SEDGWICK—The City of Sedgwick has three four-year term positions up for election in November. The positions are currently held by Brenda DeHaven, Monty Leonard, and Kirby Stucky. Seven people—Russ Banta, Brenda DeHaven, Mark Jacob, Dwight Kinzer, Joshua Liby, John Pittinger, and Joseph Taylor—have registered to be on the ballot.
Harvey County Now reached out to all of the candidates with the same questionnaire. Below are the responses received.
Joseph Taylor
Occupation: Product Tech Support Engineer
Why are you running?
I decided to run when I saw that only two people declared their candidacy with only 24 hours remaining until the deadline. I felt that I needed to step up and be a voice for the citizens of Sedgwick and make sure they had proper representation.
What qualifies you for this position?
I have never served in a governmental capacity and know there will be some things I need to learn. I have served on the Library Board for several years and have been a board member of the Kansas Cornhusker Club for many years which has similar rules of order as a city council member.
What do you hope to accomplish if elected?
I hope to see continued growth in our community and to bring more businesses to our Industrial park and downtown area.
What do you see as the biggest need for Sedgwick?
I see a need for growth in housing and business to increase tax revenues to make better improvements to the city and to meet our required needs.
What needs to be done to solve Sedgwick’s housing challenges?
We need to expand our city limits and find areas to purchase land that will promote growth in housing as well as affordable lot prices.
What do you think Sedgwick should do for its future EMS service?
I would love to see EMS services back in town but I don’t think we should be rushing the process. I think Halstead EMS has provided excellent service to our community and have heard praise for them from community members. I have spoken to some individuals who are in the EMS field and they recommended to stay with Halstead. My biggest concern about bringing back our EMS services is whether we will have adequate staffing. As I look at Sedgwick County EMS services they face their own challenges of staffing and have even closed down posts. In order to make our services successful we are going to need to provide extremely competitive wages that will draw individuals to our department.
Dwight Kinzer
Dwight Kinzer notified Harvey County Now that he wished his profile answers not to be published because he plans to move soon.
Joshua Liby
Occupation: Harvey County Business Owner
Why are you running?
I believe that it is important for all voices to be represented. I will ensure that all citizens have opportunities to provide opinions and feedback whether I agree with them or not. I would like to protect and strengthen the qualities of Sedgwick that make our city a great place to live.
What qualifies you for this position?
I have been a lifelong Sedgwick resident and multiple property owner. I understand the cost of government and how it affects the citizens. I have run a successful business in Harvey County for the last 8 years, understanding business financials will have a positive impact on understanding the city’s financials.
What do you hope to accomplish if elected?
I want to make sure that this city is ran with honesty and transparency and that everyone is aware of the issues and decisions that our local government is making. I don’t have all of the answers but am willing to work with the citizens to improve our city. We need to retain and attract quality city employees and ensure they are receiving competitive pay and benefits.
What do you see as the biggest need for Sedgwick?
I would like to see economic and residential growth. We need growth to support the fantastic school that the citizens have invested in. In order to see this growth, we need to have more housing available and more local businesses.
What needs to be done to solve Sedgwick’s housing challenges?
I don’t believe that the City of Sedgwick should be using taxpayer money to purchase and develop land. I do think that the city should be willing to work with investors and developers to construct new housing and have growth in the community. Provide tax incentives for new builds, lowering the barriers for developers to participate.
What do you think Sedgwick should do for its future EMS service?
I agree with bringing the EMS service back to Sedgwick. I would like to help navigate the process. I think that it needs to be done efficiently so that the city is not spending money in the future to try to correct errors made in the initial process. This is going to be a large investment from the citizens of the city, and it is going to take a lot of community support and volunteers.
Mark Jacob
Occupation: Selling insurance for Charlsen Insurance Agency.
Why are you running?
I am running because I believe that we should always give back to our communities in one way or another. Early on, no one had stepped up to fill the open positions, so l thought that l should step forward and run.
What qualifies you for this position?
As far as being qualified for this position, I’ve spent most of my life as a member of the community. My family has been involved in farming and doing business in the area for close to 150 years. I went to school here and my daughter did as well. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to serve on several boards and committees.
What do you hope to accomplish if elected?
I hope to be a reasonable voice for common sense and conservative use of our tax dollars.
What do you see as the biggest need for Sedgwick?
The biggest needs for Sedgwick are housing (hopefully affordable), l believe that there are many young people that would like to live in a town like ours, but we have very little availability. I also would love to have EMS again.
What needs to be done to solve Sedgwick’s housing challenges?
To solve Sedgwick’s housing challenge obviously won’t be easy or immediate. It sounds like there are a few ideas out there, but it will take time and money.
What do you think Sedgwick should do for its future EMS service?
As for the future of the EMS, I am hopeful that we can find the funding, which l think is possible. The tougher part of the endeavor would be finding people to work for the EMS. Paid positions often go unfilled, let alone volunteer positions, which it used to be.
Brenda DeHaven
Occupation: USD 439 Para/Latchkey/Food Service
Why are you running?
I want to continue to participate in the growth & continued development of Sedgwick. I am passionate for the City and I desire to serve the residents.
What qualifies you for this position?
We have raised our family in this community and our children/grandchildren reside here in Sedgwick. I am and always have been committed to improving our community. I have helped implement the “City Christmas Celebration,” served on USD 439 Board of Education, Site Council, served as Branch Manager of Legacy Bank, Girl Scout Cookie Chairperson, Fall Festival VB Tournament Coordinator, Recommission BB and SB coach, HC United Way Allocations Committee, Pre-School Assistant Teacher, PTO Fun Night Coordinator, USD 439 Room Mother and numerous other committees. I have always been involved with our community in some fashion. I am “Committed to Community – Dedicated to Progress.”
What do you hope to accomplish if elected?
I have been a part of the city council since 2019 and have been a part of implementing the “Neighborhood Revitalization Plan” which helped improve several businesses, improved tornado sirens, established the park bathroom/tornado shelter, Sidewalk program, purchased playground equipment for City Park and to continue to be a part of improving the budgeting process, maintaining roads and drainage, create opportunities to enhance the Industrial Park and our downtown, continue to develop the Donald K DeHaven Memorial Park and continue to improve the City Park.
What do you see as the biggest need for Sedgwick?
We need to figure out as a community what it is we really want and then get creative about applying our resources to accomplish that including housing.
What needs to be done to solve Sedgwick’s housing challenges?
There are a few areas that provide opportunities for residential growth. We need to continue to support our local contractors who have made significant improvements to housing. As well, we need to improve enforcement of our policies to assure existing properties are maintained in a manner that encourages individuals to want to move to Sedgwick. In my opinion, we have one of the best school districts in the state and with recent investment in our school infrastructure, I think we will see increased enrollment in the near future which makes it critically important that we develop plans to support additional housing for our future residents.
What do you think Sedgwick should do for its future EMS service?
My ultimate goal would be to return EMS service and it be self-supportive. As part of City Council now, we have budgeted $ to use to help start up the EMS and have already purchased an ambulance and beginning a search for qualified personnel. I believe it is a vital service to have both Fire & EMS to assist residents and attract families to live in Sedgwick.
