In the race for presiding commissioner, incumbent Scott Fricker bowed out early on, and now the Aug. 4 Republican primary consists of Gena Ross and Jason Maki. The winner will face Democrat Mary McKenna in November, as well as potentially an independent candidate in Dale Brouk.
GENA ROSS
Ross, 55, is originally from Minneapolis, Minn. Single, she has three adult children. She holds a doctorate in public policy and administration and a master’s degree in public administration. Currently, she serves as director of student support for Program Success, where she oversees a $1.7 million federal grant and serves as the liaison between the college and the federal government. Throughout her career, Ross said, she has worked in public administration, leadership, program management, compliance, budgeting and community service.
“I am running for Platte County Presiding Commissioner because I believe our county deserves leadership that listens to residents, makes informed decisions, and plans responsibly for the future,” Ross said. “I want to ensure county government remains transparent, fiscally responsible, and focused on serving the people. My goal is to help preserve the qualities that make Platte County a great place to live while thoughtfully preparing for responsible growth.”
She said her qualifications are built on a combination of education, professional experience, and community involvement. I earned a doctorate in Public Policy and Administration with an emphasis on local government management, along with a Master of Public Administration. Professionally, I manage complex programs, oversee federal funding, ensure compliance with regulations, and work collaboratively with stakeholders to solve problems and achieve results. These experiences have prepared me to lead with integrity, fiscal responsibility, and accountability.
“I bring a unique combination of education, executive leadership, and practical public administration experience,” Ross said. “I believe in listening before making decisions, treating everyone with respect, and working collaboratively to solve problems. I am committed to making decisions based on facts, long-term planning, and what is in the best interest of Platte County residents – not politics.”
Platte County continues to experience significant growth, bringing both opportunities and challenges, she said. Some of the most important issues include responsible development, infrastructure improvements, public safety, transportation, fiscal responsibility, economic development, and protecting the quality of life that residents value. County leaders must carefully balance growth while preserving the character of our communities and ensuring taxpayer dollars are used wisely.
If elected, she said would approach every issue by listening to residents, reviewing the facts, consulting subject-matter experts, and making thoughtful, transparent decisions.
“I believe in long-term planning, responsible budgeting, and open communication with the public,” she said. “I will work collaboratively with fellow commissioners, county staff, municipalities, businesses, and residents to develop practical solutions that strengthen our county while protecting taxpayers and maintaining the high quality of life Platte County families expect.”
JASON MAKI
Maki, 52, is also from Minneapolis, Minn. Married, he has one 10-year-old son.
“I’ve spent my career as a senior business executive in the consulting industry – managing teams of engineers and salespeople globally and carrying budget responsibility for more than $250 million in top-line revenue,” Maki said. “Today I serve as director of strategy for a Missouri-based company. Our family also owns a public safety technology integration company, which my wife, Leah, owns and runs; I serve as her business consultant, helping guide the company as it grows.”
He said he’s spent years doing what he feels the presiding commission must be willing to do. As a member of the Missouri Sunshine Coalition and a government transparency advocate, he said he has used open-records law to make sure officials answer for what they do behind closed doors.
“That’s not a talking point for me — it’s a track record,” he said. “I’m also a small business owner, so I know what every tax dollar costs before it ever reaches the courthouse, and I know how to set a budget, hold to it, and live within it. And as a husband, father, and youth football coach, I’m rooted in this community — I’m accountable to my neighbors, not to special interests.”
Maki said he is a neighbor people can trust and a watchdog that cannot be bought, is not doing this to climb to the next office, and I doesn’t owe anything to the insiders who profit when county money gets steered their way.
“Platte County is special – it’s why my wife and I chose to raise our family here,” Maki said. “But what makes it special is under pressure. In the last seven years, Platte County voters have been asked to raise our own taxes 44 times – more than five times a year. The cost of living keeps climbing, and the politicians and insiders pushing those tax hikes were never going to stop on their own.
“I’m running because county government owes taxpayers two things and only two things: public safety and public infrastructure – plus the services that support them,” he said. “When the county loses sight of that mission and starts diverting tax dollars to private developers and pet projects, it’s the families who pay the bills who lose. I’m running to put the taxpayer first – not special interests, and not personal ambition.”
Maki said the biggest problem facing the county is affordability.
“Families here are getting squeezed by the rising cost of living, and the steady drumbeat of tax-increase requests only makes it worse,” he said. “Holding that line – while still funding the things county government actually exists to do – is the central challenge.”
Second is focus, he said. Too often, county dollars get pulled away from the core mission and steered toward private developers and priorities that were never the county’s job. Every dollar that goes to an insider deal is a dollar not spent on the deputies, prosecutors, roads, and bridges that keep the county safe and running.
Third is public safety capacity. Our deputies, first responders, and the prosecutor’s office carry heavy loads, and keeping good people – and keeping up with demand on the public-safety side of county government – is a growing pressure that won’t ease on its own.
And underneath all of it is trust. People need to be able to see what their government is doing with their money. Transparency isn’t a side issue; it’s how every one of these problems either gets fixed or gets hidden.
If elected, Maki said he would start with the mission and fund it in order. Public safety comes first: attract and retain the best deputies and officers with competitive pay, equip them, train them, and stand behind them, and fund the prosecutor’s office as their partner, so that an arrest actually leads to accountability instead of a revolving door. Then fund public infrastructure – the roads and bridges we all depend on. We keep funding priorities in that order until the budget is spent, and only then ask the honest question of what else genuinely needs funding and how we pay for it without reaching deeper into the taxpayer’s pocket.
On taxes, I’ll hold the line. I oppose new taxes and rate increases. I’ll support transparent, voter-approved renewals that fund the county’s core mission – a renewal keeps an existing tax at its existing rate, which is not the same thing as an increase, and I think voters deserve leaders who are honest about that difference. Platte County’s prior commission deserves credit for cutting the property-tax levy from six cents to one; my job is to hold it there and keep it there.
I’ll stop the diversion of county money to private developers. Tax dollars belong to the county’s mission, not to insiders.
And I’ll bring transparency to all of it. I’ve spent years using open-records law from the outside; as presiding commissioner I’d open the books from the inside, so taxpayers can see where their money goes and hold every one of us accountable – including me.