Category Archives: Elections

Bourbon County, Elections, Uncategorized

Vacant Commissioner District Convention on April 5

March 31, 2025 Amy Thorpe Leave a comment

Representation from each district is desired for the redistricting. Map from the Bourbon County website.

The Convention to replace and appoint the District 3 County Commissioner for Bourbon County will be April 5th at 9am in the Ellis Fine Arts building meeting rooms. The precinct men and women from the old District 3 will be the voting delegates.

A letter of resignation was submitted to Bourbon County by Leroy Kruger on Tuesday, March 18, and forwarded to the Kansas Governor’s Office.

According to Jennifer Hawkins, Bourbon County Deputy Clerk, the Bourbon County Republican Party has 21 days from the day they receive the notice of vacancy from the Governor’s Office to appoint someone to the seat.

The Bourbon County District 3 Appointment Area is defined as the area designated as District 3 (prior to the geographical redistricting done to increase the Bourbon County commissioner total from three to five). District three is the pink district on the map.

Interested Republican residents of Bourbon County District 3 seeking to fill the county commission seat should send a letter of interest with qualifications, rationale, and reasons why they should be selected to: Kaety Bowers, Chairwoman, email bourbon.county.republicans@gmail.com. The deadline is Thursday, April 3, 2025 by 5pm.

Any questions regarding your address and its location within the district should be directed to Susan Walker, Bourbon County Clerk; phone 620-223-3800 ext. 191.

The Republican Party will certify the appointment with the Governor’s Office who will then approve the appointment and issue a certificate of office to the new appointee.

The individual appointed will not be able to conduct business as a County Commissioner until they receive their certificate from the Governor’s Office.

Hawkins has been keeping a file of resignations for the past two years, and remembers other resignations of commissioners during her 11 years of working for the county. Most recently, Nelson Blythe, 1^st District Commissioner, resigned 4-1-2024 and Brandon Whisenhunt was appointed to fill the vacant seat.

Lynne Oharah, 1^st District Commissioner, resigned 7-13-2022 and Nelson Blythe was appointed to fill the vacant seat. Nick Ruhl, 3^rd District Commissioner, resigned 8-26-2020 and Clifton Beth was appointed to fill his vacant seat.

Bourbon County, Elections, Government

Bourbon County Republicans Are Accepting Applications For 3rd District Commissioner

March 26, 2025 Submitted Story Leave a comment

Due to the recent vacation of the county commissioner seat by Leroy Kruger, the Bourbon County Republicans will be accepting applications to fulfill this important role. Interested Republican residents of Bourbon County District 3 (definition below) seeking to fill the county commission seat should send a letter of interest with qualifications, rationale and reasons why they should be selected to: Kaety Bowers, Chairwoman, email bourbon.county.republicans@gmail.com. The deadline is Thursday, April 3, 2025 by 5pm.

Any questions regarding your address and its location within the district should be directed to Susan Walker, Bourbon County Clerk; phone 620-223-3800 ext. 191

Bourbon County, Elections

New District Map for Bourbon County

March 20, 2025 Mark Shead Leave a comment

With the move to increase the number of county commissioners by two at the next election, two districts needed to be added to Bourbon County. Each district is designed to be similar in population and encompass a portion of the county seat of Fort Scott, KS.Citizens in the new districts of 4 and 5 will be voting for the new commissioners. A high-resolution PDF is available for download at the bottom of this post.

bourbon-county-district-maps

Bourbon County, Elections, Opinion

To The Editor: Gregg Motley Announces Run for County Commission District 4

February 17, 2025 Submitted Story 4 Comments

I am pleased to announce that I have filed as a Republican candidate to run for the open District 4 County Commission seat. Bourbon County is well-positioned to thrive well into the future provided we come together and elect competent and compassionate leaders who will help bring out the best in us. My top priorities are:

Helping to rebuild trust inside and outside of county government
Lower mill levy and fees to improve property values and quality of life
Detailed review of department budgets to improve efficiency and save money
Improve human resource routines to improve performance and fairness
Reduce risk by improving the use of legal representation

My qualifications include a B.A. in Business Administration, Accounting and Economics along with a graduate degree in Bank Management. I recently retire from a 45-year career in banking, business and non-profit work, having been president of three banks. I have worked for the largest bank in the state and some of the smallest. My expertise was developed in real estate, business and real estate law, small business, agriculture and public finance. I have banked cities and counties all across eastern Kansas, including Bourbon County, the City of Fort Scott, USD 234 and Fort Scott Community College.

My hometown is Barry, IL, population 1,300, and I graduated from Lee’s Summit High School in Lee’s Summit, MO. I got my undergraduates degree from a private Christian college located in a small town of about 5,200 people and attended the University of Virginia for my graduate degree. After a 25-year career in the Kansas City area, my wife, Kim and I returned to our small-town roots when I took a banking job in Southeast Kansas in 2010. We moved to Bourbon County in 2015. I retired in 2024.

My political experience includes precinct committeeman, Vice-Chairman of the Johnson County (Kansas) Republican Party and Vice-Chairman of the Republican Party of the State of Kansas. I retired from my political activity in 1998 when I lost my first wife to cancer and became a single father to five.

Restoring trust takes time and must be won every day by the way we treat people. My focus will be listening to, and caring about constituents, other elected officials, employees of the county and other governing bodies across the county. There is much to do and I am anxious to get started.

Gregg Motley

Bourbon County, Elections

Bo Co Republicans Meet January 9

January 7, 2025 Submitted Story Leave a comment

The Bourbon County Republicans will meet Thursday, January 9, 2025, at 6 pm, at Ft. Scott Livestock Market, 2131 Maple Rd., Ft. Scott, KS.

Submitted by Debbie Martin, Correspondence Secretary

Bourbon County, Elections

Bo Co Republicans Meet Nov. 14

November 7, 2024 Submitted Story Leave a comment

Bourbon Co Republicans will meet Thursday, Nov 14, 2024, 6pm, Ft Scott Livestock Market, 2131 Maple Rd, Ft Scott, Ks.

Submitted by Debbie Martin, Correspondence Secretary

Bourbon County, Elections

What Is Next After Election For School District and County Commission Questions

November 7, 2024 Loretta George 1 Comment

A sign in front of the Bourbon County Courthouse.

On the November 5 ballot, The Fort Scott School District 234 and the Bourbon County Commission had the following questions about who/how many can serve as representatives of their constituents in their respective entities.

USD 234 Question

“Shall the method of election in Unified School District No. 234, Bourbon County, Kansas, be changed from the six-member district method of election, under which the school district is not divided into any member districts and all board members are elected at large?

The vote was 3,515 yes and 1,578 no, on November 5.

What’s next?

“We have advertised for an open board position,” said USD 234 Superintendent Destry Brown. “We will repost the position for at-large candidates now that it has passed. Next year, when we have four positions open for election, anyone can file for the open positions. Then, voters will see the whole group of candidates and vote for their top four. The four candidates with the most votes then become board members.”

The Bourbon County Commission Question

“Shall the current number of Bourbon County Commissioner Districts set forth in KSA 19-203(a)(b)(c)(d) & (e), be increased to five (5) Commissioner Districts?

3,769 voted yes and 2,238 voted no.

According to Kansas Law, this is the process of moving from three to five commissioners:

Sec. 5. K.S.A. 19-204a reads as follows: 19-204a. When the voters of a county approve a change in the number of county commissioner districts at an election held under K.S.A. 19-204(c), and amendments thereto, the board of county commissioners, on or before January 1 immediately following such election, shall adopt a resolution dividing the county into the number of districts approved by the voters. If the board of county commissioners fails to adopt such resolution within the time prescribed, the chief judge of the district court of the county, on or before the following January 31, shall order the county divided into the appropriate number of districts, according to https://www.sos.ks.gov/publications/register/Volume-43/Issues/Issue-16/04-18-24-52068.html#:~:text=(c)%20The%20board%20of%20county%20commissioners%20of,of%20the%20county%20are%20entitled%20to%20vote.

Bourbon County, Elections

Bourbon County Unofficial Votes Cast With Write-Ins

November 6, 2024 Loretta George Leave a comment

Voters in a prior election vote at the Bourbon County Courthouse.

The unofficial statement of votes cast with write-ins, submitted by Bourbon County Clerk Jennifer Hawkins.

“Please keep in mind there are still mail-in and provisional ballots to be counted.,” she said.

Bourbon County, Elections

Unofficial Results of the November 5 Election

November 5, 2024 Submitted Story 2 Comments

The following are the unofficial results with all precincts reporting, as sent to fortscott.biz by the Bourbon County Clerk Jennifer Hawkins at 8:45 p.m. on November 5.

“The turnout with these votes counted is 51%. We will still have provisional and ballots by mail to count at the canvass, so that will not be the final turnout,” she said.