KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Stacy Lake put up a stronger challenge to incumbent Frank White Jr. than many expected during the 2022 primary for Jackson County executive, securing nearly 47% of the vote in a race decided by fewer than 4,200 votes.
Now, more than a year after White was recalled from that office, the job is hers.
Lake, a Democrat, beat Republican challenger Alan Rohlfing with over 68% of the vote, according to unofficial final tallies from the Jackson County and KCMO election boards.
The result caps another chaotic year in Jackson County politics.
Voters ousted White amid ongoing anger regarding the county’s illegal 2023 property reassessment, which he defended vehemently and repeatedly. More than 80% of voters in Jackson County opted to remove White from office when given the chance during a September 2025 special election.
Things got wackier when Jackson County attorney Phil LeVota was selected in October 2025 to serve out White’s term as interim county executive. LeVota said he wouldn’t seek the office in the 2026 election, changed his mind and then ended his campaign in April.
A federal grand jury indicted LeVota in August, alleging he attempted to bribe another county official in the Democratic field to drop out with the promise of a job in his administration if he was elected full-time.
That's the backdrop against which Lake steps in, taking over a county government still reeling with a fresh assessment cycle set to kick off in January without a director for the Assessment Department or several other key positions.
Lake, a native of KCMO and the owner of Stacy Lake Law Firm LLC, dominated the Democratic primary election, receiving more than twice the number of votes as her closest challenger.
She rolled out a seven-point JACKSON Plan — Justice System Reform, Auditing the County Government, County-Wide Infrastructure Improvements, Keeping Taxes and Utilities Affordable, Small Business Rejuvenation, Ownership Initiative for Single Family Households and Neighbor-to-Neighbor Transportation — “to get Jackson County back on track,” according to her campaign website.
KSHB 41 Jackson County reporter Tod Palmer interviewed Lake ahead of the election about what inspired her to run.
“The reason why I wanted to run for Jackson County executive basically starts in the 2019 property tax crisis — when property values, primarily in the Kansas City area, were significantly increased and caused a full-blown crisis,” Lake told Palmer. “Since I live in Hyde Park, our neighborhood was especially impacted by these property assessed value increases. After helping our neighbors navigate through this horrific situation, I then took a focused look at Jackson County government, and I found out that Jackson County government hasn't been operating efficiently or effectively for years.”
Rohlfing, a 31-year Army veteran who retired as a lieutenant colonel, was unopposed in the Republican primary.
Palmer also sat down with him after his primary victory:
“When we talk about why am I running, it's a common question. It's usually one of the first ones that come up because, like it or not, there's been a lot of attention on the office of Jackson County executive and Jackson County government at-large,” Rohlfing said. “At the end of the day, I read the news, I have the social media feeds that everybody else has, and I think it's really just a matter of I wanted to help. I think our county government and the services that it provides are tremendously important for a lot of people. But some of those departments within county government, they need help.”
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