Who are the 9 candidates vying for Clendenin’s seat on Wichita City Council?

Nine candidates are vying to replace James Clendenin as the City Council representative for southeast Wichita after the council member, who was facing ouster proceedings, stepped down late last year.

The winner will hold the District 3 seat until at least January, when a candidate chosen by voters will fill the seat. A temporary appointment often functions as a tryout for candidates seeking a full term.

The candidates include several well-known names in local politics and a few newcomers:

▪ Cindy Miles — Metropolitan Area Planning commissioner, executive director of the Kansas Nonprofit Chamber and Republican precinct committeewoman; former candidate for Sedgwick County Commission

▪ Jared Cerullo — a former television news reporter who works as a freelancer for radio news stations; also a member of the District 3 advisory board

▪ Mary Dean — a longtime African-American community activist and president of Black Women Empowered; also a former candidate for City Council and Wichita school board

▪ Joseph W. Shepard — chairman of the Sedgwick County Democratic Party and former student body president at Wichita State University

▪ George Theoharis — a neighborhood activist and former member of the Animal Control Advisory Board

▪ Nicholas Blasi — a former Wingnuts baseball player and co-owner of Marine World, a Wichita boat dealership

▪ Jason Carmichael — a disabled veteran and two time graduate of Wichita State University who owns a business involved in property management and real estate

▪ Michael Hoheisel — a Democratic precinct commiteeman and former director of StopKobach PAC

▪ Virgil H. Miller, Jr. — a retired detective in the Wichita Police Department

Three of the original 12 applicants for consideration were eliminated because they didn’t get the required 100 petition signatures from District 3 voters to earn an interview for the job.

Two fell just short: William Stofer got 95 and Jerome Crawford 94, according to City Clerk Karen Sublett.

Marco Alcocer only turned in seven valid signatures.

But even if he had collected enough, he would still have been disqualified because he got his petition notarized before he collected signatures instead of after, officials said.

Interviews for the position are scheduled for 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

The District 3 advisory board will interview the candidates and narrow the field to the top four or five candidates. The City Council will choose a winner at a future meeting.

The winner will replace Clendenin, who resigned in December while facing ouster proceedings by the district attorney for a false smear campaign and cover-up targeting Brandon Whipple during the 2019 Wichita mayoral race, which Whipple won.

Clendenin is also under investigation for questionable federal COVID-19 relief funds claimed by a company he owns with former state Rep. Michael Capps, who was also involved in the false attack on Whipple.

Clendenin, the longest-serving member of the council when he quit, held the seat for 10 years and would have been term limited out of office this year.

While council members can usually serve only eight years, Clendenin’s tenure was extended because he was originally elected to fill almost two years of an unexpired term, and then the state Legislature changed the election cycle while he was in office, adding almost another year to his eligibility.

Clendenin’s replacement could shift the balance of power in local politics, as the Democratic Party looks to pick up another seat on the council.

City Council elections are officially nonpartisan, but council votes often break along political and ideological lines.

In 2019, Republicans held five out of seven seats on the Wichita City Council.

With Clendenin’s exit, that could shrink to three seats in under two years.

Bryan Frye, Jeff Blubaugh and Becky Tuttle are registered Republicans.

Whipple and council member Brandon Johnson are Democrats. If a Democrat fills the vacant seat, the party split would then be 3-3, with one unaffiliated council member, Cindy Claycomb.

After the district advisory board selects its top four or five candidates, City Council members and the mayor will meet one-on-one with each candidate. After those meetings are finished, the council will vote during a regular meeting to decide a winner.

This story was originally published February 4, 2021 at 5:01 AM.