Five vying for two city commission seats

Five candidates are seeking to fill the two seats on the Concordia city commission that are up for election on November 7.
Incumbents Ashley Hutchinson and Ragena Belden are seeking re-election to the commission.
Former commissioner Christy Hasch along with Dannie Kearn and Gary Jeardoe Jr. have also filed to run for the commission.
Advance voting for the election begins on Wednesday at the Cloud County Clerk's Office.
Anyone wanting a mail-in ballot can pick one up at the Clerk's Office or apply online at ksvotes.org.
Currently the director of governmental affairs for Salina Regional Health Center and affiliate marketing and public relations director for North Central Kansas Medical Center, Hutchinson grew up on a farm in rural Jamestown and is a Concordia High School graduate. She earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Washburn University.
After graduating from Washburn, Hutchinson worked in Washington, D.C., for Senator Pat Roberts and would later work on his re-election campaign. She served as the executive director of the Kansas Republican Party.
Hutchinson moved back to Concordia in 2011. She and her husband have three sons.
Belden moved to Concordia from Emporia when she was in fourth grade. After graduating from high school, she earned an associate of applied sciences degree from Cloud County Community College.
Earning her business administration degree from Kansas Wesleyan University and her master's of business administration degree from Friends University, Belden and her mother, Lavonne Nightingale, purchased Attorney's Title n/k/a Cloud Republic County Title, LLC in 2022.
Belden and her husband, James, have three children and four grandchildren.
Hasch, who served on the city commission from 2013-2022, was born and raised in the sandhills of north central Nebraska.
A graduate of Rock County High School, Hasch earned a bachelor of science degree from the University of Nebraska-Kearney and a master's degree in clinical psychology from Fort Hays State University. She moved to Concordia to begin her career as a school psychologist in 1985.
Hasch, who is now retired, taught evening classes through Cloud County Community College in psychology and human development. She and her husband, Les Hemphill, have three daughters and a grandson.
Kearn was employed by Concordia Unified School District 333 for 27 years. He and his wife of 47 years, Deborah, have owned and operated an auction business for 20 years. They have four children, 15 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
A graduate of Hillcrest High School in Cuba, Jeardoe Jr. served in the United States Navy from 1996-2003.
Jeardoe Jr. spend five years in the Kansas City area and has lived in Concordia for eight years. He works for Nesika Energy and Wood Oil.
The Concordia Blade-Empire submitted three questions to each of the candidates. The answers to those questions are as follows:
Why did you make the decision to run for city commission?
Belden: Concordia is my home and I want to continue making it the “home” everyone wants to come back to. I’m also very excited about the housing project and want to continue to be a part of that. I love that Concordia was just voted “the friendliest small town in the U.S.” That is exciting to me! I’ve always been told that if you don’t understand something or like something or how something is being handled you need to educate yourself and be a part of a solution. I didn’t understand how some things were being addressed and quickly realized that there is way more of a process than we realize.
Hasch: I served nine years on the Concordia City Commission, from 2013 through 2022. I did not run for reelection in 2022. As the filing deadline drew near this spring, I was concerned that only two candidates had filed for the two available seats, so decided to run again.
Hutchinson: I am finishing up my first term as city commissioner. I am running again because I want to continue the positive work we are doing on the housing project. It's important for me to see that project through, as it is a major turning point for our community.
Jeardoe Jr.: I made the decision to run for city commissioner because I feel that there are a lot of things that need to change.
Kearn: I am a lifelong resident of Concordia and have a passion to see my hometown thrive and grow. My wife and I have supported the community through the years with our business by conducting benefit auctions for the Optimist Club, the college scholarship auction, Honor Flight, CASA, and benefit auctions for the community throughout Concordia. We recently conducted the auction for the old hospital and donated the commission to the hospital as our way of supporting Concordia. I decided to run for the city commission because Concordia is a great place to live.

What do you believe are the most pressing issues to be addressed by the city administration and the city commission?
Belden: Housing is a very pressing issue. We have professionals that would love to move and work here but they cannot find suitable housing. I think in the past couple of years the department heads, city manager, and just in general, employees have really addressed a lot of Concordia’s needs. Some things just take time to work the details out.
Hasch: During my term on the city commission, significant improvements were made. Those include construction of the new hospital, improvements to the wastewater treatment facility, construction of the Broadway Plaza, construction of the two dams for flood control, replacement of water and sewer lines downtown as well as upgraded alleys, and improvements to the airport. Concordia continues to be challenged by population decline, but city personnel and the commission have made commitments to address housing needs. Concordia must continue to address infrastructure needs, as water and sewer lines continue to age. Similarly, Concordia is always challenged to offer competitive compensation to city employees, in order to retain and attract the most talented personnel to the jobs that keep our city moving forward and protect the lives and property of the people who live here.
Hutchinson: Maintaining and improving infrastructure is a very important issue for our community. Covid taught us that we needed to take steps to maintain our staff. Like everyone, we have experienced turnover and workforce stress due in part to our wages. If we can't attract and retain quality staff, we can't pursue the other projects we need to do. We have worked on this while also maintaining our revenue neutral rate, simply stated: we've done it without raising taxes. The staff deserves much of this credit for understanding our priorities and bringing us proactive solutions.
Jeardoe Jr.: The most pressing issues that I find that the city needs to focus on are the drugs and crime. I find that if we can make the city a safer town then we can reach out and find those businesses that will want to move into the area.
Kearn: I think the administration, as well as the commissioners, has focused on improvements within the city on sewer and water lines as well as the sewer plant. I am sure there is a long range plan that the administration and commissioners are working on. I would like to see more improvements on the city streets. I see our city crew working hard throughout the spring and summer patching our streets. Some of the streets need more than a quick fix; they are limited on what they can do. I would like to see some new surfacing on some of the streets. I think the Broadway Plaza is booming, it’s nice to see this facility being utilized. The place is always busy if not a show in the evening. Then it’s music at the plaza. It’s great to see all the little children and families at the splash pad. There’s a lot happening in Concordia. There’s the Orphan Train Complex, the WWII prison camp, the famous wall at the Sixth Street museum annex along Highway 81. The city recently took ownership of the property of the old hospital and is going to build new homes on the property with federal grants. I think this is great. It’s going to put the property back on the tax rolls which in turn will help the community. There will soon be a one cent sales tax issue that the administration and commissioners will have to decide if it’s feasible to put on the ballot for a new construction for the Concordia school district. This will be an issue that the commissioners will have to decide whether it is feasible to tie up a 1 cent sales tax for 15 to 20 years.  

Do you believe the city administration and city commission are being good stewards of taxpayer dollars? If not, what can be done to address that?
Belden: Absolutely, I do! The city was the only entity that did not raise taxes this last year. The finance director does an amazing job making sure the budget is on point to the best of her ability. The department heads and city manager also are great at making sure their departments stay within the allotted budget and plan out foreseen expenses.
Hasch: I have participated in many budget meetings during my time on the commission. I can attest to the responsible stewardship of tax dollars by both the commission and the city administration and staff. Department heads plan for years in advance to make large purchases, and are proactive about anticipating future needs.
Hutchinson: Yes. In my three years as city commissioner and even longer before, our commission has not surpassed the revenue neutral rate. When valuation has gone up, we have cut mills to make sure we continue to operate utilizing the same amount of property tax funds. We have made good use of ARPA funds to help with one time projects instead of creating ongoing programs. Our staff is very thoughtful with taxpayer funds and work hard to make sure funds are used appropriately.
Jeardoe Jr.: No, I do not believe the current city commission are being good stewards with the tax dollars. We have streets that need repair, but I have yet to see the small repairs being done. Another thing is that they have been giving tax dollars to the so-called non-profits. We could use that money for more important things. They have also been fattening up the budget by accepting grants to build infrastructure that we can’t afford to build with the money we have. So they are just adding to a budget that needs some strong revamping to bring it back to a more manageable amount.
Kearn: I think that the administration and commissioners have worked hard trying to utilize the dollars as well as they can. The price of equipment and supply and demand has skyrocketed throughout the world. It’s hard to plan a budget and stay within the means as prices increase each month. We as a community see this each day as we go to the store to purchase items that we see double as well as triple at times. It’s a challenge as a homeowner to stretch your dollars to make ends meet. You can imagine what it’s like as a business or an entity to keep within their budget and still provide a safe place for the community and try to help it grow.