Advance in-person voting begins on October 23 in Johnson County, and Election Day is less than two weeks away on Nov. 2. As residents head to the polls to cast their ballots for WaterOne board, we’ve put together an election primer to give people an easy way to find out where the candidates stand on the issues.
SHAMELESS PLUG
No other news outlet devotes as much attention to giving Shawnee Mission area voters a way to find out where candidates running for local office stand on the issues facing our community. If you value having a news outlet provide this kind of coverage, we hope you’ll consider becoming a subscriber if you aren’t already. Your first month of full access is just $1.
Who’s on the ballot
Seven candidates are running for the three WaterOne board seats up for election this year. They are listed below, with links to their campaign websites where available.
Water District Board Member 3
- Joann Atchity
- Kay Heley (incumbent)
- Steve Gordon
Water District Board Member 4
- Bob Reese (incumbent)
- Jeffrey Mendoza
Water District Board Member 5
Candidate Questionnaires
Earlier this month, the Post published the candidates’ responses to the questionnaire we developed with reader input. The three questionnaire items are linked below:
- What is the biggest issue facing the water district today, and what should the board be doing to address it? Read answers here.
- WaterOne is in the process of installing Advanced Metering Infrastructure across the district. This system has the potential to allow customers to better understand their water consumption and avoid surprise high bills by accessing data about their usage online. What does the district need to do to ensure customers are aware of the new system and get the most out of it? Read answers here.
- Climate change continues to be top of mind for many Shawnee Mission Post readers. How will the increasing likelihood of flooding and drought events impact the sources from which WaterOne draws its supplies? What can WaterOne do to ensure its infrastructure is ready to handle more extreme weather? Read answers here.
