Republican challenger defeats Democratic incumbent in Sedgwick County Commission race
Republican challenger Ryan Baty ousted Democratic incumbent Lacey Cruse in a Sedgwick County Commission race Tuesday.
“We worked hard for a year in this campaign, and the issues we’ve talked about and stayed focused about are also the issues that people care about in Sedgwick County,” Baty said from his watch party at Chicken N Pickle.
“I’m humbled, I’m grateful, and I’m excited to get to work.”
Baty received 53% of the vote to Cruse’s 47% in District 4. The results are unofficial until a county canvass of votes later this month.
The district, in north-central Sedgwick County, includes north Wichita, Park City, Maize and Valley Center.
Baty thanked Cruse for her work on the commission.
“The issues that she cares about, I’m going to try to continue making progress for our district in a lot of those areas.”
Cruse, who barred reporters from entering her Election Night watch party, did not return a call seeking comment.
On Wednesday morning, she conceded in a Facebook post thanking her supporters.
“I feel grateful for all the things I have learned and the opportunity to show what serving with authenticity looks like, even if it’s not embraced,” Cruse said.
“Let’s face it. We live in a society that wants women to listen, not lead. “
The two Republican commissioners seeking reelection — Pete Meitzner and Jim Howell — won over Democratic challengers Kelli Grant and John McIntosh.
The commission now will have four Republicans and one Democrat.
The three Republican candidates outraised Democrats $120,795 to $44,730 from late July to late October, recent campaign finance filings show. Republicans also outspent Democrats $154,348 to $68,446. Baty raised and spent the most of any candidate — $54,180 and $79,346, respectively.
Hostility in the District 4 race ratcheted up in the closing days of the campaign when Cruse accused Baty in a TikTok video of being a Christian nationalist — a claim he flatly denied.
Larry Menestrina, 67, cast his ballot around 4 p.m. at Northside Church of Christ in Wichita. He said he watched several debates between Cruse and Baty and that the County Commission race was one of the most important in his opinion.
“Lacey Cruse lived in my neighborhood for a while,” Menestrina said. “I’m not dead against her. I just felt like the policies and everything that Baty supported and espoused were more in line with what I believed.”
Another Northside voter named Debbie, who declined to give her last name, said Cruse has been a fighter for District 4.
“I voted for Lacey Cruse,” she said. “I just feel like she’s been doing a lot of things to really be helpful.”
Meitzner said he’s looking forward to working with Baty.
”I’ve talked to Ryan a lot. I think he has a grasp of collaboration. He has a grasp of what it takes. You can’t be a one person one-agenda item elected person and have success within the community.”
Commissioners are paid $98,304 a year. Their responsibilities include setting policy direction and approving a budget for vital services such as EMS, 911, Comcare, corrections and the sheriff’s office. Commissioners also serve as the board of health, hearing panel on tax appeals, board of canvassers of elections and oversee Fire District 1.
Incoming county commissioners will be faced with a number of pressing challenges, preeminent among them addressing serious staffing shortages across county departments.
Comcare and the Sedgwick County Jail are both in need of more than 100 employees, despite the commission recently approving pay increases, and staffing issues forced the county to temporarily close a south Wichita Women Infant and Children office.
It will also be up to commissioners to secure state funding for the 50-bed behavioral health hospital Gov. Laura Kelly has said should be located in Sedgwick County, as well as choosing a site for the $15 million Comcare crisis expansion of the county’s own mental health services.
This story was originally published November 8, 2022 at 7:58 PM.