A pair of elected officials are squaring off in the Republican primary to represent a Kansas House district that includes northeast Douglas County and a large portion of Eudora.

Incumbent Rep. Lance Neelly is facing a challenge from current Leavenworth County Commissioner Mike Stieben in the race for Kansas House District No. 42. The district represents small sections of Lawrence, primarily east of O’Connell Road, and a smaller section east of Harper Street. The district includes most of the rural area in northeast Douglas County, including the northern part of the Eudora city limits. The district also stretches deep into Leavenworth County, including Tonganoxie.

The winner of the Republican primary is expected to face in the general election Lawrence resident Eddy Martinez, who is the lone Democrat to file for the seat. Here’s a look at the two candidates in the Republican primary:

photo by: Journal-World File Photo

Lance Neelly

Lance Neelly

Neelly, who has served in the Kansas House since 2021, said in a brief emailed response to the Journal-World that he wants another term to work with fellow members of the Legislature. He listed his ability to work with others as a unique trait that he has that could benefit the Legislature.

“We may not agree on everything, but let’s find things we can work together on,” Neelly said.

Neelly, who lists his professional background as having included jobs in the corrections industry and as a security supervisor, served as the vice-chair of the House Transportation Committee during the most recent legislative session.

Neelly, a Tonganoxie resident, briefly listed three items that he said would be his top legislative priorities, if elected:

• Property tax relief

• Protect small businesses and agricultural businesses

• Fight “unnecessary and unfair regulations and laws.”

Mike Stieben

Mike Stieben

Stieben has been a Leavenworth County commissioner since 2019, and he said understanding how local government works would be a valuable skill to take to Topeka.

“I believe having legislators in Topeka who understand local government is important,” Stieben told the Journal-World via email. “Many times state policies impact local government in unexpected ways and create unfunded mandates that can cause local taxpayers on the local level to suffer.”

Stieben has been an employee of BNSF Railway for 28 years, and currently is a locomotive engineer. He’s also a licensed real estate agent and has done some substitute teaching work for the Tonganoxie school district, he said.

Stieben, who lives in the Tonganoxie area, listed three issues that he said he would fight the hardest to support in the Legislature:

• Transparency and responsiveness in government. Stieben said he tries to lead by example on that front. He said he regularly hosts town hall meetings as a county commissioner and conducts surveys and writes a detailed newsletter for constituents, among other items.

• Support a cap on property tax growth. Stieben said he has been actively supporting a proposal that would cap annual property valuation increases to no more than 4% in any given year.

• Support for education funding. He said special education needs to be fully funded, and districts need help in improving teacher compensation. “I will vote for policies that improve educational outcomes in Kansas, and give us the best schools in the nation, working with educators, parents and local leaders to achieve that goal,” Stieben said via email.