Weston mayor Cliff Harvey was unseated Tuesday by political newcomer Steven George, with George receiving 206 votes to Harvey’s 153.
Steven George
In the race for board of aldermen, incumbent Joyce Priddy retained her seat over Patrick Farnan, 94 votes to 64, and Michael Goentzel won the open ward two seat with 78 votes, beating out two candidates —Wendy Maupin, 75 votes, and Michael Kwiatkowski, 47 votes.
George, 34, is originally from Nixa, Mo. and has lived in Weston for six years. Single, he works for Cerner Corporation. He said his work for Cerner connects him with rural communities.
“Personally, I am very in touch with the downtown community that has kept Weston from fading into the past and feel I can bring a fresh perspective to continue to attract families and young adults to Weston,” George said. “I want to do what I can to best balance the needs of the community of Weston while maintaining our role as a tourist destination.”
George said he has experienced the city as a first-time visitor, a resident and a first-time homeowner and these experiences would help him keep Weston quaint.
He noted that roads are a problem at this time of year, as they are every year, and parking on busy weekends is also a concern.
“We also currently have an administration that believes the city needs a full-time administrator position - which is against the desires of most residents I have spoken to and is a waste of city funding that could be put toward better uses,” George said. “I would re-evaluate our budget and re-allocate funding appropriately away from wasteful spending (such as the city administrator position) and back toward the items that would best benefit the residents and visitors to town - starting with fixing our higher-traffic neighborhood roads, including Summerset and Citadel, and exploring parking lot enhancements near city hall.”
He said he wants to keep Weston the city that drew him and many others to the town, as a quaint and quiet town during the week with a lively downtown district on the weekends.
Priddy has served as an alderman for 12 years. She has also served on the planning and zoning and preservation committees for 12 years.
“Our community is filled with people who share a great appreciation for our town,” Priddy said. “As I respond to the many challenges, we become more dependent on our citizens sharing their creativity and solutions. I look forward to working with the citizens to continue in making this a community to be proud of.”
Priddy said her commitment to maintaining ethical values give her an edge, as does her years of experience on city boards. She said she also has a strong background in finance and wants to maintain the quality of life for all residents.
The city needs to work to attract young families to the city and look for opportunities to expand the tax base through development along the highway, startup businesses, pharmacy services, apartments, modestly-priced housing and annexation. She wants to make Weston economically sustainable to meet the needs of the present without compromising future generations.
She said she wishes to preserve the past and build for the future while working with the Platte County Economic Development Council and Mid-America Regional Council.
Goentzel, 43, is originally from Harrisonville and has lived in Weston since 2008. In a domestic partnership, he has one daughter and is retired from the U.S. Army. He currently serves on the Weston park board.
“I have a strong network in state and federal government and have a background of working across agencies to achieve results,” Goentzel said. “I was born and raised in Harrisonville and was actively aware of the city politics in the 80’s/90’s. I watched as the city council there allowed a developer, Del Dunmire, to make terrible decisions while claiming to bring growth and tourism to the town. I would stand in the way of those decisions and make the process transparent to the citizens of Weston.”
Goentzel said he is currently involved in Weston’s government, civic and fraternal organizations and is pursuing a master’s degree in public administration.
“I believe Weston is at a crossroads and will need measured population growth that is paced or outpaced by infrastructure expansion,” Goentzel said. “The City of Weston has an aging infrastructure with some roadways in desperate need of upgrade and sidewalks or repairs to sidewalks. Decisions we make now and in the near future will benefit Weston for decades to come. These decisions need to be the best possible for the cost and longevity and not faddish or fly by night ideas.”
He said he would work to keep Weston’s small-town values and charm while modernizing infrastructure and embracing modern enhancements. If elected, he would advocate for real estate developments to address the need for affordable housing. A background in managing workforce contracts would also assist him in acting as liaison to the public works department, he said.