County Commissioner Ranzau ‘not ready to give up the fight’

Proclaiming he’s “not ready to give up the fight at this point,” Richard Ranzau is running for a third term on the Sedgwick County Commission.

“While it hasn’t always been easy, I am proud of my record of opposing cronyism and the toxic pay-to-play attitude that exists in local government,” he said in his candidacy announcement.

Prepare for campaign fireworks.

The other declared candidate so far is Hugh Nicks, a retired marketing executive and farm owner, who has criticized Ranzau for lack of civility on the commission bench and “rigid ideological thinking.”

Ranzau makes no apologies.

“I want to keep fighting for the taxpayers,” Ranzau said. “I think they need somebody they can trust to make sound financial decisions.”

Ranzau and Nicks will square off in an Aug. 7 Republican primary and the winner will advance to the Nov. 7 general election.

Ranzau represents the 4th District, which stretches from central Wichita to the north and west, including Park City, Valley Center, Maize and Sedgwick.

Ranzau was first elected in 2010 and defended the seat in 2014 against two of his predecessors on the commission. He held off state Sen. Carolyn McGinn in the Republican primary and edged former state Rep. Melody McCray-Miller, the Democrat, in the general election.

From 2014 to 2016, Ranzau was part of a 3-2 majority working to shrink the county government’s size, services and regulations.

But following the election of David Dennis and Michael O’Donnell in 2016, Ranzau has often found himself on the short end of spending and economic-development votes.

He was the only commissioner or Wichita City Council member to oppose a $14 million city/county subsidy package to assist in an expansion of Spirit AreoSystems.

Ranzau also made headlines last year when he publicly accused O’Donnell of corrupt dealings to benefit friends and supporters – an allegation O’Donnell denies.

“There is almost constant pressure to give away taxpayer money to special interests and politically connected entities,” Ranzau said. “We must conduct ourselves in a manner that avoids all appearance of impropriety.”

Before joining the commission, Ranzau worked as a physician assistant and is a veteran of the Persian Gulf and Iraq wars.

This story was originally published February 2, 2018 at 6:59 PM with the headline "County Commissioner Ranzau ‘not ready to give up the fight’."