KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Lenexa will have a new mayor by the end of the year after Michael Boehm, the longest-serving mayor in the city's history, announced Tuesday that he will not seek reelection.
Boehm was appointed as the Lenexa's mayor in January 2003. He went on to win five more elections but will not seek a sixth term in November.
“It has been an honor to serve Lenexa as Mayor for the past two decades and I believe that now is the right time to step aside,” Boehm said in a statement from the city of Lenexa.
During Boehm’s tenure, Lenexa has grown by an estimated 50%, surpassing 50,000 residents and approaching 60,000, to become the eighth-largest city in Kansas.
Boehm, a lifelong Lenexa resident, initially was appointed mayor when Jean Bowman was forced to step down from the post due to health concerns. The Lenexa City Council retained him for the remainder of her term before he sought election in April 2003.
Boehm, who served on the Lenexa Planning Commission and city council prior to becoming mayor, will remain Lenexa’s mayor until his successor is sworn in next December.
He also works as a senior vice president at Commerce Bank.
During Boehm’s mayoral tenure, the city built a new city hall, rec center and public market; expanded City Center, including a new civic center; adopted body-worn cameras for police in 2009; opened a new fire station; improved the city’s financial rating; upgraded Lenexa’s parks and roads; and broke ground on a new justice center among other accomplishments.
He called those accomplishments “a team effort — not the work of any one individual. Through our visioning processes, residents shared their aspirations for Lenexa. I am proud to have worked alongside other elected officials and professional staff to have helped make that vision a reality.”
Boehm expressed confidence in Lenexa’s future moving forward.
“We are indebted to Mayor Boehm for his amazing contributions to Lenexa,” Lenexa City Manager Beccy Yocham said in a statement. “He is a visionary leader who inspires the best in the people and our community has grown immensely under his leadership.”
