Johnson County officials are threatening legal action against a Prairie Village man, saying he reneged on a credit card payment used to secure a hand recount of a much-discussed ballot question to “abandon” city government last November.
In a Jan. 8 letter obtained by the Post, Peggy Trent, the county’s chief counsel, told John Cantrell, the Prairie Village resident who requested the recount, that he must repay the county $4,828.46 for the cost of the recount by February 6.
If he doesn’t pay by then, Trent warned the county “may pursue any or all legal remedies available.”
In the letter, Trent said that after the recount was completed in November, Cantrell reversed his credit card authorization to pay for the recount “without any legal basis to do so.”
Cantrell had not responded to the Post’s request for comment at the time of publication.
Read the county’s letter below. (The Post redacted Cantrell’s personal information.)
Loading...
Reload document 
Open in new tab Recount yielded exact same result as on election night
A person who requests a recount is required by Kansas state law to post a bond to ensure the expenses for conducting the recount are paid for.
The recount payment question was also the apparent topic of an executive session at the Board of County Commissioners meeting on Thursday.
Upon returning from the closed-door meeting, commissioners unanimously voted to authorize a civil lawsuit to pursue the payment.
The recount concerned a special ballot question supported by the resident group PV United, which Prairie Village voters whether the city should “abandon” its current mayor-council form of government.
On Nov. 4, 2025, a 65% majority of residents voted against making that change.
The recount, which was done Nov. 15 to 19 by hand by election workers who are not county employees, upheld that result, with vote totals coming out exactly the same.
What Kansas law says about payment
Under Kansas law, a registered voter who cast a ballot in the election can request a recount in writing by 5 p.m. the day after the last meeting of county election canvassers.
The person requesting it must put up a bond for the estimated costs of the recount. If the election results are overturned, no money is collected from the bond, and the county pays for the recount.
But if the results are upheld, then the county calculates the exact expense and takes it out of the bond amount.
In the case of the “abandon” recount, Cantrell posted a bond of $5,800. The real cost of the recount turned out to be $4,828.46, with the remainder to be refunded to Cantrell.
Because it’s a legal matter, county officials said they would not comment on whether Cantrell’s credit card payment actually went through or whether the refund was given.
Trent’s letter said that the county canceled the $971 refund check it had written to Cantrell upon finding the reversal of the credit card payment.
Prairie Village City Administrator Wes Jordan said city officials had not been contacted by the county about the reimbursement question.
Where the “abandon” question came from
The push to change Prairie Village’s style of government was over three years in the making and stemmed from a contentious debate over zoning and city housing codes.
As some city officials in 2022 began to look at attainable housing and density, opposition arose from residents, most notably led by PV United, who did not want Prairie Village to allow accessory dwelling units in single-family districts.
What ensued were heated council meetings and, sometimes, personal attacks. Residents tried nine times to recall Mayor Eric Mikkelson, and some other residents signed various petitions attempting to stop zoning changes.
Juliana Garcia and Kyle Palmer contributed to this story.
