Lily Wu
Lily Wu is the Mayor of Wichita in Kansas. She assumed office on January 8, 2024. Her current term ends on January 10, 2028.
Although mayoral elections in Wichita are nonpartisan, Wu is a registered Libertarian. Wu, a first-time candidate, defeated incumbent Democratic Mayor Brandon Whipple, winning 58.5% of the vote.[1] In 2022, she switched her party registration from Republican to Libertarian.[2] Wu said being a Libertarian means "believing in personal freedom. I believe in empowering the individual and limited government."[3]
At the time Wu won office, there were no Libertarian Party-affiliated mayors in the country's top 100 largest cities.
Wu said Wichita voters elected her because they "want a solution to our police staffing crisis, fiscal accountability, and a local government correctly focused on its appropriate and limited role in their daily lives. Last night was a mandate for change and I look forward to working with the City Council to deliver these results for the people of Wichita."[4]
Wu was born in Guatemala, and immigrated with her family to Kansas when she was eight.[5] Wu worked as a reporter and news anchor for two Wichita-area television stations for 12 years and also served as a board member for three Wichita-area nonprofit organizations.[6]
Wichita has a mayor-council government, meaning the mayor shares power with the city council. The Wichita Eagle's Chance Swaim and Kylie Cameron wrote "She has used her position as mayor to ask pointed questions and draw attention to a variety of issues she views as government waste — from cost overruns and expensive artwork at the new water treatment plant to restrooms for downtown parks that cost more than $250,000 each to build." During her tenure in office, Wu and the council voted to increase salaries for police officers. Additionally, she supported plans to reduce spending and lower property taxes, which the city council ultimately voted against.[7]
Biography
Lilly Wu was born in Antigua, Guatemala, in 1984.[8] She earned a bachelor's degree in marketing communications and international business from Wichita State University and a master's degree in journalism from the University of Hong Kong.[9] Her professional experience includes working as a reporter and news anchor for KAKE-TV and KWCH 12 broadcast television stations in Wichita.[9] Wu has also served as a board and steering committee member for the Wichita Asian Association, the Wichita State University Alumni Association, Diversity Kansas, Orpheum Theatres, and Visioneering Wichita.[9]
Elections
2023
See also: Mayoral election in Wichita, Kansas (2023)
General election
General election for Mayor of Wichita
Lily Wu defeated incumbent Brandon Whipple in the general election for Mayor of Wichita on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Lily Wu (Nonpartisan) | 57.6 | 37,004 |
 | Brandon Whipple (Nonpartisan) | 41.8 | 26,841 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.6 | 415 | ||
| Total votes: 64,260 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Mayor of Wichita
The following candidates ran in the primary for Mayor of Wichita on August 1, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Lily Wu (Nonpartisan) | 30.0 | 12,217 |
| ✔ | | Brandon Whipple (Nonpartisan) | 24.0 | 9,775 |
 | Bryan Frye (Nonpartisan) | 22.3 | 9,070 | |
 | Celeste Racette (Nonpartisan) | 16.8 | 6,831 | |
 | Jared Cerullo (Nonpartisan) | 4.6 | 1,870 | |
 | Shelia Davis (Nonpartisan) | 0.6 | 254 | |
 | Julie Rose Stroud (Nonpartisan) | 0.6 | 246 | |
 | Tom Kane (Nonpartisan) | 0.5 | 220 | |
 | Anthony Gallardo (Nonpartisan) | 0.4 | 182 | |
| Total votes: 40,665 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
Wu received the following endorsements.
Campaign themes
2023
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Lily Wu did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.
See also
2023 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Mayor of Wichita |
Officeholder Mayor of Wichita |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ KCUR, "Lily Wu to become first Asian American mayor of Wichita, defeats current mayor," November 7, 2023
- ↑ AOL, "Wu says Wichitans want a leader they can be proud of. She’s ready to ‘get back to the basics’," October 29, 2023
- ↑ Reason, "Is Wichita Mayor-Elect Lily Wu a Libertarian?<" November 10, 2023
- ↑ Newsweek, "Libertarian Party Scores Biggest Ever Election Win," November 8, 2023
- ↑ Yahoo! Sports, "Political newcomer Lily Wu becomes 1st Asian American mayor of Wichita, Kansas," November 8, 2023
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Lily Wu, Candidate, Mayor of Wichita," accessed July 5, 2023
- ↑ The Wichita Eagle, "Wins & losses: How has Lily Wu fared in her first year as Wichita mayor?" January 25, 2025
- ↑ The Wichita Eagle, "Wu says Wichitans want a leader they can be proud of. She’s ready to ‘get back to the basics’," October 29, 2023
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 LinkedIn, "Lily Wu, Candidate, Mayor of Wichita," accessed July 5, 2023
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Brandon Whipple |
Mayor of Wichita 2024-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| |||||||||
