Missouri › Clay County › Western Commissioner, Seat 2
3 candidates are tracked for Western Commissioner, Seat 2 on the November 3, 2026 ballot: Jon Carpenter, Theresa Leaming and James Paxton Lyen. Candidate information follows official Clay County election filings; verify with the official election office linked below.
Nonpartisan: a majority winner on August 4 is elected outright, otherwise the top two advance to November 3. Jon Carpenter currently holds Western Seat 1 (through 2028) and is running for this separate Seat 2, per the Kansas City Star. Appears only on Western District ballots.
The sitting Western Seat 1 commissioner, elected in 2024, who previously represented District 15 in the Missouri House and owned a small communications firm in Clay County, per the Kansas City Star. He is running for the separate Seat 2 rather than his current seat.
2026 priorities
- Infrastructure, per the Kansas City Star
- Public safety, per the Star
- Improved 911 coordination and clearer public reporting on projects and budgets, per the Star
Source: candidate campaign site, roster verified 2026-08-29.
Campaign site →
A former director of nursing who opened her own long-term care business and has pastoral training, per the Kansas City Star.
A business consultant at Lyen Consulting who has lived in Clay County since 2015 and is running a strictly grassroots campaign with no website, signs, or fundraising, per the Kansas City Star.
2026 priorities
- Reducing government spending, including shrinking the commission from seven members to five, per the Kansas City Star
- Improving rural road and bridge infrastructure, per the Star
