Jackson County set to have first Black female prosecutor ahead of November election

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Jackson County Prosecutor’s race is already a historic one as both the Republican and Democratic candidates are Black women.

In Jackson County, a Black female has never held that title, meaning the county is guaranteed to have its first regardless of who wins in November.

Melesa Johnson (D) won the Aug. 6 primary in a landslide with nearly 50% of the vote. She is taking on Tracey Chappell, a Republican who ran unopposed in the primary.

FOX4 interviewed Johnson on Tuesday at her watch party in Kansas City; she was unavailable for a follow-up interview on Wednesday. However, she hinted at what winning this historic race would mean.

“I want to get us back all on the same page because there’s a misnomer that people in high crime neighborhoods don’t want law enforcement, they don’t want safe communities. As a current resident of a neighborhood heavily impacted by crime, that could not be farther from the truth,” Johnson said.

FOX4 posed the same question to Chappell on Wednesday.

“Being the first African American prosecutor, what it means is no different than anyone else. I’m going to have to go to work,” Chappell said.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, who endorsed Johnson and attended her watch party, spoke with FOX4 about the reality that Jackson County will have its first Black female prosecutor. “What I think this means is that we finally arrived. We’ve finally arrived at a time when it’s important for us to say everyone is truly welcome. You’re not just welcome through the back door, you’re welcome with your name on the door of the office,” Mayor Lucas said.

Both Johnson (D) and Chappell (R) have similar goals if they win in November. They want to address violent crime by connecting with individual police departments and neighborhoods, ultimately re-building the trust between each entity.

“There’s no other way around it,” Chappell said. “If you’re a prosecutor, you have to have a connection with neighborhoods and police departments. They need to know that the prosecutor has their back.”

The two candidates explained that unlike current Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker, they want to be more vigilant about prosecuting property crimes like car thefts, which plagues Kansas City in particular as data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau shows Kansas City ranked 10th out of all U.S. cities in for car thefts in 2022.

When it comes to leaving a lasting impression, both Johnson and Chappell have ideas on what they want to create within the prosecutor’s office. For Johnson, that’s establishing a new property crimes division that’s staffed with law students. “[That way] our licensed attorneys can focus on the more egregious offenses. We must get creative, and I’m willing and ready to try new things with race, equity, crime reduction, fairness, equality and reducing excessive force at the center of it.”

But for Chappell, it’s better addressing the case files she receives. “The first thing I will be doing is prosecuting crime. That has not been happening in an efficient and swift manner. As a matter of fact, cases that have been coming into the prosecutor’s office are taking up to two to three years to be tried. At that time, you’re losing witnesses. Under my leadership, when those cases come into the office, we are going to have what we call preliminary hearings. Those will be held within 15 days of that case coming before me so that we know upfront if we’re going to have witness participation.”

Abortion is illegal in Missouri except in medical emergencies. When it comes to prosecuting those cases, Johnson has previously said she would not file cases against abortion providers. Chappell, on the other hand, said she took an oath to follow the law and that she won’t try cases solely based on a person’s moral compass.

When it comes to experience, Chappell believes she has the upper hand with 24 years under her belt. “I have been the only candidate throughout this whole tenure who’s been the head prosecutor of any jurisdiction. I was the head prosecutor in the city of Blue Springs.”

Johnson, who works as Mayor Quinton Lucas’ Director of Public Safety, pushed back on those who questioned her resume while giving her victory speech Tuesday night.

“In the face of naysayers, in the face of repeated criticism of my qualifications, very similar to Madame Vice President Kamala Harris, in the face of people trying to find reasons why not, thank you for being my why.”

The general election is less than three months away with polls opening on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

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