Discord in Peabody leads to challenge
Staff writer
Months of political tension in Peabody will lead to an electoral showdown in November between the incumbent mayor and incumbent council president.
Two years ago, council president Kevin Burke considered running for mayor of Peabody. But one thing held him back.
“I needed to gain some experience,” he said.
Burke ran for council instead, winning his seat in November, 2023. At the same time, former council president Catherine Weems was elected mayor.
This June, Burke officially filed for mayor. He will be the only challenger to Weems, who is seeking re-election.
Burke was born and raised in Peabody. Prior to serving on the council, he spent over 30 years in the trucking business.
“When I’m in the cemetery, I’ll be the fifth generation buried out there,” he said. “My family has been here since before Peabody was put together.”
Though he declined to share specific qualms, saying he didn’t want to come across as a complainer or a “bully,” Burke expressed frustration with Peabody’s budget and a perceived lack of transparency.
“I’d expect to lead with honesty, integrity, transparency,” he said. “I’d expect that the council could work together to become outstanding stewards of the taxpayers’ money, none of which I think is being done now.”
During a July 1 meeting, Burke voiced concerns about Peabody interviewing for a city administrator position without the council approving and advertising the position.
Weems denied that the city had interviewed for an administrator. She referred to the position as “clerk-slash-administrator” before adding that the candidate “applied for the clerk position.”
During a May 27 meeting, Burke questioned Weems over what he saw as a lack of budget transparency.
“I don’t like the idea that you, as the mayor, have control over the budget, over the bills, and that none of us do,” he said. “I just want everyone on the council to be more involved.”
Weems said Tuesday that she thought that the city was as transparent as it could be.
“My door is always open,” she said.
As a councilmember, Weems said, she was part of a bloc which voted to include expenditure receipts in agenda packets provided to councilmembers.
However, during her time in office, those same receipts were removed from the packet provided to the public. They are now accessible to the public only through Kansas Open Records Act requests.
Weems said the information no longer was provided to the public because the city “was having things out there that didn’t need to be shared,” such as private account numbers.
Burke said that, as mayor, he would put line item receipts back in the public packet.
“I don’t see any reason why it can’t be in the packets,” he said. “It’s public information anyway.”
Weems was on the council from 2022 to 2023 before she was elected mayor. She managed the City of Wichita’s finances and debts for 13 years before moving to Peabody and opening a food store, Peabody Market.
“When it comes to business and finance, I’ve got a lot to offer,” Weems said.
She ran for mayor, she said, because her business is dependent on the health of Peabody and because she thought she had the skills to take the city in a positive direction.
Since she was elected, the going has been tough. Two police officers, the city clerk, and the public works director have all resigned.
“I haven’t accomplished the goals I’ve set out to accomplish,” she said. “We started on a path here to make some changes in the city, and I have not been able to really move forward. … We’ve just kind of spent the last year or so just status quo, trying to maintain everything while we fill staff.”
When asked what specific goals she was looking to achieve, Weems said she wanted to get the city’s water project completed, improve upon code enforcement, and hire “good, consistent police.”
For Burke, budgeting is the biggest prerogative.
“I think we need to have a more detailed, specific budget oriented towards specific goals and expectations for the city,” he said.
He also wants to encourage debate and democratize what information is shared with the council before meetings.
“Some people in the council know things, and the rest of us don’t,” he said. “There are just too many things that are already decided before council meetings ever take place.”
He declined to share further specifics.
Weems said that she had not been made aware of such complaints.
“I wouldn’t know how to respond to that,” she said.
Both mayoral “campaigns” will be fairly low-key.
“I typically do my campaigning face-to-face with folks,” Weems said.
Burke, as the challenger, will take things a little further.
“I’ll probably knock on some doors and [do] the typical sign thing,” he said. “I plan to get out and try to meet people at some public events.”
Weems appeared zen about having a challenger in the race.
“Everybody should be able to have a choice,” she said. “This is not something that I ever thought I’d do or even cared to pursue. I just felt like my community needed me, and I had the skill set to help.”
While she hopes to win, she said there would be a “relief” that came with losing.
“Am I going to be crushed if I’m not chosen?” she said. “No. I think my community will choose who they want to lead them.”