The city of Topeka, Kan., will hold a nonpartisan primary election on Aug. 3 for mayor and city council. The top two vote-getters in the races will advance to the general election on November 2, 2021.
Daniel Brown, Leo Cangiani, Patrick Klick, John Lauer, and District 5 city council member Mike Padilla are running for mayor of Topeka. Mayor Michelle De La Isla announced in March that she would not be seeking re-election in 2021. She has served as Topeka’s mayor since January 2018.
Five city council seats will also be on the ballot in 2021. The only district to require a primary election will be in District 3, where incumbent Sylvia Ortiz is facing four challengers. William Hendrix, David Johnson, Lana Kombacher, and Regina Platt have all filed to run. Ortiz has served on the city council since 2005. The following four races are going directly to the general election:
*District 1: Incumbent Karen Hiller will face Lindsay Jackson in the general election. Hiller has served on the city council since 2009.
*District 5: Marcus Clark, Ariane Davis, and Brett Daniel Kell are running for this open seat. Incumbent Mike Padilla is running in the mayoral race. He has served on the city council since 2018.
*District 7: Incumbent Neil Dobler is running against Joel Campbell in the general election. Dobler was appointed to the city council in 2019.
*District 9: Incumbent Michael Lesser and Gregory Bland Jr. are facing off in the general election. Lesser has served on the council since 2018.
The city of Topeka had a population of 125,310 in 2019, according to the United States Census Bureau. Ballotpedia is covering municipal elections in 22 counties and 71 cities, including 43 mayoral elections, in 2021.
Additional reading: