(Photo by: Vaughn Wheat)

With general elections right around the corner, it is more important than ever to learn about who you’re going to be voting for. This election happens to have close-to-home candidates on the ballot: JCCC Board of Trustees Members.

The Johnson County Post asked its readers what issues they wanted to hear each of the candidates address before the election and published their responses to each question. The questions mainly focused on tuition, transparency, enrollment and academic freedom.

First, we’ll take a look at our incumbent candidates.

Lee Cross is a registered Democrat and is running for reelection with the hopes of preserving the range of opportunities JCCC offers to its students, emphasizing the economic assets provided by the college and a focus on continuous adaptation, according to The Kansas City Star.

When it comes to tuition, Cross believes that in order for the college to continue being open, they must keep thinking about the tuition burden students and their families face. Cross commented that they must focus on retention and recruitment to accomplish this. He believes that “the more students we retain, the easier it is to keep our enrollment numbers up,” according to the Post.

Our second incumbent is Mark Hamill, a registered Republican. He hopes to help maintain the affordability of the college, reduce the property tax mill levy and help students prepare for careers.

The final incumbent is Dawn J. Rattan. She is a registered Democrat, and if reelected, she will protect accessibility and affordability for students, advocate for and support the college and remain student-centered in all her decisions.

According to the Post’s section on transparency, Rattan believes that the college can take its processes with faculty and use those to “interact with the Student Senate Leaders and students to increase transparency.”

This year, there are five new candidates on the ballot, creating a total of eight candidates to choose from.

Our first new candidate is Carlton Abner. He is a registered Republican, and he wants to focus on keeping affordability for students and taxpayers, innovating education and keeping students at the center of his decisions.

When asked about tuition, Abner wants to ensure that the college remains affordable, which means that students and taxpayers must see the value in what the school provides. According to the Post, he wants to “maintain the affordability of this great resource for both the students and for the taxpayers.”

Next on the ballot is Chad Carroll, a registered Democrat. If elected, Carroll wishes to keep the college affordable and work with faculty members to prepare the school for the future. When asked about enrollment, Carroll is supporting JCCC’s current enrollment plan, which states it will “provide a framework for projects, initiatives, and priorities for providing service to students,” according to the Post.

Jerry Charlton, a registered Republican, wishes to improve student retention in transfer and career technical programs, develop superior teaching and continue a supportive learning space.

Geoff Holton, a registered Democrat, hopes to design training and workforce development by cooperating with corporate partnerships and serving all members of the community, if elected.

When asked about academic freedom, Holton expressed that public education is not just a place to learn basic skills but is “essential to assisting students with developing thoughts and skills to be constructive and active participants in our democracy, which prides itself on diverse perspectives and citizen participation in the decision-making process.”

The final candidate on the ballots is Kenny Stokes, a registered Republican. If elected, he hopes to keep an inclusive environment for students, be transparent about budget summaries and focus wasted funds on student support services.

Election day is Tuesday Nov. 4, but early voting is already open. You can vote on the first floor of the MTC building from 8 a.m.-7 p.m.