The April 7, 2026 election should serve as a warning to every taxpayer in Platte County.

In Kansas City, voters renewed the 1% earnings tax with about 75% approval. The bigger story isn’t the outcome — it’s the process. A tax that was set to expire was extended through an off-cycle election, where turnout is a fraction of what it is in November. That means a relatively small number of voters made a long-term financial decision for hundreds of thousands of residents.

It’s worth noting that of the three counties whose residents pay this tax, Platte County’s voters were the most reluctant — only 64% supported renewal, compared to 81% in Jackson County and 65% in Clay. Even the most skeptical county couldn’t stop the tax from being extended, because that is the math of an off-cycle election.

Right here in Platte County, Weston voters approved a 1% sales tax increase the same night.

Two votes, two tax increases, one quiet election. Take them together and the lesson is plain: tax increases are not going away, and the people pushing them are not going away either. They will keep coming back, again and again, often in lower-turnout elections, hoping the public is distracted or disengaged.

Platte County families should pay attention. Government’s first instinct is too often to ask for more from taxpayers rather than show restraint, set priorities, and live within its means. Families and small businesses don’t get to endlessly raise their own income whenever the budget gets tight. Government should be held to the same standard.

The word in Platte County is that the earnings tax may be the next item on this list — that the people pushing it may try to bring it across the river through an off-cycle election, the same way Kansas City’s was just extended. I want every Platte County resident to hear this clearly: I will fight that effort tooth and nail.

The mission of county government is public infrastructure and public safety — and the administrative services that support them. Fund the mission. Execute the mission. Stay focused on the mission. More taxes are not the answer. Too often, they are part of the problem.

These tax increases don’t appear out of nowhere. Behind them is a familiar network of progressive groups, well-connected insiders, and special interests who don’t look at public money the way a working family does. To them, your tax dollars are a vehicle. A vehicle for their own profits. A vehicle for their pet causes. A vehicle for the kind of social experiments that have hollowed out community after community across this country. Every off-cycle election is another chance to load that vehicle up while ordinary families are looking the other way.

That instinct hasn’t gone anywhere. What has to change is the willingness of taxpayers to keep showing up — and the willingness of their leaders to hold the line. Platte County deserves leadership that will protect your hard-earned money, demand accountability before asking for one more dollar, and refuse to let big decisions get made while you’re not looking.

I am running for Platte County Presiding Commissioner, and my position is simple. I will not support tax increases in Platte County. I will not support the use of off-cycle elections to push them through under the radar.

Jason Maki
Candidate for Platte County Presiding Commissioner