Third candidate in PV Ward 4 race cites desire to serve, not challenge to incumbent, as motivation for run

Tim Pickell, the third candidate to file in Prairie Village’s Ward 4 City Council race, says a deep desire to serve the public — and not opposition to the performance of the man who currently holds the seat – is fueling his campaign.

“[Incumbent] Dale Beckerman is a man of integrity,” Pickell said. “What my run is about is my feeling I have something to offer and an urge to get into public service. I’m pushing 60 years old, and I figure, if not now, when?”

Pickell, an attorney who specializes in personal injury and workers compensation cases out of his Westwood office, ran for the Republican nomination for Kansas Governor in 2006, finishing fourth in a field of seven. Prior to his political run, he’d been involved in a number of civic activities, including the SM East Advisory Board.

Pickell said he works to be a consensus builder, and is very concerned with how the city is involved with the development of the Mission Valley site.

“It strikes me that the kind of the development they’re talking about there isn’t a good fit for the area,” he said. “The only reason to have something like that is to expand the city’s tax base, and I don’t think we need to expand the city’s tax base.”

Pickell will appear on a primary ballot alongside Beckerman and fellow challenger Brooke Morehead Feb. 28.