On Tuesday, Jan. 10, Dylan McAfee filled to run against incumbent city council member Mickey Sandifer to represent Ward IV. I live in Ward IV and wanted to get a feel for the candidates. I talked with both candidates about their campaign and city goals, McAfee over the phone and Sandifer in person. Here is a condensed version of the interviews:
Dylan McAfee
What is your day time profession?
I am a leasing consultant for Karlye Apartment Rentals.
How old are you?
I’m 21.
Where did yo go to school?
Shawnee Mission Northwest. I just went straight into business.
How have you been promoting your campaign?
When I was still kind of in the planning phase, I went door to door and got a Facebook page going. … Up until this point it’s just been planning.
How much do you expect to spend on your campaign?
Right now, we’re trying to run it pretty lean, somewhere between $2,000-$5,000.
How difficult do you think it will be to beat the incumbent?
I think it will definitely be difficult. I’ve got some obstacles to overcome. For one, my age, but I’ve got a good team behind me. … I’m going to stick to my values and I think my values and principles will set me apart.
What made you want to run for city council?
It was several things. First thing is, since I got out of high school, I started paying more attention to politics, at least national politics. … My pastor encouraged me like most of the congregation to get involved. And then I was hearing some of the things that were going on [in the city] and I didn’t want anyone to run uncontended.
What concerns do you have about city government?
Basically just the biggest thing was the deal with the trash. Back in ’09 they were talking about doing the single trash hauler and that didn’t seem right to me … And 500 Shawnee residents showed up to protest and it passed over … and they had more regulations … [I’m also concerned that they’re] not really listening to the Shawnee residents and what they want … [And with the Monticello Road South project] not even having the money for it, taking the road and tearing it up and two people losing their home over it. Those are things that didn’t sit well with me.
What would you do differently than your incumbent?
I think mostly I just would vote based on common sense. When we don’t have the money to build something I’m not going to vote on it. When people show up in large number to protest, I’m going to listen to them … I’m not going to assume I know better than my constituents. And I’ll be fiscally responsible.
What is the city doing well?
I’m not unhappy living in Shawnee. They keep Shawnee a clean, nice place to live. I think the police are doing well, things like that. But, there’s enough I don’t agree with [to make me want to run]. I don’t have the passion to go into politics, my profession is business, but there’s enough where I want to see something done.
How does Shawnee compare to its sister cities? Are there any places we are falling behind?
We’re not as economically competitive as we could be. We don’t set it up for businesses to want to come in. There’s all these regulations … Over regulation that discourages business, certain taxes. You look at strip malls and buildings on Shawnee Mission Parkway and Quivira Road, there’s no reason those should be empty. … Making sure there’s not so much regulation … A business is going to vote with their feet, if they don’t like it here, they’re going to go somewhere else … [we need to] treat them well and make sure they want to stay.
If you could narrow down to three things what you’d like to see changed what would it be?
First, I’d want to see city council minutes re-instated … they’re loosing accountability. I’d like to see a smaller city council salary. I’d like to see city council go to less out of city meetings … we have good enough video chatting. I’d like to see less regulation, lower taxes for business so they want to stay here.
Mickey Sandifer
What is your day profession?
We had a family business for years, 47 years to be exact. We shut down in 1995 and started maintaining and selling properties we own. Everything is in Kansas City, Kan. There is no conflict with it in Shawnee.
How old are you?
56. I’ve lived in Shawnee for 50 years.
How long have you been a city council member?
Since 2004. I was a planning commissioner for two years before that, and I was on the Parks and Recreation Board for two years before that. And I started getting involved in Shawnee events … in’99.
Why did you first want to run for city council?
I wasn’t satisfied by the representation that we had at that part of time. … Everything that Shawnee does I want to be involved. I’m on the old Shawnee Days Board. I’m involved in Safe Home. I’m the Past Grand Knight in the Knights of Columbus. I’m appointed to two committees in Washington as part of the league for cities. I’m on the National League of Cities training council which determines where we need more education for city leaders … we train them to make educated decisions. I’m on the Johnson County License Review Board in the county. I’ve been on the county’s Transportation Task Force. I’m on the Greater Kansas City Homelessness Task Force. This has been just unbelievable. It’s changed my life for the good. … People perceive the city and employees so wrong. They act like the people don’t care, but I’ve never seen people bend over back to help people as often.
What did you want to change or maintain in the city when you were first elected?
I didn’t come in with an agenda. I came in to represent the people in our ward because I didn’t feel they were represented properly. I feel my vote is whatever the people want even if I don’t agree and that’s the way it should be.
Have you achieved those goals?
I would say I’ve had disagreements, constructive disagreements with other city council members, and we’ve come to a compromise on the problem and gotten along. I believe I’ve been successful in achieving endeavors in my Ward and I feel I’ve been constructive as a liaison to the constituents in my community.
Why are you choosing to run again?
I think we’re doing such a good job this year and the city is maintaining its own in a very poor economy, and I’d like to be a part of continuing this.
How have you been campaigning?
As of right now, I’ve been to about 370 doors and I have about 2,500 more to go.
How much do expect to spend on your campaign?
That’s a hard one. My campaigns have ran anywhere from $6,000-$8,000 every year.
What is your platform for this year’s election?
That we have not raised taxes in the last couple of years, and we do not intend to for some time. And we need to live within our means and do more with less and that’s what the city has been doing for the last couple of years very successfully.
What makes you a better candidate than your challenger?
I’ve lived in the city for 50 years. I’ve made connections to thousands of people and I believe I’ve worked well for them … And I have a little more feeling in the game since I’m a home owner. I have a little more feeling for property taxes and I love the city. I’d say I spend 35-40 hours a week involved in city activities.
You opponent expressed concerns about how new trash regulations were handled how would you respond?
The trash regulations we had to abide by county regulation. We did make a stipulation in ours. We had a large, once-a-year large item pickup. After this took place, Deffenbaugh would only do this for their customers. So we said they would have to make a large item pickup for free once a year. That’s an addition. …We cannot change it because we’re in Johnson County. … Before all this went down, Deffenbaugh and the city had an agreement that every citizen would pay $1.76 per month for recycling and whether they were a customer or not. They proposed raising it to $2, they weren’t making enough money. What it did was open the door to Deffenbaugh so much that the other competitors would have to start their own recycling. It went from there to the county adjusting it. … Basically it was us making a decision before the county did.
Your opponent also mentioned the proposed widening of Monticello Road South as an example of the city not listening to constituents, what is your response?
I was against that whole deal as well, so I know what he’s talking about. They were not being heard, he’s absolutely right and we were meeting with them and we were overridden by the rest of the city council. And we got it down from four lanes to three. And we’ve got it essentially gone. … I opposed it because we didn’t have the money. I also didn’t believe we should be putting a road in for developers.
Is there anything else you would like to say?
This is the first year at the city we’ve been able to put $1 million in roads in five years. We haven’t raised taxes and sales taxes are down. The city is doing more with less and I’ve been honored to be a part of that.
What are you thoughts on the city council election?
Photos used with permission.
