Jackson County Legislature Races 2026: Every District, Explained
County Legislature
The nine people who vote on every COMBAT dollar, the county budget, and your assessment fixes. District by district.
On candidates we publish records, votes, donors, dollars, and dates, and nothing else. No endorsements, no scores, no adjectives. The judgment is yours.
📌 The Stakes Are HighAll nine seats on the Jackson County Legislature are on the November 3 ballot, six districts and three at-large. Three are uncontested. This body approves the county budget, confirms appointments, and votes on every COMBAT allocation, which makes it the place where the COMBAT formula is actually decided.
Answers below come from candidate questionnaires published by the Kansas City Beacon and KCUR in September and October 2026. Three questions: Do you support renewing COMBAT? What should happen to the stadium sales tax, which expires in 2031? Do you support the county’s plan for refunds on 2023 assessments? Where a candidate did not answer, we say so.
🗝️ The Record1st District
Kelly Thompson (D), unopposed.
2nd District
Venessa Huskey (D), unopposed.
3rd District
Phyllis Hernandez (D): COMBAT, yes. Stadium tax, renew and build a sports and entertainment district. 2023 refund plan, yes.
Scott Qualls (R): Did not respond to the questionnaire.
4th District
Byron Townsend (D): COMBAT, yes. Stadium tax, renew for a new purpose after study and public input. 2023 refund plan, no.
Lon McDonald (R): COMBAT, yes. Stadium tax, repurpose and seek bids. 2023 refund plan, yes.
5th District
Antoine Jennings (D): COMBAT, yes. Stadium tax, let it expire. 2023 refund plan, no.
Dale Carter (R): Sits on the COMBAT Commission. COMBAT, yes. Stadium tax, let it expire. 2023 refund plan, yes.
6th District
Tony Lawson (D): COMBAT, yes. Stadium tax, no clear renew-or-expire answer. 2023 refund plan, yes.
Bill Haley (R): COMBAT, yes. Stadium tax, let it expire. 2023 refund plan, yes.
1st At-Large
Carla Fields (D): COMBAT, yes. Stadium tax, depends on community input and demonstrated need. 2023 refund plan, did not answer.
Lance Pollard (R): COMBAT, yes. Stadium tax, line-by-line accounting before any renewal. 2023 refund plan, maybe.
2nd At-Large
Donna Peyton (D, incumbent; chair since July 2026): COMBAT, yes. Stadium tax, no automatic renewal. 2023 refund plan, maybe.
Gresia Cabrera (R): COMBAT, yes. Stadium tax, expire unless tied to a project with measurable outcomes. 2023 refund plan, yes.
3rd At-Large
Susan B. Wilson (D), unopposed.
Every candidate who answered supports renewing COMBAT. Not one was asked, on the record, how its money should be split. Candidate answers come from the questionnaires published by the Kansas City Beacon and KCUR (districts, at-large). Every candidate’s campaign finance reports are public at the Missouri Ethics Commission.
✊🏾 What You Can DoFind your district on your sample ballot. Then ask the winner the question nobody asked: how should COMBAT’s money be divided between the system and the programs? They vote on it every year. Their answer should be on the record before they do.
