The unofficial results of yesterday's election have been posted and it looks like the following four individuals will be taking the oath of office as city council members. The swearing in of these individuals will be Monday, December 13, 2021 at 6:00PM at city hall, 11110 Johnson Drive. The council will also be electing a new council president that night.
Here are the winners:
Ward 1 - Tony Gillette
Ward 2 - Dr. Mike Kemmling (reelected)
Ward 3 - Angela Stiens
Ward 4 - Jacklynn Walters
They will be joining Tammy Thomas, Eric Jenkins, Kurt Knappen and Jill Chalfie to make up the face of the new council
The big winner will be the City of Shawnee. Voters made it clear that they were not in the mood to put up with individuals that were left leaning socialists.
Look for some positive changes going forward. One of which will be the city's budget. I'd be willing to bet that our overpaid, neophyte city manager will not be allowed to get away with submitting a "summary budget". The council (and the people) deserve to see a more specific budget. At the last budget session it was council members, Eric Jenkins, Dr. Mike Kemmling and Tammy Thomas who challenged that submission. Should we even discuss outgoing council member Lisa Larson-Bunnell's comments about how the city has "buckets".
In another area, I'd also bet that you will see more productive development in the city. Certain elements had said that fiscal conservatives would make Shawnee unattractive to developers. I don't buy that. What you will probably see is a more cooperative effort to work with developers to everyone's benefit. No more giving up the farm which becomes detrimental to the city and its taxpayers. Development has to be a win-win situation, not a lopsided affair.
