Government & Politics Will John Perkins be pulled from Independence City Council? Voters decide next week By Ilana Arougheti August 26, 2026 4:41 PM Independence City Councilmember John Perkins has represented the city’s First District since 2016. City of Independence After 18 years nonconsecutively serving on the Independence City Council — including a decade representing the First District — longtime councilmember John Perkins could lose his seat on the dais next week. Over the past several months, a group of First District residents have rallied to initiate a recall election that could lead to Perkins’ immediate removal from office. All district residents will be eligible to vote in the special election on Tuesday, Sept. 1. Residents used the city’s referendum process to initiate the special election, collecting more than 1,200 certified signatures to put Perkins’ removal on the ballot. Perkins, along with a trio of residents, unsuccessfully sued in July in an attempt to stop the recall vote. Recall supporters have largely cited Perkins’ vote in favor of massive tax breaks for a hyperscale artificial intelligence data center currently under construction in northeastern Independence. They’ve also alleged poor transparency and communication with residents and have criticized the councilmember’s prior support of several failed development projects. Absentee voting in the recall began July 21. First District residents can vote in the recall election on Sept. 1 from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. at either the Maywood Baptist Church, the Roger T. Sermon Community Center or the North Independence Library. Polling locations are divided by the location of residents’ homes. Those looking to vote in the recall can check their poll place and precinct on the Jackson County Election Board website . Perkins declined to be interviewed by The Star ahead of next week’s recall election. However, he shared a written statement with The Star saying he “is not done fulfilling [his] duty” to First District residents. “The recall itself is frustrating, but I always welcome the opportunity to go in front of the voters to ask for their confidence in me,” Perkins wrote. From the meat counter to the dais Perkins, an Independence lifer, graduated from William Chrisman High School and the University of Central Missouri and now lives with his family in northern Independence. Outside his council duties, he has worked at the meat counter of a Price Chopper franchise in Independence for 24 years. He currently sits on both the Independence Audit and Finance Committee and the Independence Convention and Visitors Bureau. Perkins was first elected to the council in 1996 as a representative of the Second District. He served in that role for eight years, then ran again for the First District seat in 2016. He was most recently re-elected to that seat in 2024. The recall effort was largely organized by the Independence Action Committee, one of several local political action groups that formed this spring in response to the arrival of a $150 billion, 400-acre data center from Dutch AI services company Nebius. At a packed and emotional March 2 meeting, Perkins was one of five council members to vote in favor of $6.2 billion in tax breaks for the site, including 98% real property tax breaks and 90% breaks on personal property. A representative for Nebius previously said the company would likely have pulled out of Independence entirely if the sizable financial incentives had not passed. Residents have since voted out two of the other councilmembers who voted in favor of the tax breaks. At an April 7 municipal election, voters opted not to re-elect Jared Fears and Bridget McCandless, also denying McCandless’ mayoral bid in favor of political newcomer Kevin King. Independence Action Committee treasurer McKenna Cobb previously said residents were frustrated by Perkins’ decision not to hold any town hall meetings ahead of the vote, or to otherwise host any public-facing events giving his constituents information about the massive project. The IAC has also highlighted Perkins’ previous support of the Englewood Overlay and Rockwood Solar Farm projects in Independence, the latter of which ended in a federal investigation. ““This recall was never just about the data center approval,” Cobb said Wednesday. “It is about the state of our neighborhoods, lack of repairs for our bridges and infrastructure, and citizens feeling unheard over and over.” Committee members have further criticized a previous instance in which Perkins voted against pursuing a state-level audit of city finances and operations. If Perkins is recalled Tuesday, it would be the first successful recall of a city official in Independence history. Supporters highlight funding efforts Perkins and his supporters, however, want voters to know the councilmember’s career has encompassed more than just the data center debacle. In his statement to The Star, Perkins highlighted his work with Independence Power & Light to lower residents’ electricity rates, along with his involvement in creating a special crime unit for the Independence Police Department. Perkins was also involved in securing funding for body cameras for IPD, he wrote, and in securing settlement funding for opioid use abatement efforts in the district. “What I consider my best accomplishment yet is the rebuilding of Western Independence,” Perkins wrote. “Since 2016, I have helped secure over 50 million dollars in capital investment for our area. That vision for the district is still growing and more improvements are on the way.” Others have said Perkins’ work supporting business growth and historic preservation in the First District, particularly in the Englewood Arts district, should earn him the right to keep his seat. Torrance Kelley, the president of the Englewood Business Association, previously criticized recall supporters for seeking to “punish members of the council for making a difficult decision” without considering Perkins’ full resume. However, some residents outside the Arts District have said they have long seen Perkins as an absent figure, sometimes struggling to catch his ear when it came to necessary neighborhood improvement projects and blight outside of the arts district. “The people have been left behind and the people haven’t been listened to,” First District resident Joanie Flanagan previously said. “I mean, people had complaints the length of my arm that they had called the city about, tried to get addressed and couldn’t get addressed in these neighborhoods.” Meanwhile, some residents have also criticized the cost of the special recall election. The Independence City Council previously estimated that the special election will cost $164,400; if Perkins loses, the city will also need to fund a primary and a general election to replace him, at a total cumulative cost of about $500,000. “They want a ‘do-over.’ Taxpayers are the ones paying for it,” Perkins wrote. “That’s money that could have been used to tear down blighted houses, remove abandoned cars and improve playgrounds in our district.” From petition to lawsuit to election In order to drum up support for the recall, First District residents worked together to hold daily petition drives throughout the month of May. A core group of about 20 organizers canvassed outside local businesses, around community events and on street corners, advertising the recall with homemade signs and blinged-out hats. The group initially came up about 100 signatures short but were able to clear the recall threshold during a 10-day extension period granted under the Independence city charter. On July 2, three supporters filed a lawsuit against the city of Independence and the Jackson County Election Board, seeking to stop the planned recall vote in its tracks. Perkins joined the lawsuit as a plaintiff on July 20. Attorneys for Perkins argued that petition organizers’ issues with the councilmember, including his vote on data center funding, was not a strong enough legal basis to seek his recall. They also tried to challenge the signature thresholds used to get the recall on the ballot. But a Jackson County judge disagreed, ruling earlier this month the recall should go on as scheduled. Attorneys for the city and the election board successfully argued that the recall was organized in line with the city charter, and the court system would be interfering with a correctly functioning democratic process by stopping the election. Those involved in spearheading the recall effort have said the data center vote and its fallout, including the upcoming special election, represent a shift away from resident apathy toward local government and civic participation. Neighbors who never paid much attention to local politics before have organized committees, packed public meetings and connected with their neighbors over attempts to stop the data center in its tracks, Cobb previously said. Organizer Elisa Breitenbach previously told The Star the First District has historically been “a dead zone” when it comes to participation in local elections or political initiatives. “This recall effort has demonstrated that residents are paying attention and want to be heard,” Cobb previously said. “No matter the outcome, we are proud of the community members who stepped up, got involved and exercised their democratic rights.” Councilmembers react In the weeks leading up to the recall vote, Perkins, too, adopted a boots-on-the-ground approach as he fought to keep his seat. The longtime councilmember spent time canvassing the First District throughout August, knocking on doors and speaking with residents alongside newly elected councilmember Cody Atkinson. Atkinson told The Star he feels the district “is very clearly in a better spot today than it was when John was elected.” “The man has brought in over $50 million worth of investment there,” Atkinson told The Star. “...It’s very well known that John cares deeply about the people that he represents and wants to do right by them.” Fourth District Councilmember Jennie Vaught told The Star she has seen Perkins as a resource throughout her time on the city council, describing him as “one of the hardest working councilmembers [she] know[s].” “John and I don’t agree on every issue, but I respect him,” Vaught told The Star. “He cares deeply about Independence. I consider him a valued colleague and appreciate his many years of service to our city.” The Star also reached out to Independence Mayor Kevin King and councilmembers Jackie Dorman, Brice Stewart and Heather Wiley. All four declined to comment on the upcoming recall election. 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