In a ceremony marked by calls for unity, faith, and generational change, Wyandotte County inaugurated what officials called the youngest commission in the Unified Government’s history on Monday evening, highlighted by the swearing-in of Christal E. Watson.

“Today we mark the first time an African American woman has been entrusted to serve as mayor and CEO of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County, Kansas City, Kansas,” Watson declared before a Memorial Hall packed with officials, community leaders, family, friends, supporters, and interested citizens.

“Today begins a new day. A day to reset, renew, and rebuild Wyandotte County.”

The ceremony saw five newly elected officials join two returning commissioners and the re-elected sheriff, creating what multiple speakers characterized as a transformational moment for the county.

A Generational Shift

Commissioner Andrew Davis, beginning his second term representing District 8, emphasized the historic nature of the commission’s composition. “This is going to be the youngest cohort of commissioners, I believe in the history of the Unified Government, which means we have young people in our community that are answering the call,” Davis said.

The newly inaugurated officials include:

• Dr. Carlos Pacheco III (District 5)
• Jermaine Howard (District 1)
• Andrew Kump (At-Large District 2)
• Chuck Stites (District 7, re-elected)
• Andrew Davis (District 8, re-elected)
• Sheriff Daniel Soptic (re-elected)

District Court Judge Tony Martinez, a longtime friend of the Pacheco family from their common roots in the Armourdale neighborhood, administered the oath to Dr. Pacheco. He noted the significance of the younger leadership. “Change is good. Young people, young ideas, aspiring to do better things and more things for our community,” Martinez said. “All leadership can get stale, and when leadership gets stale, it has a tendency to fail.”

Judge William Mahoney, who swore in Kump, his former law clerk, echoed the sentiment: “I like that we’re passing on to younger people. I think that’s important.”

“We Not Me”

Throughout the evening, officials repeatedly emphasized collaboration over individual agendas. Howard, whose emotional speech acknowledged recent family losses including his father, captured the sentiment: “I am here only by your prayers, my mother’s prayers and my grandmother’s prayers. It’s been we and not me.”

Watson assembled her leadership team on stage during her address, bringing together commissioners, the district attorney, county administrators, judges, and UG staff. “We are a team,” she said. “You say one thing about one, you saying about all.”

She emphasized the need for patience and partnership with the community. “It is going to take all of us to do this work. It is going to take more than just one day. We won’t see change happen overnight, but we will see the change you’ve been wanting to see,” Watson said.

In an interview, Watson expressed confidence in the new commission’s ability to work together. “I think they’ll be surprised at how quickly they’ll see unity among the commissioners and the mayor’s office. And I think they’ll be surprised at how quickly we’re able to move some projects along. And I think they’ll be surprised at how customer service is going to turn the other cheek and people are going to see a better UG.”.

Watson also acknowledged outgoing Mayor Tyrone Garner’s service. “His heart has always been in the right place. His heart has always been for the people, and his heart has been for Wyandotte County,” she said, drawing a round of applause from the audience.

Frank Ramirez, appointed as Watson’s chief of staff, told reporters the mayor is “really putting an emphasis on community building, not just externally within the community, but also internally building community and consensus within the staff.”

Key Priorities Emerge

Multiple officials identified similar challenges facing the county:

Tax Relief: Stites emphasized the burden on residents: “People are being taxed out of their homes… When people are making decisions on whether they eat, get medication, have hot water, heat, or pay ridiculously high taxes and fees, we need to do a better job.”

Commissioner candidate Jordan Tiner-Mackey, who attended the ceremony, echoed concerns about taxes, saying, “Let’s get these taxes under control.”

Commission Meeting Efficiency: A recurring theme was reforming the commission meeting process. Watson said changes to “the agenda, the commission meetings” were coming, while Davis drew applause by promising “shorter meetings or more efficient meetings.” Ramirez noted that “commission meetings till one o’clock in the morning is not desirable.”

Infrastructure and Public Works: Howard said he would ask the mayor to “put public works back at the top of the agenda so we can start tackling some of the infrastructure that we have that’s underneath.” He noted, “Our streets are terrible…I’m actually driving up and down the streets and filling up potholes and seeing how things are.”

Economic Development: Dr. Pacheco laid out an ambitious vision: “I want Wyandotte County to be the best place in America — not the metro, not the region — in America to live, to raise a family, to work, and to do business.”

He framed economic development as crucial for both current and future residents. “To build a future worthy of our people, better for those who have always called this place home — our lifelong residents, our families, and our seniors — and more attractive for those who have yet to come: those looking for a place to plant roots, entrepreneurs searching for opportunity, young people ready to build their future.”

In his speech, Dr. Pacheco thanked Garner “for your focus on community pride and for accomplishments during your tenure that will continue to serve Wyandotte County.”

His brother Alejandro Pacheco, who assisted with the campaign, emphasized the need to “bring in revenue… to offset the burden from our homeowners” and develop the area “between 20th and 70th” that has been overlooked. “We always see all this growth in the extreme west and the extreme east, but there’s a great middle that also needs representation.”.

Kump, in his speech, talked about how to make the county attractive to investors. “I’m looking forward to working with my fellow commissioners and Mayor Watson to bring solutions to Wyandotte County, to make this an affordable place to live, to bring development, housing development, and economic development to make this a place that people want to live and to invest in our community and our infrastructure,” he said.

Davis highlighted opportunities in his district. “In Midtown we still have a tremendous amount of potential to grow economically. We have a lot of privately owned vacant land that is stretched on the east side of Parallel and on State Avenue,” Davis said. “I want to work with our staff. I want to work with those property owners, ask questions to say, do you know about our incentives? Do you know about our grant programs? Let me connect you with some other developers so that we can put those vacant lands to use and make sure that people get the homes, the businesses, the amenities that they’ve been asking for.”

Davis also noted recent achievements during his first term that he hopes to build on. “We created a new land bank policy…and I’m told that today we have about a thousand homes under option, which is major for us in the redevelopment of our community,” he said. “We passed the first ever community benefits ordinance, which opens up opportunities for us to create upper story, affordable housing, invest in parks, and in childcare.”

Homelessness and Social Services: Stites warned of broader challenges facing the county: “Homelessness is on the rise. The sense of community is being tested. Transparency is in question. Customer service is viewed low,” he said. “We have the tools, we have the power. We have the ability to correct course and make much needed changes.”

Davis advocated for investing “in staffing so that we can come up with a plan for those that are dealing with houselessness.” Martinez also prioritized the issue, saying, “I would like for us to think about how we can do something to help the homeless, because we have a really bad problem in that regard.”

Personal Stories of Service

The newly elected officials brought diverse backgrounds to their roles. Dr. Pacheco, a medical doctor and business owner, spoke of being raised by parents who were public servants — his father in the fire department and mother working for a school district. “We’ve been counted out before. We’ve been told to wait our turn,” he said. “We are done apologizing for who we are.”

Kump, an attorney whose father worked for the Unified Government and whose mother worked as a nurse, credited his faith for getting him through a difficult campaign. “Without God this would not be possible. His guidance and my ability to rely on him when things got difficult is what really helped me get here today,” he said.

Davis, a Chicago native, explained his path to public service. “I came to Kansas by way of the University of Kansas. Studied political science and actually came to KU because of their public administration program,” he said. “During that time I was in grad school, getting my public administration degree in local government, [I] decided instead of going the staff route to actually run for office and put those skills to use. And so that’s why I got involved.”

Soptic, beginning his second term, reflected on his tenure. “Leading this agency through some difficult times has been one of the hardest, if not the hardest things I’ve ever done,” he said. “However, I feel that I’ve been placed here for a very specific reason. Even with all that I, we have been through as a department and a community, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. Wyandotte County is my home. I’m proud of that.”

Addressing Difficult Issues

Davis called for the commission to address a recent incident at Grace Tabernacle Church, saying, “When it comes to hate crimes, we draw the line.” He also warned about potential challenges ahead: “If the time comes in this time where vulnerable populations are being attacked, where small businesses and black businesses are being attacked, where our immigrant communities are being attacked, I hope that at the local level, we would have the courage to stand up.”

Political Implications

The inauguration drew attention from U.S. Senate candidate Erik Murray, a Wyandotte County resident and developer who is challenging incumbent Roger Marshall. Murray, who announced his candidacy 10 days before the ceremony, has been traveling across Kansas to build support.

“The mayor said it: It is a new day in KCK,” Murray said. “This is a lot of new faces, new ideas, new energy around economic development.”

He connected his Senate run to local economic development priorities. “In my day job, that’s what I am, I’m a developer, and the reality is that Wyandotte County has lagged behind the metro and our fair share of development, particularly on housing,” Murray said. “We need some federal policy to go our way. And that’s why I want to go work on in Washington, be a better advocate for Wyandotte County and for all the 105 counties.”

Looking Forward

The new commission will hold its first meeting on Dec. 18. An agenda for the meeting has not yet been published, though officials indicated priorities including meeting efficiency, infrastructure improvements, and tax relief will be central to their work.

Watson concluded the ceremony with a message of accountability and transparency, emphasizing the historic nature of the moment while calling for community partnership. “My personal mission in life is to be a voice for those who don’t have a voice. Today is historic. Wyandotte County’s voice will be heard,” she said.

She acknowledged the challenges ahead while expressing confidence in the new team. “We are going to make mistakes. We may not get it right every time. But you must know we are going to diligently work together no matter how difficult, no matter how the storm may rise, there is always going to be joy in the morning.”