The two candidates for Sedgwick County Commission District 3 have different visions for how county government should raise and spend money in the face of increasing property taxes and a housing shortage in the Wichita area.
Celeste Racette, a fiscally conservative Democrat with a background in accounting, said she wants to offer property tax relief by cutting waste and eliminating “taxpayer handouts” to developers while Stephanie Wise, a Republican with a background in commercial real estate, said she plans to save money through consolidating services and tax reform.
The topic of property taxes dominated the Wichita Journalism Collaborative’s candidate forum on housing Monday night at Friends University, where both candidates fielded questions ranging from housing affordability to homelessness to flooding in west Wichita.
But first, Racette immediately went on offense, saying Wise would have a conflict of interest by serving as a commissioner while continuing to operate her commercial real estate business while also deciding zoning cases and appointing members to boards that regulate commercial development.