Baily wins Sedgwick County treasurer race

Update: 10:30 p.m.

Republican Brandi Baily likely will be the next Sedgwick County treasurer, leading the race with more than 60% of the vote, according to final unofficial election results.

Baily said the win over Democrat Charity Kennedy came with a hint of surprise.

“We did all of this during a pandemic, and who would have thought?” Baily said. “Especially for me, someone who’s just kind of a newcomer into everything, and I’ve come out and I’ve won.

“I’ve put a lot of hard work into this — a lot of blood, sweat, a lot of tears and a lot of praying.”

Baily said she will use her new platform to bring change to the community.

“Change is coming,” Baily said. “I am going to be that treasurer that my door will always be open to them, I want to hear from them, I want to know what their issues are.”

Baily said she liked the way she and her opponent handled their campaigns.

“She let me do my thing and she didn’t smear me and I let her do her thing and I didn’t smear her,” Baily said.

Kennedy echoed similar sentiments.

“I’m really grateful that we both ran a very clean and honorable race,” Kennedy said. “There wasn’t mudslinging. It was really about our platforms, and that’s what it should be about — letting voters choose what platform they align better with.”

Kennedy said that even though she didn’t come out victorious, she is still proud of the campaign she ran.

“I had a small campaign committee that was very dedicated and worked really hard that never worked on a campaign before, so we learned a lot,” Kennedy said. “I am proud of what we were able to accomplish despite not coming out on top tonight.”

Kennedy said she thinks many of her voters were attracted to her platform because of her plan to change the treasurer position from an elected one to a nonpolitical staff role.

“Many of them, I think, were attracted to the idea of bringing change to county government,” Kennedy said. “I think the thought of removing some of the partisanship out of the county government was very appealing to some people.”

Update: 9:05 p.m.

With 114 precincts reporting and 150,825 votes counted, Baily is in the lead with 57.15% of the vote and Kennedy falling behind with 42.79% of the vote.

Update: 8:40 p.m.

Republican Brandi Baily led Democrat Charity Kennedy in the race for Sedgwick County treasurer Tuesday evening, according to early unofficial results.

With about 124,000 advance votes counted, Baily had a 55-45 lead over Kennedy, who campaigned on her vision of transitioning the role to a nonpolitical, non-elected position.

The candidates are running to replace Republican Linda Kizzire, who is not seeking re-election. The treasurer is elected to a four-year-term.

Sedgwick County’s treasurer is responsible for collecting personal property, real estate, and motor vehicle taxes, commercial vehicle fees, special assessments, and other taxes for Sedgwick County. The yearly salary in 2020 was $92,658.

Kennedy, the Democrat, spent about $6,500 on her campaign, according to expenditure reports through Oct. 22. Baily spent about $8,700 over the same time period.

Kennedy, 42, is campaigning to be the last person elected to the treasurer office, hoping to change the position from an elected position to a nonpolitical staff role. She said eliminating the election process will ensure that the treasurer does the job to the best of his or her ability.

“Imagine a county treasurer who is devoted totally to serving the public instead of worrying about her next election,” Kennedy said.

“Right now, after reviewing certain financials of the treasurer’s office, I’m seeing opportunities for more efficient use of taxpayer funds. It’s time we demand a culture of taxpayer trust in Sedgwick County government.”

Baily, 43, said she is against eliminating elections.

“Shouldn’t the taxpayers have a say over who is overseeing all that tax money coming in, or should five bureaucrats be who is responsible for overseeing the treasurer?” Baily said.

Kennedy is an industrial engineer at an aerospace company and has experience being a math teacher. She said she is more qualified than Baily because of Baily’s lack of management experience.

“She manages assets for the county as an accountant that is in charge of the investments, but she doesn’t have any experience managing people,” Kennedy said.

Baily is a Park City council woman and a veteran accountant in the county’s finance department. She has worked 13 years in financial management and 20 years in the department.

Though she doesn’t have experience working in the treasurer’s office, Baily said she can bring her past experience in the finance department to the treasurer role.

“I know the systems that are being used, so therefore the transition to go into that office would be very smooth,” she said.

This story was produced by The Sunflower and is published here as part of the Wichita Journalism Collaborative, a partnership of seven media companies, including The Wichita Eagle.

This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 8:33 PM.