If you’re registered to vote in Cheney, Goddard or the central part of Wichita, there’s a good chance you’re in Sedgwick County’s 3rd District.
Voters residing in District 3 will get a chance to elect a new County Commissioner in November, a position that, among other things, makes decisions about how to spend county money and how to tax people in the county.
After the primaries in August, two candidates remain for the general election in November: Republican Stephanie Wise and Democrat Celeste Racette. The incumbent, David Dennis, a Republican, has been in office since 2016 and is not running.
Stephanie Wise
Wise is a Wichita-based real estate broker who supports limiting the role of county government, lowering property taxes, protecting “individual property rights” and supporting services like first responders.
Background
Wise grew up in Goddard. She attended Friends University and Butler Community College.
Wise said she and her high school sweetheart-turned-husband briefly moved to Arizona but came back to be close to family.
“I just knew really quickly that my family that I have here and the people that I have here was who I wanted to raise kids with,” she said.
Wise managed residential properties before moving to commercial real estate where she said she loved the opportunity to help small businesses.
“You’re a part of a very vulnerable time of people’s lives where they’re either starting a business and they have a lot that they’re going through emotionally and then financially, and so you’re a part of really big steps for companies,” Wise said. “It’s really, really fun to work with small businesses and just be a part of that story.”
Why she’s running for county commission
Wise, who’s never been in public office before, said she sees the role of county government in her real estate business.
“I’m a small business owner, so I know the importance of local government’s role in my business and the businesses of the people that I work with,” she said.
City and county governments make decisions about zoning and property taxes, issues that affect commercial real estate.
“So contract negotiation, you know, from a local government standpoint, it affects our day-to-day,” Wise said. “And so just as a mom and a wife and a business owner here, I know it’s important for us to get involved in our local leadership.”
Despite running for office, Wise is keeping her job, but said she’ll scale down her involvement in her business, allowing someone else to take over her day-to-day role.
“I have no intention of being a career politician,” she said. “This isn’t me applying for a new job, and I like that in a candidate. So that’s what attracted me towards it; I want more people that are bought in, you know, invested here, to lead with a servant’s heart rather than an agenda.”
Celeste Racette
Celeste Racette is a former auditor running on a platform to “eliminate wasteful spending” and prioritize “essential services” in the county budget.
Background
A Wichita native, Racette received a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Kansas, a master’s in business administration from Wichita State and a Credit Union National Association management degree from the University of Wisconsin.
She worked as an internal auditor in the finance industry where she said she opposed predatory payday loans.
“I’ve written contracts,” she said. “I can read contracts. I’ve written requests for proposals. I can write requests for proposals … I’ve handled $20 million a day when I was accounting manager at this large federal credit union. I’ve been a chief internal auditor, where I’ve had to balance what I saw that was wrong against what we could do to fix it without being heavy-handed.”
She got involved in local politics about five years ago.
Racette founded Save Century II, a local movement dedicated to preserving a performing arts and convention center that has been in downtown Wichita since 1969.
“The number one thing I took away from it, is that we can work together, regardless of political party, to make positive change. It didn’t matter if you were a Republican, Libertarian, unaffiliated, Democrat.”
Racette ran for mayor of Wichita in 2023, ultimately losing in the primary.
Why she’s running for county commission
Racette said she’s running to make a difference in the county.
“I understand why (people are) indifferent or why they don’t think (local government) matters, but it absolutely does matter,” she said. “And if you get somebody who’s running for office, who’s passionate and has the skills to try to evaluate what the city is spending money on, what the county is spending money on, you can make positive change.”
One of her biggest motivators in running for county commission, Racette said, is that she thinks she’s the right person to guide Sedgwick County through a budget deficit that the county says is imminent.
“The biggest issue right now (is that) the city’s broke, the county’s broke and the local school board’s broke, which means we’ve had to cut back on things like cultural arts, which is the very lifeblood of a community,” she said. “To me, (this) is a disaster and shows that we haven’t looked at the budget closely enough to figure out our spending and where perhaps we’ve spent recklessly.”
What students should consider when choosing candidates
Wise said rather than paying attention to party affiliation, people should consider the character and platform of local candidates.
“A lot of local politics does not need to be a partisan decision, so you’re really looking for the person that has the best interest of the community,” she said.
Wise said that the most important trait for a county commissioner is to be cautious when spending the county’s money.
“If you’re a Republican or Democrat … you better be conservative (with spending),” she said.
Racette said for young people, decisions made at the county level have impacts on their day-to-day lives.
“The biggest issue in Sedgwick County that impacts particularly students is, ‘How are you going to pay for rent?’”
She added that property taxes ultimately affect the cost to rent in a given area.
“The way money is spent locally in local government directly impacts students, whether they know it or not,” she said. “I just hope voters vote and realize that if they stay apathetic and they don’t try to make a change, then they’ll just see more of the same old, same old.”
