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🌾 Who runs Wichita?

🌾 Who runs Wichita?

How Wichita Actually Works

Landon Huslig
November 19, 2025

TOGETHER WITH

Good morning, Wichita!

Happy birthday to my brother Carson who turned 30 this week!

Let's get to it!

- Landon Huslig

Together with Meritrust Credit Union

Even in 2025, fraud is still one of the biggest threats to your money and peace of mind.

From your mortgage to how you get your kids to soccer practice, your finances touch every part of daily life.

That’s why Meritrust Credit Union takes fraud protection so seriously, especially around the holidays when scammers are on the prowl.

Meritrust offers educational resources to help you spot red flags, protect your accounts, and stay ahead of fraudsters.

Learn more about how Meritrust is working to keep members safe from fraud in their in-depth article here.

Strong Mayor vs. Strong Manager

I will be honest. I don’t think I had ever heard the term “strong mayor” or “strong manager” until earlier this year.

I avoid politics or taking political sides (which I’ll continue to avoid), but I do think it is muy importante to understand how our local government works and I have been very lax in that department.

So I invite you along on my journey to learn more and understand the structure of the City of Wichita.

Local governments can be grouped into at least two main setups:

Strong Mayor vs Strong City Manager

There may be other variations, but these are the two you hear about the most.

Before we dig into what those actually mean, let’s start with a quick refresher on how Wichita’s local government works.

Wichita’s Government

City Council

Wichita is divided into six districts.

Each district has an elected representative and only residents of that district can vote for that seat.

The Mayor is the seventh seat on the Council. This is often called the at large position. Anyone who lives within the city limits across all six districts can vote for the Mayor.

According to the city website:

The mission of the City Council is to provide policy direction for the City of Wichita in developing, implementing, and maintaining services to the citizens of Wichita.

The Council establishes policy by enacting ordinances, laws, and policies, adopting the budget, levying taxes, and appointing members to advisory boards and commissions. The seven member Council is elected to four year terms on a nonpartisan basis with staggered terms. The Mayor and City Council Members can each serve two consecutive four year terms.

The Mayor’s position is full time and Council Members serve part time. Salaries and election years vary.

A little outdated, but it helps to visualize

City Manager

Another key role in Wichita’s government is the City Manager. This person reports directly to the City Council and oversees the day to day operations of the city including more than three thousand employees (see the visual above)

The current City Manager is Robert Layton who has served since 2009 and plans to retire at the end of 2025.

Everyone thank Bob for his service

Unlike the Mayor or Council Members, the City Manager is not elected and does not have a set term limit. City Managers serve as long as the Council chooses to keep them.

Here are a handful of Wichita’s recent City Managers before Robert Layton:

L. Scott Moore (July 2008 to February 2009)
Dr. H. Ed Flentje (January 2008 to July 2008)
George Kolb (May 2004 to January 2008)
Cathy Holdeman (2004)
Chris Cherches (1985 to 2003)

You can see the previous City Managers here with their term lengths, who they served, and any other relevant details.

What the City Manager Actually Does

Think of the City Manager as the chief executive of Wichita.

The Council and Mayor create the vision and the policies.

The City Manager turns those policies into action, manages staff, oversees departments, and ensures the city actually runs.

So that brings us to the main point of today’s email, what is a strong mayor vs strong city manager?

Strong Mayor vs Strong City Manager

Wichita currently uses a Strong City Manager system.

In this setup:

The Mayor serves as a member of the Council and is the public face and spokesperson for the city.
The Mayor does not have executive authority over city operations. The Mayor cannot hire staff, fire staff, veto decisions, or directly run departments.
The City Manager handles those responsibilities and reports to the entire Council.

The alternative is a Strong Mayor system.

In that model, the Mayor functions as the city’s chief executive and directly oversees staff, the budget, departments, and operations in a way that is more similar to how a governor or the president oversees their administration.

Pros and Cons of Each Model

So now that we have covered how Wichita is set up today, let’s talk about why the strong mayor and strong manager debate even matters.

Both systems can work. Both have flaws. And both create very different types of leadership.

Here is what that looks like through a Wichita lens.

Strong Mayor Model

Pros

Clear accountability. Voters know exactly who is in charge of city operations and who to praise or blame.
Faster decision making. A strong mayor can act quickly on budgets, policies, and department changes.
More visible leadership. The mayor becomes the central figure driving the vision for the city.

Cons

More political risk. Leadership changes every election cycle which can bring big swings in priorities.
Less professional continuity. Department heads and city staff may turn over more often.
A lot of power sits with one person which can create tension if the city council disagrees.

Where it works well

Large cities that need fast action and a strong single voice. Think of places like Chicago, Kansas City Missouri, Los Angeles, or New York.

Strong City Manager Model

This is the system Wichita currently uses.

Pros

Professional stability. City Managers are hired for expertise rather than political popularity.
Longer term planning. Managers can focus on multi year projects without worrying about election cycles.
Power is shared. No single person has total control and the council as a whole oversees the manager.

Cons

Less visible leadership. Many residents do not know who the City Manager is or what the role does.
Slower process. Decisions require council consensus and a lot of administrative coordination.
Accountability can feel fuzzy. If something goes wrong it is harder to know who exactly is responsible.

Where it works well

Cities that value steady progress, predictability, and long term planning. Wichita has historically been in this group.

So Why Are We Talking About This Now?

Because the current City Manager, Bob Layton, is retiring at the end of the year and Wichita is now in the midst of a search for his successor.

Three Finalists

Mark Freitag from Westminster, Colorado
Dennis Marstall from Lancaster County, South Carolina
Donte Martin from Wichita (has been Assistant City Manager since 2017)

You can learn more about each of them here.

There is an opportunity for residents to get their voices heard as this transition will help shape how our city government operates going forward.

How This Connects to the Current Search

This is why Bob Layton’s retirement lands at such an important moment.

When your city uses a strong manager system, choosing the next manager is one of the biggest decisions the council will make.

Wichita is now down to three finalists. Each comes with a different background and a different style of leadership. Residents will have chances to attend public meetings, submit feedback, and learn more about the candidates.

This is also a moment to ask bigger questions.

Do we want Wichita to become more like a strong mayor city with more centralized authority and quicker action?

Or do we believe the strong manager model still fits who we are as a community?

A lot of people never think about this type of structure but it shapes everything from how quickly roads get fixed to how we approach housing policy to how we invest in neighborhoods.

The decision in front of us is not only who will run city operations. It also reflects how Wichita chooses to lead, how we choose to grow, and what kind of city we want to become.

Learn More

A public forum was held last night at Botanica to learn more, but stay tuned for more opportunities to learn more about the candidates.

The goal is to announce the new city manager before the end of the year since Bob Layton’s last day is 12/31.

Local Podcast on the Topic

A friend of mine and someone I highly respect, Evan Rosell, and team from Sevenfold just released a brand new podcast where each season they will focus on a “big question” in Kansas by learning more about the topic and asking experts questions.

Episode 1 of this 4 episode season is asking the question across Kansas “Strong Mayor vs Strong City Manager” and diving in much deeper than I have into the topic.

Find it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Youtube.

Let us know what you think! Did you learn anything?