Sedgwick County commission candidates Cruse, Baty debate COVID-19 response, priorities

Sedgwick County Commissioner Lacey Cruse and challenger Ryan Baty traded barbs over the county’s COVID-19 response and personality conflicts on the commission during a debate Wednesday.

Cruse, a Democrat, and Baty, a Republican, squared off at a forum hosted by the Park City Chamber of Commerce.

Baty, founder and CEO of Mattress Hub, said a third of his employees were ineligible for unemployment benefits during the height of the pandemic.

“I would ask you to put yourself in my shoes as a business owner that on March 23 got the order to shut down our stores,” Baty said.

“All I asked from the jump was, let me mitigate this risk for my company. Let me make the decisions. Trust me to make the decisions for myself, for my family, and for my company. That’s what we asked for. Instead, what we got was, ‘you’re essential, you’re unessential.’ What we got was hateful language. What we got was finger-pointing. What we got was shaming.”

Cruse said being at the helm of the county’s COVID response was unenviable, but she’s proud of her record.

“I have absolutely no regrets in the fact that I listened to science, I listened to the experts,” Cruse said. “I’m a musician and a marketer. I’m not a public health expert when it comes to a pandemic.

“When it was time for vaccines to come out, I called the governor myself. I wanted those vaccines here as soon as possible and I did everything that I could.”

Sedgwick County’s Republican-majority commission took a relatively hands-off approach to COVID restrictions, only closing down businesses for a month before petitioning Gov. Laura Kelly to let them reopen. The commission repeatedly rejected mask mandates as county case counts swelled.

Cruse said the biggest issues facing the county are mental health, substance abuse and homelessness. Too often, she said, those cycles end up landing people in the chronically understaffed Sedgwick County Jail, which is facing a shortage of 112 deputies.

“We have over 1,500 people who stay the night in our county jail every single night, so when people say the county isn’t in the housing business, you bet your bottom dollar we’re in the housing business,” Cruse said.

She said reducing the number of people in the jail by 10% would save Sedgwick County $4 million a year, which could be reallocated to prevention services.

Even with a recent 30% increase in pay for Comcare workers, the county’s mental health service provider is still looking to fill roughly 200 vacant positions.

“We don’t have 200 full-time practicians, clinicians, therapists and social workers in this community to fill that gap, to backload that gap,” Baty said. “But you know what we do have? We have over 30 nonprofits in this county that do substantive use of mental health work but we’re not strategically collaborating with any of them very well.”

He said improving the economic health of the region will help expand the tax base and improve county services.

“For over 20 years now, I’ve heard about Omaha. I’ve heard about Des Moines, I’ve heard about Tulsa, I’ve heard about Oklahoma City as a small business owner,” Baty said. “Frankly, I’m tired of hearing about them. Our time is now.”

Cruse said prioritizing businesses over human services won’t get Sedgwick County far.

“We talk about bringing business here, but when we bring business to Sedgwick County and they drive up the streets of Wichita, they’re going to see a bunch of people who are homeless and suffering,” Cruse said. “For many years, the Sedgwick County Commission has focused on small businesses.

“Sedgwick County’s tagline is ‘Working for you. Who is Sedgwick County working for? One type of person this whole time.”

Baty said Cruse’s personality clashes with colleagues on the commission have eroded public faith in county government, specifically pointing to her recent Facebook post accusing commissioners, county staff and a developer of corruption.

“What we have seen in the seat of District 4 is anything but leadership,” Baty said. “The relational capital has been bankrupt. When you go to social media and you tear down your colleagues, when you tear down staff, when it’s on the front page of The Wichita Eagle almost weekly, that’s not leadership.”

Cruse said she’s treated unfairly by her colleagues, who she said have created a hostile work environment.

“I am a woman on this commission. I am treated differently than these men,” Cruse said. “I’m just going to point it out. And we can shake our heads and we can act like it’s not there, but we live in a misogynistic culture.”

“I believe that she has done her best, considering the circumstances of the last couple years,” Cruse supporter Emily Stone said after the debate. “The pandemic made things difficult and working with a bunch of old white guys isn’t easy.”

Logan Patrick, who wore a Baty shirt to the debate, said his preferred candidate wouldn’t struggle to get along with fellow commissioners.

“Ryan’s a collaborative leader. In a room full of 20 people, he uses those 19 other minds to make that final decision — not just his own,” Patrick said. “That’s important in small business and it’s extremely important in public office.”

The 4th District contest is one of three commission races on the Nov. 8 ballot. District 1 Commissioner Pete Meitzner is facing Kelli Grant and District 5 incumbent Jim Howell is up against John McIntosh.