Republicans choose Ware to replace departing county clerk

In a meeting on Saturday, Nov. 1, the Linn County Republican Party Central Committee voted to appoint Chasity Ware to the vacant county clerk's position. (Submitted photo)

By Roger Sims

rsims@linncountyjournal.com

MOUND CITY – On a 12-7 vote on Saturday, Nov. 1, the Linn County Republican Party Central Committee chose rural Mound City resident Chasity Ware to be the new county clerk.

The committee met at the Bunker Hill Community Center with an audience of about 50 people attending the proceedings, including 19 of the 24 precinct committee people who comprise the central committee. Two votes were delivered by proxy.

County Party Chair Becky Johnson opened the meeting by conducting a roll call of committee members and giving a brief overview of the selection process. She noted that for any candidate to be successful it would take 12 votes, a simple majority of the committee members who voted.

Johnson noted that résumés of both women had been sent to committee members, but that she had copies available at the front of the room. Following the introduction, she called for nominations and two people were nominated.

Ware was nominated by Dezerae Poole and was seconded by Jori Moore.

Susan Walker, a Fort Scott resident who is currently the county clerk from Bourbon County was nominated by Doreen Thomas, and the nomination was seconded by Lisa Kellstadt, who is the Linn County appraiser.

Ware, who was in Texas with a new grandchild, attended the meeting and argued the case for her appointment and answered questions by teleconference.

County clerk candidate Susan Walker addresses the Republican central committee on Saturday. (Roger Sims / Linn County Journal)

Walker attended the meeting and spoke from the podium.

In her presentation to the committee members and audience, Ware talked about her experience as secretary for the Linn County Fair Association, which she has done since 2022, as a Family and Consumer Science teacher at Jayhawk-Linn High School for 20 years, and as manager of the Fort Scott Aquatic Center for 10 years.

According to her résumé, she holds a bachelor's degree with an emphasis on family and consumer science.

Until Aug. 18, Ware also served as Economic Development director for Linn County. She resigned that post abruptly after filing a grievance against Commissioner Alison Hamilton.

Hired for the post in November 2024, Ware in her final meeting with the commission charged that county government was dysfunctional and was marred by people who wanted to control, intimidate and micromanage. Those issues did not surface in her presentation or in questions directed to her by the audience.

“I will let my morals guide me and operate this office with integrity, courtesy, ethics and professionalism,” Ware told the committee on Saturday. She added that the office will not be partisan under her leadership. “It will be neutral, factual, and it will be respectful.”

She did admit that she lacked experience in governmental accounting but assured the audience that she would quickly gain the knowledge she needed to serve the county. She said she felt her experience as financial officer for the fair association, manager of the aquatic center and as a teacher gave her the necessary background to do the job.

Asked by committee member Paul Porter about upcoming elections and how the clerk’s office would handle that, Ware said she had full confidence in the clerk’s staff to manage the election process. She said the deputy election clerk had been trained over the past few months and would do everything she could to make sure the process ran smoothly.

Committee member Jackie Taylor asked if she would be able to delegate her work to department employees, and Ware said she would be able to do that, citing her experience in education and delegating tasks to students, parents and other staff.

Walker, who is currently a Fort Scott resident and the Bourbon County Clerk, said she and her husband plan to move to Linn County next spring to her family’s farm and help with her aging parents. A member of the Peery family, she said she grew up in Linn County and wanted the clerk’s post because it would fit well with her plans.

“It would be an honor to dedicate my remaining years to the people of Linn County as your county clerk,” Walker said.

She cited her experience with various positions in government and her experience in governmental accounting. That included experience as an assistant city manager, a finance director and a certified municipal clerk.

“If I were to become your county clerk, I won’t have a learning curve,” she said.

Although she began her job as county clerk earlier this year, she served as chief financial officer (CFO) for Bourbon County from 2021 until she took over the clerk’s job. A graduate of Southern Missouri State University with a bachelor's degree in business administration, Walker said she was hired as CFO to help the county fix what had been seven years of audits that had numerous violations.

Porter asked about a reference letter from Matt Quick, Bourbon County appraiser, who praised Walker for her work as CFO saying she had solved most of the problems within a year.

Walker agreed that most of those violations had been addressed.

But her work as CFO also was at the heart of a question by Taylor, who said she had received numerous calls about reports that she and her husband had been involved in lawsuits in Bourbon County.

“We don’t need any of that in this county,” Taylor said.

Walker said that only one legal action had been taken, and that was when the commission was failing to live up to the terms of her contract as CFO. She said that issue is no longer active.

Walker pointed out that her experience as clerk had been helpful over the past few weeks as she had been helping County Clerk Danielle Souza and the clerk’s office staff work through some issues.

Souza, who was selected by the central committee in January to replace retiring Clerk David Lamb, submitted her resignation last month with an effective date of Nov. 1. In announcing her resignation to the Linn County Commission, Souza said she needed to focus on her family.

Following presentations by both candidates, party chair Johnson asked everyone except the central committee members to leave the building. The committee deliberated for more than half an hour before Johnson reopened the public session and announced the results of the vote.

Ware’s appointment will be sent to Gov. Laura Kelly for approval, and once that approval is received, Ware will be sworn into office.