FORT SCOTT — Bourbon County Clerk Susan Walker has submitted the written resignation letter whose absence stalled the search for her successor, addressing it to Gov. Laura Kelly and giving as her reason “the current culture and leadership within this organization.”
The one-page letter is dated Aug. 15. A handwritten notation on the file copy reads “Copy to file / mailed 8/17/26” — meaning it went out on Monday, the day Walker helped conduct the county canvass certifying the Aug. 4 primary. Deputy Election Clerk Amber Page provided a scanned copy to FortScott.biz on Tuesday.
Her last day remains Aug. 31, the date she gave commissioners on Aug. 10 and the date the letter states.
“It is with deep respect, gratitude but also a heavy heart that I submit my resignation from my position as Bourbon County Clerk effective August 31, 2026.”
Walker dated the letter one day after County Attorney James Crux found that the recall petition seeking her removal from office had enough valid signatures to proceed.
Walker’s letter to the governor runs four short paragraphs and names no one.
“After much reflection, I have decided to step down due to the current culture and leadership within this organization. While this has been a difficult decision, I believe it is the right step for me personally and professionally.”
That is a narrower statement than the one she read to commissioners on Aug. 10, which addressed Commission Chairman Samuel Tran directly and accused him of open disrespect, sexist comments and “underhanded public statements designed to make people think I’m doing something criminal when I am not.” The letter to the governor drops the names and the specifics, and keeps only the phrase about culture and leadership.
Why a letter mattered
Walker announced her resignation on Aug. 10, but under Kansas law an announcement and a filing are separate things — and for a week only the announcement existed.
K.S.A. 19-2606 requires an elected county officer to file written notice of resignation “in the office of the officer or officers authorized by law to fill vacancies in such office,” send a copy to the county election officer, and state the effective date. For a county clerk, K.S.A. 19-303 routes the appointment through the same procedure used to fill a vacancy in the state House, which ends with the governor making the appointment. That is why the letter goes to Topeka rather than to the courthouse.
On Aug. 14, county Republican chair Kaety Bowers issued a statement saying Walker had told the Secretary of State’s office that her resignation was instead an “announcement” and that she had not notified the governor. The same statement retracted the party’s intent to begin the replacement process, on the election director’s instruction. Bowers wrote that the party “remains prepared to follow the law the moment formal notice is properly filed.”
Walker said in an interview on Aug. 15 — the date the letter carries — that the letter was coming and that election work had come first: “Am I sending my letter in? Absolutely, I am. I just haven’t had time.”
Asked why the party had been told to stop when K.S.A. 25-3902 starts the clock on notice that a vacancy “will occur,” the Secretary of State’s office pointed to the resignation statute.
“Bryan’s response was based on the information known at the time, as the situation has been fluid,” Whitney Tempel, the office’s director of communications and policy, wrote to FortScott.biz on Aug. 17, referring to State Elections Director Bryan Caskey. “The process cannot begin until a formal resignation has been submitted.” Her reply quoted K.S.A. 19-2606 in full.
Walker’s letter was mailed that same day.
What happens next
Under K.S.A. 25-3902, the county party chair has 21 days from receipt of notice that a vacancy “has occurred or will occur” to convene a convention of precinct committeemen and committeewomen, who elect someone for the governor to appoint. The governor then has seven days to make the appointment after receiving the convention’s certificate.
Read the document: Susan Walker’s resignation letter to Gov. Laura Kelly (PDF), dated Aug. 15, 2026, as provided by the county clerk’s office.
Related coverage: Walker’s resignation announcement · her full resignation statement · the halted replacement process.