Rep. Carrie Barth, R-Baldwin City, said she supported a House bill clarifying election requirements for elections when county commissions were expanded from three to five members. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Legislature’s YouTube channel)
TOPEKA — Controversy in Pottawatomie and Douglas counties about expansion of county commissions to five members surfaced Monday with a Kansas House committee backing a bill mandating new seats be filled at the next general election and that terms of expanded commissions be staggered to avoid conflict with state law.
Both counties engaged in lengthy political battles over transitioning their county commissions from a three-member board to a five-member board. Voters in both counties approved the concept of a five-member commission in November 2022, but complexities of state law prompted delays in election of additional members until November 2024. Individuals elected this fall would be sworn into office in early 2025.
A trio of Kansas Republican legislators — Rep. Kenny Titus of Manhattan, Sen. Kristian O’Shea of Topeka and Rep. Francis Awerkamp of St. Marys — picked up the torch for Pottawatomie County on behalf of House Bill 2661, which would require commission expansion vacancies be filled at the general election following a vote by county residents to endorse the change from three to five commission members.