News

2020 November 05 - Mayoral Announcement
I am excited to announce that it is my intention to run for Mayor of the City of Merriam.

Many of you know that this has been a long-time goal of mine. Every since I retired from the Fire Department in 2014, I have been interested in serving in this capacity. However, I would not run against our current Mayor Ken Sissom. I think he has done an excellent job of leading our City during the past eleven years. He has announced that he does not plan to run for another term when it expires next year. As the current Council President, I have been working with him closely to set agenda items and to learn the duties of Mayor. Since being elected as the Ward 4 City Councilmember in 2015, I served four years as the Vice-President of the Council and was elected last year as the President. I have always been a goal oriented individual and have prepared myself to reach those goals. I guess I always knew that my Master’s Degree in Public Administration would enable me to lead our Community for many years.

Merriam has been my home since 1966. I grew up in this Community and have seen it transform into the wonderful City we have today. We are the envy of many in both Johnson County and throughout the State of Kansas. We are able to provide top quality services in a fiscally responsible manner. We have just the right mix of business and residential. Our sales tax generation provides over 50% of our revenue. Even during our recent pandemic, which forced many business to close for extended periods of time; we only experienced a 4% decline in sales tax. We may actually completely recover by the end of the year and go into next year with a greater fund balance than we anticipated.

If elected, I would like to share my vision of Merriam and the goals that I believe our Community would benefit from. They are as follows:

Provide excellent Fire, Police and EMS services that will keep our community safe.
Not only refrain from raising taxes, but look at ways to provide tax relief; especially to our senior citizens who are on fixed incomes.
Maintain our infrastructure of streets, curbs, gutters, sidewalks, street lights and storm drains.
Address flooding concerns in various locations throughout the city.
Encourage and seek out a grocery store chain that will locate in Merriam. This will not only provide a necessary service that we all need; it will keep sales tax generation here.
Improve walk-ability and bike-ability throughout the City.
Address resident’s concerns about speeding in our neighborhoods. This may require a redesign of our streets when they are scheduled for overlay or repair.
Increase the energy efficiency of our street lights and city structures and provide grants to our residents that encourages them to do the same.
Explore ways in which we can assist our senior citizens to stay in their homes or provide affordable housing for them and our lower income population.
Assist in the redevelopment of the old K-Mart property and the development of the Shawnee Mission corridor from Antioch to I-35.
Plant more trees as we continue to do our part to reduce carbon emissions.

Install an electric vehicle charging station at our Community center.

Improve communication between City government and our citizens.

I am also interested in hearing from you. Please let me know what you think is important and what your goals would be for Merriam doing the next four years. Together, we can make Merriam even better.

2020 JANUARY 27 - Chosen for Council President
I am humbled and excited to report that I have been selected as the Merriam City Council President for the next two years. It will give me the opportunity to work closely with Mayor Sissom and to learn more about setting agendas and providing direction for our City. Congratulations also go to fellow Councilmember Scott Diebold, who was selected as Vice President. I look forward to serving our Community in my new capacity.

2019 November 5th - Election Win

The results are in, and Thank you, everyone who voted for me to continue serving on city council. It’s an honor, and I thank you for your support!

2019 September 19th - September Candidate Forum

Thanks to all who came to the Shawnee Mission Post’s Candidates Forum last Thursday. It was a great opportunity to meet more neighbors and answer questions about my plans for the future of Merriam. If you weren’t able to come last Thursday but still want to hear what your candidates have to say, you can watch the forum on Shawnee Mission Post’s facebook video page.

I know you have an important choice to make this November, and I hope I’ve earned your vote with my prior 4 years of service in City Council.

2019 September 14th - Vote for a classic!

Over 200 folks came to the Merriam Marketplace last weekend to show off their classic cars. And many more came to see the show. Here’s mine, a 1928 Ford Model A.

Re-elect a classic this year, —Bob Pape

2019 September - important dates ahead:

Advance vote by mail starts October 16

Advance vote in person starts October 28

Election at Antioch Church polling place is November 5th.

2019 August 13th - Now Accepting Donations

I’m accepting donations now via PayPal and GoFundMe! Visit the Support Page for details!

2019 August 6th - Primary Win

Thank You, Thank You Very Much!

I am honored that you chose me first place in the primary, and excited to earn even more support in the general election this November. I want to thank everyone who has helped me in this endeavor and to all my neighbors who chose me in the primary. I’ve got a lot of work to do to secure the general election in November, and another four years representing you. I am reaching out to my supporters now to become involved in my campaign.

There are many ways you can become involved. If you can help distribute fliers; make phone calls; assist financially with campaign costs or want a sign in your yard – I need your help.

This is a difficult request for me because I am usually the one helping others. However, I know I cannot do this on my own. Just like my firefighting took a team effort, I need a team to be successful in the re-election. Please click on the contact button and indicate how you would like to help. Together, we can make Merriam Just Right.

Your Servant,
Bob Pape
Ward 4 Councilmember

2019 August 6th

The Primary is coming up soon. Don’t forget to return your mail-in ballot if you have one, vote advanced at any of the polling locations open now, or make it to our ward’s location, Antioch Church, on August 6th!

2019 July 24th

I was delighted to attend the Shawnee Mission Post’s Merriam Candidate Forum at Antioch Library. Thanks to every one of our neighbors who came to meet their candidates, and hear us answer questions about our community’s concerns. All of the candidates love this community, and I hope you were proud of my responses, and how I represented you there!

2019 June

KSHB 41 news did a story about Al Frisby and I, helping to clear fallen limbs that had come crashing down on Merriam’s sidewalks during recent storms. It’s hard work, but work that needed done, and I am never shy to take on tough work that needs done. Al and I are both able bodied and have chain saws, so we came to help! KSHB heard about it and came to do a story, so I was on the area TV news!