Wes Rogers

Wes McCreary Rogers (born July 24, 1982) is an American politician, attorney, and small business owner who is a member of the City Council of Kansas City for the 2nd district, which covers most neighborhoods in Kansas City's Northland south of Barry Road. A member of the Democratic Party, Rogers previously served two terms in the Missouri House of Representatives, representing the 18th district from 2019 to 2023. On June 4, 2026, Rogers announced his candidacy for mayor of Kansas City in the 2027 election.

Legal and business career Early in his career, Rogers worked as an assistant public defender in the Missouri State Public Defender system. He joined the Clay County Prosecutor's Office in 2008 and was appointed the county's chief deputy prosecutor in 2012, a position he held until 2013. He succeeded Lauren Arthur, who had been elected to the Missouri Senate. Rogers was reelected in 2020 and did not seek a third term in 2022; he was succeeded by Eric Woods. During debate on a 2022 sports-wagering bill, Rogers won a floor amendment lowering the proposed wagering tax, arguing that Missouri's rate should be set below neighboring Kansas's.

Kansas City City Council Election Rogers was elected to the Kansas City City Council in the June 20, 2023, general election. He succeeded the term-limited Dan Fowler and took office on August 1, 2023.

Tenure Rogers serves on the council's Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee, which oversees the city budget.

Housing and building codes Rogers sponsored an ordinance to roll back portions of Kansas City's residential energy-efficiency building code, which the city had strengthened in 2023. The council passed the measure in a 7–6 vote in February 2026. Rogers framed it as a way to lower construction costs in an effort to build more affordable housing, telling the Kansas City Star editorial board that he was "as freaked out about climate change as anybody else" but had been persuaded that the stricter code was too costly for builders. The Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas City supported the rollback, while the Sierra Club, the Metropolitan Energy Center, and other groups opposed it. Mayor Quinton Lucas voted against the ordinance but did not veto it.

Economic development Rogers was among the council members who co-sponsored a 2026 ordinance authorizing negotiations toward a new downtown ballpark for the Kansas City Royals; the council approved the measure in an 11–1 vote, with Rogers in favor. He also supported the council's 2025 unanimous repeal of the Kansas–Missouri "Border War Truce" on economic-development incentives, an agreement he had backed as a state legislator.