Dentist files to run for city council seat

Topeka dentist Hannah Naeger on Friday became the second candidate to file to run for west-central Topeka's District 6 seat in this year's Topeka City Council elections.

Naeger, 29, of 3126 S.W. Canterbury Lane, paid the $20 local filing fee to run for the seat held since 2015 by Councilman Brendan Jensen, who hasn’t said if he'll seek re-election. Veteran business professional Clark Trammell filed Feb. 28 to run for that seat.

Naeger said Monday that she feels invested in this community, is excited to see the progress it's making and thinks it can continue to grow "if we work diligently."

This is the first run for elected office by Naeger, who was a member of the Leadership Greater Topeka Class of 2018 and has served one year on the board of the Topeka Performing Arts Center.

Naeger is a Topeka native who has practiced general dentistry since 2017 at Shunga Family Dental Care.

She graduated in 2008 from Topeka High School and earned a bachelor's degree with honors in chemistry in 2012 from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn., then a doctorate of dental surgery in 2017 from the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry in Oklahoma City.

Seats are up for a vote this year in city council districts 2, 4, 6 and 8. The deadline to file to run for those will be at noon June 3.

Those who become candidates must pay a $20 local filing file and a $50 state registration fee, though they may avoid paying the $20 fee by instead filing for nomination by petition, said assistant Shawnee County election commissioner Mark Stock.

An Aug. 6 primary election will be held to narrow the field of candidates to two in any district in which at least four people have filed to run, Stock said. If three people or fewer file, all will be on the general election ballot, he said. The general election will be Nov. 5.

The mayor’s office and seats in council districts 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 will next come up for election in 2021.