Alan Reichert thinks his 40 years of experience as a financial analyst for Spirit AeroSystems and Boeing make him uniquely prepared to tackle complicated budget problems.
He says Boeing’s reacquisition of Spirit is a good thing, but he has his sights set on a new position — Sedgwick County commissioner. If elected, Reichert plans to give up his private sector job.
He’s one of three Republicans vying for the District 3 nomination in this year’s primary along with former Wichita City Council member Greg Ferris and real estate broker Stephanie Wise . The primary winner will face the winner of the Democratic primary between trauma advocate AlmaAnn Jones and former fraud investigator Celeste Racette .
Former City Council member, real estate broker seek seat on Sedgwick County Commission
“We may have some deficit spending going on this year but next year we’ll be working our way out of it,” Reichert, 68, said of the county’s 2025 proposed budget, which calls for cuts to cultural arts and recreation funding, including for the Sedgwick County Zoo and Exploration Place.
As the governing body for Sedgwick County, commissioners are responsible for setting policy direction and approving a budget for vital services such as EMS, 911, Comcare, corrections and the sheriff’s office. They also oversee Fire District 1 and serve as the board of health, the board of canvassers of elections, and the hearing panel on tax appeals. Commissioners’ base salary is $101,527 a year.
District 3 is the largest County Commission district in size with more rural land than most. It includes much of west Wichita, as well as Goddard, Colwich, Bentley, Mount Hope, Andale, Garden Plain, Viola and Cheney.
Reichert, who spent four years in the Army and earned his degree from Wichita State while working as a hired hand on a grain and livestock farm, has lived with his wife, Robyn, in the Cheney area for 45 years.
“I’ve got a pretty good perspective of what kind of services we’re getting out there but I’ve also visited with all the city councils in my district, and the impression I’m getting is we’re kind of the stepchildren out there,” Reichert said. “By that, I mean, maybe we need some of that economic development effort and money to help the smaller towns so they can not just be bedroom communities but have a revenue base for taxation within their areas.”
Reichert said the county also has a responsibility to continue collaborating with Wichita and other cities to alleviate homelessness.
“The county’s already spending a fair amount of money with Comcare, ICT-1 and Housing First,” Reichert said. “It’s not like we don’t have any skin in the game.”
In recent years, he and his wife have taken a direct approach to helping vulnerable people on Wichita’s south Broadway corridor. It started when they went looking for an extended family member and found “this oasis of people who were in desperate need of just the basic things — water and food,” Reichert said.
They started a weekly practice of buying and handing out bottles of water, crackers, canned foods and fruit to anyone who needs them. They listen to people’s stories. If someone says they were just released from prison, they celebrate with them.
“We try to treat them like human beings because prior to getting involved with this, I’d see these folks and I would just drive by,” Reichert said. “I didn’t really want to make eye contact or anything, but the realization came to us that if they’re going to be assimilated back into society, they’ve got to be treated like human beings . . . When you see that need, you can never turn away and not do something after that.”
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