OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — The father of a slain Overland Park police officer filed Wednesday afternoon to run for a seat on that community’s city council.
Scott Mosher, 66, is the father of Mike Mosher, who was killed in the line of duty in a gunfire exchange with a hit-and-run suspect last May.
Scott was accompanied by his granddaughter Tyler to file his paper work with the Johnson County Election Office.
Tyler, Mike's daughter, wore a shirt reading "BELIKEMIKE" to the filing with her grandfather.
Prior to his death, Mike Mosher, as the Fraternal Order of Police president, was involved in an unsuccessful effort to keep pay raises and get hazard pay for all first responders, including police officers, during the pandemic.
Scott Mosher said his motivation to run for office is that council members didn’t listen to his son and they should have.
“The council doesn’t listen to a lot,” he said. "I'd like to bring the public to the council. I really do believe we're there to support the people that elected us, and I will bring to the table a listening ear."
Mosher is seeking the Fourth Ward council seat currently held by Stacie Gram.
Gram was appointed to that seat last May after then-Councilwoman Gina Burke resigned her seat to move out of Overland Park for family reasons.
"Stacie Gram is a very good person," Scott Mosher said. "I've met her, I've talked with her, she's concerned about the city and I understand that. But I think the part that we're missing is that open link between the public and the council. And that's something that I think I can bring to the table. I think Stacie Gram is a great person. I just think we can do a little better."
Scott Mosher currently works as a firearms instructor.
Prior to that time, he worked for 27 years at McDonald’s Corporation as a self-described, mid-level manager, which included managing area McDonald’s restaurants.
He has lived in Overland Park since 1989.
Scott Mosher also worked for 13-and-a-half years as a reserve police officer in Nevada.
He said he was especially motivated to run for the Fourth Ward seat because he believes the council has failed to adequately take care of first responders during the pandemic.
“And by not taking care of them like other cities had, it just basically kicked me over the edge because of the way the council is just not listening to the people out there," Scott Mosher said.
He also expressed reservations about the council’s practice of offering a wide variety of tax incentives for businesses. A better use of incentives, for example, would be to give them to refurbish unused office space currently sitting empty, according to Scott Mosher.
"I do believe that if we make it great place to live, and it's safe and people can feel free to walk the streets at any time of the day or night, I think businesses will want to move here," he said. "They should pay us to come to Overland Park."
Mosher already has been endorsed by Overland Park City Councilman Faris Farassati, who's running for mayor this year.
"I welcome the efforts of Mr. Scott Mosher in bringing much needed change to the status quo in the Overland Park government," Farassati said in a statement. "Carrying the banner of Mike's sacrifice, this family continues to serve Overland Park in honor towards a better future."
Gram was in a trial all day Wednesday.
Responding to Mosher's decision to seek the Fourth Ward seat, Gram said she's "delighted so many people want to represent our ward."
Gram went through an appointment process last year when many other residents applied for the Fourth Ward seat.
"Listening to the public is one of the main commitments I made," she said.
Since being appointed to the seat last May, Gram said she's responded to numerous emails, phone calls and met with many constituents in person.
