Meitzner, Cruse keep leadership positions on Sedgwick County Commission

Republican Pete Meitzner will again chair the Sedgwick County Commission in 2021, keeping his leadership position with the support of the commission’s two Democrats, Lacey Cruse and newly-elected Sarah Lopez.

With 3-2 votes, Meitzner and Cruse were chosen by the commission as chair and vice chair, granting them access to a higher level of information and involvement in the county’s role in fighting COVID-19.

Commissioners David Dennis and Jim Howell, both Republicans, were on the losing side of both votes.

Meitzner’s first term as chair was almost immediately disrupted by the coronavirus. National and state political maneuvering left the County Commission, which doubles as the Board of Health, to take the lead in the public health response.

Almost overnight in mid-March, the commission became the most visible government agency in the Wichita area, deciding what types of businesses would open and close, when residents would be required to wear masks and a myriad of other public health restrictions.

While the commission was often split over the response to the pandemic, Meitzner often played the role of peacekeeper. After the Democrats picked up another seat on the commission, Meitzner is positioned as the swing vote on the commission and could play a key role in determining the outcome on partisan issues.

Cruse, with the backing of Lopez and Meitzner, was voted to again serve as vice chair, the second highest position on the commission. Cruse has been both praised and criticized for her role in managing the pandemic, often backing public health officials and reaffirming Health Orders issued by County Health Officer Dr. Garold Minns.

Meitzner and Cruse have largely driven the county’s response to the coronavirus. As chair and vice chair, they have had more access to Minns prior to the issuance of public health orders. They also have a higher level of access to information about the spread of the virus and its impact on local hospitals through a weekly conference call with hospital leaders, public health officials and city of Wichita leadership.

Republican Commissioners Jim Howell and David Dennis have repeatedly expressed frustration with being excluded from the weekly hospital calls, but the county has declined to let additional commissioners attend because it would open the meeting to the public under the Kansas Open Meetings Act.

Howell said Wednesday that he wanted a change in leadership to allow other commissioners to have access to coronavirus information.

“One of the problems we have is when one person continues to serve in that role, it doesn’t give other commissioners the opportunities to understand the same depth of subject matter, to build those same relationships that those other ones enjoy,” Howell said.

“The hospital call that happens on Monday, I’ve not been allowed to participate in that this entire pandemic, except for one time when the other commissioner that would normally be on that call was not available,” Howell said. “And that’s unfortunate because I have a lot of questions, and if I was able to ask questions and understand more deeply what they’re going through, it might change public policy.”

Howell nominated Dennis, who was chair in 2018 and 2019, to return to the top spot on the commission. Dennis nominated Howell for vice chair. Both were on the losing side of 3-2 split votes.

Dennis said he thought Howell, who was chair in 2016, deserved to return to a leadership role.

“We need to spread things around a little bit and make sure that everyone has an opportunity to serve in a leadership position,” Dennis said.

In explaining their nominations, Cruse and Lopez, who defeated former Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O’Donnell in November, each said it was important to keep leadership structure in place as the county battles the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think it is important to keep leadership consistent during a time of crisis, and that is why I will be nominating Pete (Meitzner) to remain as chair for 2021,” Cruse said.

“Well, I think in normal years, I would love to see this kind of passed around a little bit more, but I will agree in a time of crisis I think it’s important to keep management the same and just kind of keep pushing through, so I will nominate Commissioner Cruse,” Lopez said.

Meitzner said he had some reservations about accepting the chair position for a second year in a row, but ultimately voted for himself for the sake of consistency.

“This pandemic is still not over yet,” Meitzner said.

This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 2:12 PM.