Print edition: 
Kelly Parks won't be behind the bench at Sedgwick County Commission meetings after January, setting off some speculation that the former Valley Center police chief may run for sheriff.
Board Chairman Karl Peterjohn said in an e-mail Thursday that Parks, a Republican, had decided not to run again for the County Commission.
Parks declined to comment, saying he would make an announcement Wednesday.
Commissioner Gwen Welshimer, a Democrat who is seeking to retain her spot on the board, said Parks has been a fervent voice for his district in the northern part of the county. She said she hopes he will run for sheriff.
Sheriff Robert Hinshaw, a Republican, is in his first term.
"He's really good at law enforcement work," Welshimer said of Parks. "I hope that he will return to that in some way because he's good at it."
Peterjohn said Parks had done an outstanding job.
"We've agreed a lot more than we've disagreed. It's been a pleasure to work with him in the time I've been on the commission," he said.
Parks, 55, who was elected to the County Commission in 2006, has been the subject of some controversy.
He recently used the county's e-mail system to tell a Wichita resident "Screw you" when she criticized him for appealing a speeding ticket in district court. He lost his appeal but has said he may take his case to the Kansas Court of Appeals.
Police who stopped him on West River Boulevard in June said he was on a cell phone when they stopped him for driving 36 in a 25 mph zone and cited him for speeding in a park system. Parks argued that the road was not part of Riverside Park.
Parks became the subject of courthouse pranks after saying in November during a discussion about ethics that he had turned some "stuff" over to the FBI. He refused to elaborate.
At least three elected officials made homemade FBI identification cards and flashed them in hallways as a joke, sources said at the time. Some also made calls, disguising their voices and identifying themselves as FBI agents.
In May, the board of the Association of County Employees said Parks had approached its president about forming a union to enhance employee pay and benefits.
The board said that Parks not only asked the group to gauge interest in unionizing but to do so secretly.
Parks denied he had done so.
Supporter John Todd, a close watcher of local government, said Parks may not have always been "politically correct."
"I think he's had some moments that I would say if he could take some of those back, he probably would," Todd said. "His heart is in the right place.
"I think Kelly comes across maybe different than what he really is in reality. Kelly is a person of the people. He thinks of the little people out there. I think that's one of his strengths. Sometimes he does that even if it's not popular."
Parks "loves his district," Welshimer said.
"Everything he's done has been for the people in his district," she said. "He spends a lot of time there."
Welshimer said she had known for a while that Parks would not seek re-election.
Kelly Arnold, chairman of the Sedgwick County Republican Party and also the county clerk, said he had heard "different rumors of whether he was going to run again or not."
Noting that he was speaking as chairman of the party and not as clerk, Arnold said Parks represented his district well.
"People can debate how his tactics were as a commissioner," he said. "One thing most people can't argue with is that he did what he thought was in the best interest of the people of his district."
Arnold said he expects two or three more candidates to take a serious look at running for Parks' seat. Commissioners serve four-year terms and are paid $83,718 a year.
Former Wichita City Council member Sharon Fearey, a Democrat, has filed for the seat, as has Republican Lucy Burtnett, the former commissioner Parks defeated in 2006.
Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Bryan Derreberry said he heard late Thursday about Parks' decision.
"We're just always excited to work with the county," he said. "We hope a quality candidate emerges from that district."
The Chamber's political action committee hasn't made any decisions on who to support because other candidates may emerge before the filing deadline June 10.
Commissioner Dave Unruh said he was surprised by Parks' decision.
"I was not aware that it was coming. I assume he's made a good evaluation of what his options are what he wants to do with his service to the public," Unruh said. "I wish him the best in that decision."
