phone
7859695687
Campaign Phone
7859695687
Personal Biography
Jack Calcutt is a resident of Shawnee County in Dover Township. He works as a Vice President of Marketing for FactSet Research Systems, Inc. Jack and his wife Katie Scarlett (O'Hara) Calcutt own Holly Court Homes, LLC, which acquires, renovates and manages furnished homes in Topeka. Jack has previously been a part-time lecturer of Finance at the University of Kansas and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).
Community/Public Service
Jack has coached youth soccer in Topeka for several seasons. Jack's previous municipal government experience includes working on several urban renewal projects and service on a Zoning Board of Appeals. He currently serves as member of the Advisory Board to Shawnee County Parks and Recreation.
Education
B.A. University of Notre Dame; CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) designation
Ballot City
Topeka
County
Shawnee
Home Phone
7859695687
email_added
jcalcutt@gmailc.om
One of my campaign pillars is Smart Growth. We need more walkable residential living in downtown Topeka. This will allow us to grow population with affordable sustainable living. It will also allow us to stabilize our most intense crime zone in the county and support meaningful regional amenities (restaurants, shopping) for all County residents and visitors to our State Capitol. I intend to prioritize the County financial lever of Industrial Revenue Bonds (IRBs) toward downtown renewal projects. This will allow sales tax and property tax incentives to be directed toward the type of development I expect to improve our county population and economic health long-term. If we have quality residential living downtown we will be able to keep our college graduates from leaving and attract businesses to employ them.
We need to lower taxes above all else. Too many tax increases have been put through in the name of growth and we can see now (looking at metrics over the last 10 years) how this doesn't work. We will work to limit government intervention and lower property taxes & sales taxes to a rate that is competitive with adjacent and countrywide alternatives. This will create the rock bed conditions for organic business growth and broader employment. Special deals with employers attract headlines, but often involve giving up too much to be worth it and warp the market dynamics allowing for organic growth. Customers will find products at the lowest cost "at the bottom of a river". If we think of the County as a business and lower our prices for doing business here, we will attract residents and business as customers. The secret will get out.
The county has a broad reputation for streamlined decision making. The 3-member board means that members represent the entire county (especially Topeka vs. Non Topeka issues) where the larger governing bodies can take longer to deliberate and work decisions often with district representatives competing in a zero-sum game for funding and services. As such, city-county consolidations have proven effective. Parks and Recreation (where I sit on the advisory board) is an excellent example of this. Other services managed by the County Government such as public works and solid waste are both effective and efficient - I think because of the decision making structure.
Personal Biography
Lance has built a reputation as a steady, collaborative leader and a practical problem solver. From serving as a Captain in the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office to leading the Shawnee County Emergency Communications Center for 10 years, his work has focused on protecting communities and improving the everyday systems people depend on.
Community/Public Service
He has taken on leadership roles in a range of community organizations, including Kansas APCO, Leadership Greater Topeka, the Capital Area Major Case Squad, local nonprofits, and his church, Grace Episcopal Cathedral.
Education
A graduate of Washburn University with a degree in Criminal Justice
Ballot City
Topeka
County
Shawnee
category
County Commission
Shawnee County has an aging infrastructure in its public facilities, as well as roads and bridges. This was addressed in 2018 with the 2038 Comprehensive Plan and we need to continually evaluate how we are keeping up with our goals, and where funding can be accessed for the work needed.
We also have a need to attract and hire more 911 center operators to provide top-notch emergency management to the public. Infrastructure and Emergency Management are both funded through property and sales tax, but we must also continue to research possible grants and partnerships to offset our taxing needs.
Also, access to childcare is a critical issue facing many of our residents. The Family Forward initiative has made a large impact through their facilities and family scholarships program. My hope is that we can learn from these type of models to bring a self-funded childcare facility to our county that everyone can depend on; businesses and families alike.
In my experience we need to hear from all stakeholders so that we can address challenges and work in collaboration to address the issue. A process that I have used to allow for these type of conversations, and build trust, is to bring everyone into a room to hear from them. This would include the State of Kansas, as well as local government, business, workers, unions and residents. I would approach this conversation with the goal of bringing new employers into Shawnee County without providing unreasonably large tax credits.
Shawnee County has done a good job in supporting Public Safety and our Parks and Recreation department. Our community has an abundance of beautiful public areas and interesting programs for every age. We need to have safe communities and opportunities for engagement, so people stay in our community, and our young people return after job training or college. I will work hard to continue this focus on public safety and public spaces as your Shawnee County Commissioner.
