KSHB 41 reporter Alyssa Jackson covers portions of Johnson County, including Overland Park, Prairie Village and Leawood. Share your story idea with Alyssa.
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Voters in Prairie Village will have plenty on their plates when they cast their ballots in November.
Not only is every single council seat up for grabs; Voters will also decide a more important question: "Shall the City of Prairie Village, Kansas, abandon the mayor-council form of government?"
Alongside campaign signs for council members, you will see signs that read "Stop the Drama." The drama being referred to is the abandonment question on the general election ballot.
KSHB 41's Alyssa Jackson walked several neighborhoods to hear why voters want to keep or abandon the current mayor-council form of government.
Some residents for and against the change expressed concerns off camera regarding fear of retaliation and threats because of their stance.
Prairie Village's regularly scheduled city council meeting was canceled last minute due to lack of quorum, meaning there weren't enough council members present to legally hold a meeting.
That's where several people agreed to share how they plan to vote next month.
Ed Stevenson said he kept getting postcards mailed to his house to vote "yes."
"It's like saying — do we want to get rid of democracy?" he said. "It’s absurd."
Pam Justus showed up to the meeting with notes she planned to share with the council about what's going wrong, including issues with high property taxes and government spending.
Justus' issues began with controversial rezoning decisions being made by elected officials.
On Nov. 4, she is voting "yes."
"Obviously it [government] isn’t working because our taxes have raised. Our spending has gone up....such vitriol in our city the last five years pitting neighbor against neighbor. That didn’t happen overnight," Justus said.
According to the Johnson County Election Office, it certified 2,004 signatures on a petition in 2023 to abandon Prairie Village's mayor-council form of government. Petitioners needed 1,945 valid signatures to meet the requirement.
The abandonment petition was the only one out of three petitions that followed state law.
The petitions were supported by a group called "PV United."
A rezoning petition was denied. A separate adoption petition was denied because it would've eliminated elected council positions.
The abandonment petition made it through, upheld by the court of appeals in March 2025.
After the Kansas Supreme Court declined to review the decision this summer, that cleared the way for the question to go on the November ballot.
"This is an exercise in direct democracy," said Greg Vonnahme, political science professor for UMKC. He specializes in American politics, elections and voter turnout.
"The most common type of ballot measure we see are government reform measures," he said.
The U.S. is split 50/50, he said. Half of the states allow direct democracy and half don’t.
The last successful resident-led petition in the Kansas City area was the recall of Jackson County Executive Frank White.
"If you really believe in wisdom of the crowds, that voters know what their voting on and can exercise decisions in their own best interest — direct democracy makes a lot of sense," Vonnahme said. "If you're a little bit more skeptical and think it makes more sense to have experts in these decisions to act on our behalf — direct democracy looks worse."
However, there won't be an immediate change some people are hoping for.
If the abandon government petition passes in November, Kansas state law allows Prairie Village to still operate business as usual.
Kansas Statute 12-184a. states:
(a) A city shall continue to operate under its current form of government whether established at an election, or by adoption of a charter ordinance or ordinance until such time that the city's form of government is changed as provided by law.
(b) All existing ordinances and charter ordinances relating to a city's form of government, except those provisions relating to the timing of city primary and general elections, shall remain in effect until amended or repealed by such city.
Since there isn't a process to replace the current Prairie Village form of government that exists, it won't just cease to exist.
"Prairie Village is navigating a moment that is very divided, but to wholesale abandon our government because we're in a divided moment — that is a very serious and consequential decision," Ward 1 Councilman Cole Robinson said. "No one can tell you with any certainty what happens if people vote for this."
Petitioners have expressed they want a form of government that gives the mayor equal power to a council member. The head of government would be a city manager.
However, a successful abandonment petition, could send next steps back to city council.
"We just want fairness and that hasn’t happened," Justus said.
After experiencing the same form of government for the past 50 years, Margaret Thomas is voting for it to stay that way.
"I will be voting against it," said Margaret Thomas. "The whole thing kinda stinks."
The City of Prairie Village has a landing page with information on the November ballot question.
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