Jim Howell saves $985, gets on county ballot the hard way

Rather than pay his way onto the ballot, Sedgwick County Commissioner Jim Howell filed for re-election the old-fashioned way, gathering signatures from his constitutents.

Howell turned in 828 signatures Friday and was certified for the ballot after election workers verified he had at least 597 valid voters in the 5th District, Election Commissioner Tabitha Lehman said Monday.

“Rather than file by fee, I prefer the voters themselves put me on the ballot,” Howell said in his announcement of candidacy. “Filing by petition is a great way to ascertain whether the voters in the district support me as their commissioner.”

Candidates can bypass the petition process by paying a $985.67 filing fee and most do.

Howell, a former state legislator from Derby, has been on the commission since January 2015 and is seeking his second term. The Republican is the first official candidate in the race, which is scheduled for an Aug. 7 primary and Nov. 6 general election.

The 5th District includes Derby, Mulvane, part of southeastern Wichita and the unincorporated community of Oaklawn.

Howell’s immediate predecessor, former county commissioner and Wichita City Council member Jim Skelton, has filed paperwork allowing him to raise money for a county commission campaign, but he has not yet officially entered the race.

Howell said his major accomplishments in office have included:

▪  Negotiating a deal for a new car-registration office in a former Dillons’ store at Meridian and Douglas, replacing the Murdock Tag Office that was widely hated for its cramped size and inadequate parking. Howell said he also worked with the Highway Patrol to keep officers stationed at the new facility, so applicants wouldn’t have to go to Kechi for inspections.

▪  As commission chairman, helping to save a foundering deal with the city of Wichita for a $10 million joint law-enforcement training center on the campus at Wichita State University.

This story was originally published February 5, 2018 at 5:45 PM with the headline "Jim Howell saves $985, gets on county ballot the hard way."