Johnson County Commissioner blames loss on Chairman’s ‘Amberwave’ PAC

OLATHE, Kan. — A conservative voice on the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) will no longer be there in 2025 with help from BOCC Chairman Mike Kelly.

Three incumbents ran for re-election on the seven-member board. The only one to lose was Commissioner Charlotte O'Hara of Southeastern Johnson County. She fell to political newcomer Julie Brewer, who won by 6%, which was more than 3,600 votes.

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Chairman Kelly launched a Political Action Committee (PAC) called Amberwave earlier this year. It supported Brewer, the former Executive Director of United Community Services of Johnson County.

"He wasn't the only person who supported me from the commission level," Brewer said.

"There were other commissioners that endorsed me."

According to Brewer's website, Fourth District Commissioner Janee Hanzlick, not up for reelection this year, endorsed Brewer too. Commissioner O'Hara says there were multiple reasons why she lost her race.

"I think with the Chairman coming in with a PAC that was focused on the commission races and that PAC, Amberwave, spent $35,000 specifically in my race," O'Hara said.

That number was confirmed through the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission Website Campaign Finance Receipts & Expenditures Report from October 28 of this year. Thursday, FOX4 also asked Chairman Kelly, why he launched the PAC.

"We wanted to create a mechanism by which we could make sure that there was information out there on races that are local here in Johnson County," Kelly said.

"We recognize that at the end of the day, all politics are local, and in these races that have about 100,000 residents per race or in the case of the Sheriff, or the DA, or the chair, that's a county-wide race, and it was 640,000 depending on what the actual number is on any given day in Johnson County. That's a lot of people to try to touch, so, to create a mechanism, by which we could get more information to good voters, we feel that voters make better decisions when they have good information. We're focused on yes, economic development in this county. We're focused on sustainability and anti-extremism."

O'Hara, a Republican, lost to Brewer, who added that there's value to races being non-partisan on the ballot.

"But that doesn't mean the person running for office doesn't have a political affiliation," Brewer continued.

"I do, and I'm a registered Democrat."

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O'Hara added that the voters she talked to wanted to know whether the candidates they were deciding on were Democrats or Republicans. She also said the commission that's technically nonpartisan has gotten political.

"This is an elected office. It's always been political," Kelly said in response to O'Hara's remarks.

"That's part of the election process. People try to get out to voters, express the values that they share, and let the chips fall where they may."

There is a history between Kelly and O'Hara. They ran against each other for the Chair race in 2022. Kelly won it by 12% or more than 30,000 votes.

Amberwave also supported Shirley Allenbrand and Jeff Meyers, who each won their BOCC reelection bids.