Brandon Whipple

Brandon Whipple (born July 13, 1982) is an American politician and academic who formerly served as mayor of Wichita, Kansas. He previously served as a Democratic Party member of the Kansas House of Representatives representing the 96th district, which included part of south Wichita and was the Ranking Minority member on the Higher Education Budget committee.

When the Kansas Legislature was not in session, Whipple served as an adjunct professor of American politics at Wichita State University, his alma mater. Whipple defeated incumbent Jeff Longwell in the 2019 Wichita mayoral election. He ran for a second term as mayor in the 2023 Wichita mayoral election, but lost to Lily Wu.

Early life and education

Whipple was raised in Dover, New Hampshire.

Whipple earned his Associate of Arts in liberal studies from New Hampshire's Hesser College in 2003. He moved to Wichita, Kansas, at age 21 in a year-long education-service mission with AmeriCorps, working with at-risk youth at Wichita South High School. While there, he discovered he could afford to attend Wichita State University (WSU).

Career As a member of Wichita's Southwest Neighborhood Association, Whipple served on its executive board.

Whipple first ran for the Kansas House of Representatives in 2010 against Phil Hermanson. Whipple lost, but shortly afterward the Sedgwick County Democratic Party elected him its vice chair. In 2012, he was elected the county party's chair. Whipple defeated Republican Rick Lindsey. Whipple was re-elected to the seat in 2014, 2016 and 2018,

In 2016, Whipple was elected Agenda Chair for the Democrats in the Kansas House of Representatives—the #6 position in House Democratic party leadership. In 2018, he co-founded the bipartisan Kansas Future Caucus, a group of under-45 Kansas legislators, to focus attention on issues of concern to young people.

Among his principal efforts in office was increased funding for education, particularly restoration of funding cuts made during the administration of Kansas governor Sam Brownback.

In the 2019 Kansas Legislature, Whipple was Ranking minority member on the Joint Committee on Information Technology, and the Higher Education Budget Committee. He was also assigned to the Committee on Elections and the Joint Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice Oversight.

Committee assignments

2019–2020 session Ranking Minority Member of Higher Education Budget Ranking Minority Member of Joint Information Technology Elections Joint Corrections and Juvenile Justice

2017–2018 session Ranking Minority Member of Commerce, Labor and Economic Development Financial Institutions and Pensions Higher Education Budget Joint Information Technology

2015–2016 session Utilities and Telecommications Commerce, Labor and Economic Development Taxation House Select Investigating Committee Telecommunications Study Committee Joint Information Technology

2013–2014 session Children and Seniors Judiciary Utilities and Telecommications Commerce, Labor and Economic Development Telecommunications Study Committee Joint Information Technology

Wichita Mayor 2019 Wichita mayoral race

Whipple ran in the 2019 election for mayor of Wichita. In the nonpartisan primary election, preliminary results put Whipple (with 5,729 votes; 25.9% of the total) second only to Republican Mayor Longwell (who had 7,136 votes; 32.3%).

Candidate Lyndy Wells, also a Republican, had only 160 votes fewer in initial returns: 5,569 votes; 25.2%, so delayed acceptance of the result in hopes that a review of 1,000 yet-uncounted ballots (including 500 provisional ballots) might turn the election to his favor. The final count nearly doubled Whipple's lead over Wells, After Sedgwick County, Kansas Republican party chair Dalton Glasscock called for Capps to resign, Capps claimed that Glasscock had actually approved the production of the ad, which Glasscock denied.

Money raised for the production of the video was alleged to have been laundered through a charitable non-profit organization directed by Capps to conceal the identities of the alleged perpetrators.

In October 2020, Whipple, represented by former U.S. Attorney Randy Rathbun, filed suit against Capps, Wichita City Councilman James Clendenin, and Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O'Donnell, for defamation involving the false charges made against him in the 2019 mayoral election race. Allegations cited were that the co-conspirators tried to blame the conspiracy on Sedgwick Republican County Committee Chairman Dalton Glasscock, and that, with false accusations, they intended to generate marital discord within Whipple's own family.

To conceal the donors and funding of the smear, monies were said to have been laundered through a 501(c)3 non-profit charity directed by Capps. The suit had originally been filed against the maker of the video, Matthew Colburn. It was dropped after Colburn provided audio, text messages, and other evidence, that had identified O'Donnell as the alleged leader of the conspiracy to defame Whipple. O'Donnell was accused of writing the script for the video frame-up,

Tenure

COVID-19 pandemic response Whipple entered office about the time the COVID-19 pandemic erupted. The state governor, Laura Kelly, issued a requirement for the community to wear face masks in public to prevent the spread of the highly contagious disease, which had become widely fatal. However, the conservative state legislature outlawed her mandate, and the conservative local county commission, ignoring advice of its Health Director, withdrew its corresponding mask mandate and other restrictions, to Whipple's dismay.

Responding, Whipple "spearheaded" a move by the City Council to re-impose the mask mandate within the city limits—over intense opposition from many in the community, including around 100 who showed up to protest at the City Council meeting. The Council passed the ordinance, but many bitterly resented it, and blamed Whipple.

In October 2020, prosecutors charged Dowty with three felony counts of criminal threats causing "terror, evacuation or disruption." Shortly before trial, in May 2023, he pled "no contest" to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct, and was sentenced to two years probation, with the threat of 30 days in jail if violating the terms of probation.

City Council ethics policy In keeping with a campaign promise, in reaction to the developer-dealings of the prior City Council, Whipple pushed for a City Council Code of Ethics—which forbid Council members to vote on matters which had a material benefit to them personally or to a member of their immediate family, and restricted Council members from accepting gifts that represented a conflict-of-interest. The Code had further provisions as well. It was adopted by the City Council in May, 2021.

Land development Whipple, along with nearly all City Council members, approved the controversial bargain sale and subsequent development of city land on the West Bank of the Arkansas River, opposite downtown, into apartment and hotel buildings, adjacent to the city's new ballpark, saying it was needed to improve the city's quantity of housing and to offset the costs of the costly new ballpark, which had been a financial failure for the city. However, Whipple expressed reluctance to fully trust the same developers with the new project.

In this case, and others, Whipple urged greater transparency in the deals, and prior public notice of the details, opposing "secret" deals between the city and developers.

Whipple appeared critical of the police decision to arrest Lofton rather than take him to a mental care facility —a criticism opposed by the local police union.

Police exchanges of bigoted messages March, 2022, it was revealed that a small group of local law enforcement officers, including 13 Wichita Police officers—some of them members of the SWAT team, and some who had shot civilians—had been exchanging racist, sexist and homophobic text messages, and jokes about shooting people, a year earlier.

In footage obtained from the officer's body-worn camera, Whipple is seen calling City Manager Robert Layton and telling him that the officer "doesn't know who I am," before requesting the name of the acting chief of police so that he could file a complaint.

Whipple released the footage, himself, on October 13, after learning the officer's body camera was not turned on for the beginning of the altercation, during which Whipple claimed the officer yelled at him. Whipple used the situation to call for a review of Wichita police body-camera policies, but ultimately apologized for his role in the event.

The local police union expressed offense, countering that the video Whipple released was not complete, and claimed that Whipple's version of the story was false or exaggerated. They said the officer had been defamed by Whipple and his political associates, and called for an apology.

Roller rink conflict New Year's Eve 2022/2023, there was an incident at a roller skating rink in which Wichita PD said that off-duty officers were attempting to remove a teenager who had been threatening staff when another teenager hit one of the officers on the back of the head. Video from after showed the teen and the officer in a physical altercation. Two days later Whipple gave a statement at a press conference stating: The local Fraternal Order of Police lodge responded, stating: "We would hope the Mayor who is tasked with leading the city would not make reckless statements without knowing all the facts and context, this only causes more division within the community." (widely backed by the business community) Celeste Racette and heavily covered in local media, with multiple head-to-head candidate debates and joint appearances at various public forums. But most public contact was through extensive advertising campaigns by the candidates and their supporters. , receiving broad support from the business community, including over $440,000 in direct donations, plus over $192,000 spent by Americans for Prosperity (created by Wichita billionaire Charles Koch and his brother David

With 24% of registered voters voting, Whipple (42%) lost to Wu (58%), who was sworn in on January 8, 2024.

Personal life Whipple is married to Chelsea (Grady) Whipple, also a Wichita State University graduate. The two are members of the Episcopal Church.