Two Jewish candidates came up winners following Tuesday's Johnson County elections (according to unofficial results), with Sollie Flora besting Arcie Rothrock to be the next mayor of Mission, Kansas, and Joy Koesten gaining 13.56% of the vote, enough to be elected to one of four at-large seats on the Johnson County Community College Board of Trustees.
Flora, a member of the Mission City Council (representing Ward 4) since 2018, had been endorsed by Ethan Corson, the Jewish Kansas state senator from Fairway. Flora previously told The Chronicle that as a Jew, her inspiration for public service also comes from the spirit of tikkun olam.
“There is an influence of Judaism in the work that I’m doing,” she said, “that social justice tradition that I feel very strongly about, and making sure that we really are welcoming and inclusive of everyone that wants to be part of our community.”
In line with that, The Shawnee Mission Post this week reported Flora saying that she intends to focus on sustainability and equity.
Koesten, meanwhile, says she will “work hard to recruit, recognize, and retain the best teachers and staff, so that every student who passes through JCCC can receive the same great education that I did.”
Koesten congratulated the three other candidates elected, and shared that she looks forward to working alongside the other trustees to “make sure that our community college is accessible and affordable to every student across their lifespan, creating the strongest and most resilient workforce in our region.”
Koesten also thanked her supporters, campaign volunteers and campaign staff--including Jewish staffer Daniel Shafton, and her campaign treasurer, Stewart Stein.