28-01-2025
Wichita vice mayor defends councilman after heated argument
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Five days after tensions boiled over inside a Topeka pub, the vice mayor of Wichita has gone on record to defend his colleague.
Both the Wichita City Council and the Sedgwick County Commission had gone to Topeka last week to meet with state representatives and senators from the Wichita area as well as attend the South-Central Legislative Delegation Reception.
The Wichita-area leaders decided to get together at The Celtic Fox. While there, a video shows Councilman Brandon Johnson getting into a yelling match with State Representative Ford Carr. At one point, the video shows Carr shoving Representative Henry Helgerson aside, making him fall into a wall.
You can watch a censored version of the video below:
Ford and Johnson say the argument was all over money for the 29th and Grove contamination area. In the video, Ford accused Johnson of not coming up with a plan for testing, but Vice Mayor J.V. Johnston told KSN News on Monday that's the exact opposite of what Johnson has been doing.
Kansas governor reacts to heated argument among officials at Topeka bar
'I know that Councilman Johnson has worked very, very hard on that issue, and so I don't think people know how hard he has worked on that issue. Tons of meetings, some I even went to representing Guadalupe Clinic, and he's been working that for years, so I know he's working on it really hard, and I think people should respect that,' said Vice Mayor Johnston. 'It's a complicated issue, very complicated, both money and how you do it, and results, and he's been working through those issues and doing a really good job.'
The state approved $1.5 million for testing. Another million is available if it's matched. On Tuesday, the city council will take a second vote on putting $125,000 towards it. The rest of the money must be matched by the county and private groups by June 30, or it goes away.
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