as administrators across the district indicated a need for maintaining, if not increasing, mental health supports to meet the needs of students in their buildings, following covid. In 2022, McMullen was stripped of his VP position on the Board after posting homophobic and transphobic comments on Twitter.

Holton provided strong answers at the 2 forums I attended, and when he didn't know an answer concerning how something is currently being done, was willing to acknowledge that and plan to learn more about it. He is endorsed by the Faculty Association, which is a meaningful endorsement to me.

Stokes' website leads with an image suggesting his top priority is "fighting indoctrination." I don't believe that is a valid concern at JCCC. He is also campaigning on establishing a faculty review council to vet proposed courses. A simple Google search using those search terms will take you to JCCC's Educational Affairs Committee website, which is the 1st step of a 1.5 year process for approving new courses. It appears that Stokes doesn't know how current processes at JCCC work, and does not have the interest to learn.

During the Johnson County Post forum, candidates were asked about what measures they would take or support to prevent gun violence on campus. Charlton stated that "Fortunately, we live in Johnson County and Johnson County is special," implying that gun violence is not a part of our community. Less than 2 weeks earlier, a gun was fired at a middle school football practice in Johnson County. There was a school shooting 3 years ago at Olathe East. In 2014, 3 people were shot and killed at the local Jewish Community Centers. Of course this is a non-exhaustive list of gun violence that has occurred in Johnson County. He went on to state that "you're not going to prevent all gun violence; you just have to be ready to respond." I fundamentally disagree that there are not preventative measures that we can take to address potential gun violence. I appreciate that other candidates share my view that gun violence prevention is a worthy effort to help keep our community safe.

While running for the Johnson County Board of Commissioners in 2024, Hamill was on video telling a room of supporters that "I'd like [JCCC] to be known as Johnson County Christian College." This is not how public schools work, and it is disqualifying to make such a statement about a tax-supported public college that includes a wide diversity of students. When he initially ran in 2021, he stated that "The big thing I'm really running about is the culture war." It is clear from these statements that his primary interest is not in supporting the students, faculty or staff of JCCC.

I was impressed with Abner's thoughtful responses at the Johnson County Post forum, particularly as he outlined processes for problem solving. I hold some concern that he appears to be running as part of a slate with candidates who do not measure up to a similar standard, and who hold viewpoints that do not represent my own.

Enge does not appear to be actively campaigning for this position. The most recent post on his social media/campaign page is over 1.5 years old.

It was difficult for me to find information about Melius' current policy priorities. After scrolling back to 2021, I did find a Facebook post in which she addressed some issues. Perhaps reflecting that time (but not having much more recent information), it appears that her priorities were to eschew science on the issues of masking and vaccines, as well as concerns about "DEI curriculum and training." When asked about making schools inclusive and welcoming at the Johnson County Post forum, Melius emphasized school safety by hiring SROs, but went on to state that "mixed pronouns do not belong in school." She also mentioned the virtual school dragging down graduation rates, and went on to discuss reading problems among kids who were in early elementary school during covid. My youngest actually attended the Spring Hill virtual school during early covid, and they had a really top-notch phonics program in their online school. Melius' comments came across as unnecessarily combative to me.

Olsen stated during the Johnson County Post forum that he is "a firm believer in the family should be dictating where we go," but did not disclose which family or families should be making that decision for the entire, diverse district. From my perspective, this belief undermines the expertise of teachers and can lead to, or exacerbate, teacher/staff shortages.

Ewing does not appear to have a campaign website or social media presence. There was a real contrast between Ewing and his opponent, Ted Beauchamp, at the Johnson County Post forum. While I found Beauchamp to be lively with several specific improvements he'd like to promote for the district, Ewing seemed more supportive of the status quo. I also was uncomfortable with Ewing's statement that Spring Hill does not have any difficulties in being inclusive and welcoming, but also stated that "pronouns are assigned at birth." It is not inclusive or welcoming to deny the existence of trans students and families in the district.

Reese has served on the Water One board for quite some time, as I understand. He does not seem to have a functioning website or a social media presence, and there are not forums for Water One board. I will be supporting Jennifer Gunby for this position, as she is actively campaigning and is well-qualified.