The Pittsburg City Commission race came to a close Tuesday, Nov. 4, as the city hit the voting booths to select three out of six candidates for the three available seats. Pittsburg State University Police Chief, Commissioner Stu Hite, along with multi-business owner, Commissioner Cheryl Brooks, won their reelection bids and retained their seats as incumbents. Retired Master Sergeant of the United States Army, DJ Perry, added Pittsburg City Commissioner Elect to his resume, beating out incumbent and sitting Mayor, retired Director of Development at the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, Commissioner Dawn McNay. Although this was a nonpartisan race, all three winners were supported by the Crawford County Republican Party. Hite received the highest vote count, despite being the subject of recent backlash from supporters over a city budget vote which resulted in a tax increase.
The other two candidates were PSU grad student majoring in human resource development, Jackson Bertoncino and PSU Alumnus, Isaiah Harris.
According to the Crawford County website’s unofficial election summary as of Nov. 5, 11:22 a.m., the three available seats will be filled by Hite, Brooks, and Perry. Hite received 21.3% of the vote with 1413 votes, Brooks received 19.5% with 1295 votes, Perry received 17.9% with 1187 votes, McNay received 15.6% with 1039 votes, Harris received 15% with 995 votes, and Bertoncino received 10.7% with 714 votes. Across the 16 voting precincts in Pittsburg, 19.36% of registered voters participated.
In an Oct. 20, interview, Hite said he wants students to get out into the community and get involved.
“(I) just want students to know that the community loves it when they’re back in session and it’s pretty lonely when they’re not here,” Hite said. “If you’re able to, get out, go use our city parks, walk downtown, look at the calendar of events, get involved with things off campus, and get to love the community, just like I and all my fellow commissioners do.”
In an Oct. 20, interview, Brooks said she wants students to know that their parents work hard and appreciate what goes into getting a degree.
“Your parents work real hard, I know we did,” Brooks said. “School is hard enough, but I know not everybody’s parents pay for school, and they understand what it took to make that degree.”
In an Oct. 20, interview, Perry said he wants students to understand the value they bring to the community as well as be encouraged to participate in commission meetings.
“The students on campus are a huge part of this community,” Perry said. “They come to our restaurants, they come to the stores, and we see them in and out. You can tell Pittsburg slows down in the summer when everybody’s gone. But they are absolutely a part of this economy and this community, and we need them to be a positive part of it. If (students) need something or have questions, come to commission meetings, reach out, ask questions, and we’ll do the best we can to get the answers.”
Both Bertoncino and Harris had similar goals with different approaches. Harris’ campaign often pushed into the unfriendly territory of a largely conservative Facebook group and received some criticism from both Democrats and Republicans for his stated commitment to being unaligned with establishment politics. Despite this, Harris still placed in the top three in over a third of Pittsburg voting precincts and got first place in two of them.