Jackson County Sample Ballot & Voter Guide 2026

A civil litigation attorney and owner of the Stacy Lake Firm LLC in Kansas City, and a former Chinese translator, per her campaign site. She came within about four points of unseating Frank White Jr. in the 2022 Democratic contest for this office, per Beacon: Kansas City.

Priorities: Property taxes: end the outside assessment contract, bring assessment in house, cap increases, per her campaign site · A deep-scale independent audit of county government, per her campaign site · County infrastructure repairs and a countywide rapid bus plan, per her campaign site

A political and marketing consultant with a master's degree in economics who has worked Kansas City area campaigns for nearly two decades, per Beacon: Kansas City. He founded the pro-union group Had Enough Inc., per the Martin City Telegraph.

Priorities: Assessment reform that protects school and library funding, per Beacon: Kansas City · Public safety focused on root causes and mental health, per Beacon: Kansas City · Public transit as an economic development tool, per Beacon: Kansas City

A chartered financial analyst and principal of Osborne Global Investors in Lee's Summit who lives in Independence, per his campaign site and Beacon: Kansas City. He serves on the Metropolitan Community College Board of Trustees and has managed money for more than 30 years, per his campaign site.

Priorities: Property tax reform with an independent forensic audit of assessments, per his campaign site · Public safety, including more jail beds, per his campaign site · Keeping the Chiefs and Royals at Truman Sports Complex without a taxpayer stadium bailout, per his campaign site

A commercial real estate broker who served two terms as mayor of Lee's Summit, per KSHB and Beacon: Kansas City. He previously sat on the Lee's Summit R-7 School Board and worked as a teacher, per Beacon: Kansas City, and points to managing the city's roughly 100 million dollar budget as his record, per the Martin City Telegraph.

Priorities: Follow assessment law precisely, including inspection requirements, per the Martin City Telegraph · Strengthen emergency services, including non-police mental health response, per the Martin City Telegraph · A proactive county economic strategy in cooperation with cities, per the Martin City Telegraph

A nearly three-decade veteran of the Jackson County Legislature representing south Kansas City before stepping away in 2022, per Beacon: Kansas City. His endorsements include the Fraternal Order of Police, Freedom Inc., and the UAW, and he says he would serve a single term, per his campaign site and the Martin City Telegraph.

Priorities: Repay taxpayers overcharged by the 2023 assessments in full via a voter approved bond, per the Martin City Telegraph · Upgrade front-facing county departments and customer service, per the Martin City Telegraph · Rebuild working relationships between the executive and legislators, per the Martin City Telegraph

Manny Abarca STEPPED BACK from active campaigning in July 2026 while remaining on the printed August 4 ballot, and the county Legislature replaced him as its chair the same month, per the Martin City Telegraph. The sitting 1st District county legislator and a former Kansas City Public Schools board treasurer, he and his former spouse each face misdemeanor charges arising from their divorce, allegations he denies, per

A candidate with an extensive military background and the only Republican seeking the office, so his August 4 ballot line is uncontested, per Beacon: Kansas City. He supports fairer property assessments, a forensic audit of county finances, and a comprehensive county charter review, per Kansas City area election reporting.

Priorities: Property tax reform with transparent assessments and a simpler appeals process, per local election reporting · Reduced spending and a forensic audit of county finances, per local election reporting · Strengthening core services and a more business friendly county, per local election reporting

A clinical psychologist and retired UMKC vice chancellor with an MBA and decades of experience managing multimillion dollar budgets, per her campaign site. She serves on the Jackson County COMBAT Commission and spent fifteen years as team psychologist for the Kansas City Chiefs, per her campaign site.

Priorities: Fair, data driven property assessments with a faster appeals process, per her campaign site · Accountable, transparent county government and on time budgets, per her campaign site · Safer communities through full funding of violence prevention, per her campaign site

First elected to the Legislature in 2018 at age 26 and seeking a third term, per the Martin City Telegraph. He points to sponsoring legislation on prevailing wages, a conversion therapy ban, and the county's Senior Service Fund, per the Telegraph.

Priorities: Continuing prevailing-wage and senior-services work, per the Martin City Telegraph · A less combative, more results-focused legislature, per the Telegraph · Reducing hardship for working families, per the Telegraph

An attorney and partner at Fields Brown Law Offices, described by the Martin City Telegraph as the oldest minority-owned law firm in Kansas City. She has been general counsel for the Hickman Mills School District since 2017 and is a past president of the Jackson County Bar Association, per the Telegraph.

Priorities: Reforming the property tax appeals process with protections for seniors, per the Martin City Telegraph · Safer neighborhoods and expanded jobs programs, per the Telegraph · Restoring trust through transparency and accountability, per the Telegraph

A former NCAA wrestler who previously ran for this seat in 2021, per the Martin City Telegraph. He holds an MBA, is pursuing a public administration master's at UMKC, and has served on the county's Board of Zoning Adjustment, per the Telegraph.

Priorities: Lengthening property reassessment cycles and canceling the county's outside valuation contract, per the Martin City Telegraph · Building a countywide transit program, per the Telegraph · A guaranteed-jobs program and affordable housing, per the Telegraph

Lance Pollard is on the county's certified candidate list for the County Legislator At-Large, 1st District, per the county election authority.

First elected in 2022 and currently chair of the Jackson County Legislature, where she also chairs the Budget and the Housing and Homelessness committees, per the Beacon: Kansas City.

A former Missouri state representative who later served as Kansas City's At-Large 3rd District councilman until 2023, per the Beacon: Kansas City.

Gresia Cabrera is on the county's certified candidate list for the County Legislator At-Large, 2nd District, per the county election authority.

The sitting 2nd District legislator, who previously worked at AT&T and as a program analyst for the U.S. Treasury, per her campaign site as reported by the Beacon: Kansas City.

Priorities: Fair property taxes, per her campaign site · Public safety and crime prevention, per her campaign site · Affordable housing and economic opportunity, per her campaign site

President of the Urban Ranger Corps youth program and former executive director of the Cleaver Family and Linwood Centers YMCA, per the Beacon: Kansas City, which also reports service on Kansas City's Public Improvements Advisory Committee.

Dennis R. Rowland is on the county's certified candidate list for the 3rd District County Legislator, per the county election authority.

Phyllis Hernandez is on the county's certified candidate list for the 3rd District County Legislator, per the county election authority.

Tony Miller is on the county's certified candidate list for the 3rd District County Legislator, per the county election authority.

Scott Qualls is on the county's certified candidate list for the 3rd District County Legislator, per the county election authority.

A retired postal worker who carried mail in the district's neighborhoods for 30 years and serves on the Hickman Mills School Board, per the Martin City Telegraph.

A public assistance administrator and Grandview native who has served on the Grandview Board of Aldermen since 2011 and led the Grandview Assistance Program since 2019, per the Martin City Telegraph.

A district board member and Jackson County councilman to the University of Missouri Extension, per the Martin City Telegraph.

Antoine D. Jennings is on the county's certified candidate list for the 5th District County Legislator, per the county election authority.

Dale Carter is on the county's certified candidate list for the 5th District County Legislator, per the county election authority.

Tony Lawson is on the county's certified candidate list for the 6th District County Legislator, per the county election authority.

Bill Haley is on the county's certified candidate list for the 6th District County Legislator, per the county election authority.