Lily Wu
Lily Wu | |
|---|---|
| 103rd Mayor of Wichita | |
| Assumed office January 8, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Brandon Whipple |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1984 (age 40–41) |
| Party | Libertarian (2022–present) |
| Other political affiliations | Republican (before 2022) |
| Education | Wichita State University (BA) University of Hong Kong (MA) |
Lily Wu (born 1984) is an American politician and former television news anchor, serving as the 103rd mayor of Wichita, Kansas, since 2024. A member of the Libertarian Party, she is the first Asian American mayor in Kansas[1] and the only Libertarian mayor of one of the 100 largest cities in the United States.[2][3][4]
Early life and education
Wu was born in Antigua, Guatemala, in 1984 to Chinese immigrant parents. The family moved to Wichita in the United States in 1993. Wu graduated from the International Baccalaureate program at Wichita East High School, earned her bachelor's degree in international business and integrated marketing communication from Wichita State University, and a master's degree in journalism from the University of Hong Kong.[5]
Career
News career
Wu joined the news department at KAKE in Wichita as a reporter in 2010. She hosted their morning show from August 2014 to September 2016.[6] She left KAKE in December 2019,[7] and joined KWCH-DT as an anchor and reporter in June 2020.[6] She resigned her position in March 2023 in order to run for mayor.[8]
Political career
Wu attended the Charles Koch Institute and completed a one-year associate program. She was previously a member of the Republican Party but later switched her voter registration to the Libertarian Party in 2022.[5]
Mayor of Wichita
In April 2023, Wu announced her candidacy in the 2023 non-partisan election for mayor of Wichita.[9] She was endorsed by the Koch brothers' organization Americans for Prosperity (AFP), the Wichita Regional Chamber PAC,[10] the Wichita Fraternal Order of Police, and former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.[5][11] Wu raised $440,000, a record amount and number of contributors, and AFP spent an additional $192,000 on her behalf.[11]
Wu finished the primary election in first place and advanced to a runoff election with incumbent mayor Brandon Whipple.[12] She defeated Whipple in the general election, 58% to 42%[13] making her the first Asian American mayor of Wichita, Kansas.[14] Newsweek called her win the Libertarian Party's "Biggest Ever Election Win",[15] though the state affiliate Libertarian Party of Kansas released a statement saying she is a, "registered libertarian, but not a recognized candidate."[2][3][16]
Tenure
Wu was sworn into office on January 8, 2024, in a ceremony at Wichita City Hall.[17] In her first year, in addition to increasing salaries and equipment for police, many of Wu's efforts were aimed at increased transparency, such as spending Mondays with local news to better inform the public, instituting rules for reporting gifts, more clarity on council member travel, and adding opportunities for the public to attend and speak at city council meetings. However, several of her plans were stopped by the city council.[18][19]
On March 18, 2025, Wu did not read or sign a proclamation passed by the city council which would recognize Transgender Day of Visibility citywide. Despite municipal code requiring the mayor to do so, Wu refused to sign and had a councilmember read the proclamation instead of herself.[20] The Wichita Ethics Board announced it would investigate 10 ethics complaints against Wu centered on the incident the following month.[21] The board found Wu had violated the ethics code "by not reading, and not arranging someone else to read ahead of time," the proclamation but cleared her of the other complaints and did not order her to pay a fine or attend ethics training.[22] Following appeals from both sides, the board affirmed the decision in July.[23]
Elections
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Nonpartisan | Lily Wu | 12,217 | 30.0 | |
| Nonpartisan | Brandon Whipple (incumbent) | 9,775 | 24.0 | |
| Nonpartisan | Bryan Frye | 9,070 | 22.3 | |
| Nonpartisan | Celeste Racette | 6,831 | 16.8 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jared Cerullo | 1,870 | 4.6 | |
| Nonpartisan | Shelia M Davis ("Rainman") | 254 | 0.6 | |
| Nonpartisan | Julie Rose Stroud | 246 | 0.6 | |
| Nonpartisan | Tom Kane | 220 | 0.6 | |
| Nonpartisan | Anthony Gallardo | 182 | 0.4 | |
| Total votes | 40,665 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Nonpartisan | Lily Wu | 37,004 | 57.6 | |
| Nonpartisan | Brandon Whipple (incumbent) | 26,841 | 41.8 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in | 415 | 0.6 | |
| Total votes | 64,260 | 100.0 | ||
References
- ^ "Staff Directory • Lily Wu". www.wichita.gov. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
- ^ a b "From The Chair Re: Election of Lily Wu as Mayor of Wichita, KS". Libertarian Party of Kansas. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
- ^ a b Boehm, Eric (November 10, 2023). "Is Wichita Mayor-Elect Lily Wu a Libertarian?". Reason. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
- ^ "Lily Wu to become first Asian American mayor of Wichita, defeats current mayor". KCUR. November 8, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
- ^ a b c Kelly, Matthew (October 29, 2023). "Wu says Wichitans want a leader they can be proud of. She's ready to 'get back to the basics'". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
- ^ a b Neil, Denise (June 10, 2020). "Former KAKE reporter Lily Wu gets an on-air job at a different local station". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
- ^ Neil, Denise (November 18, 2019). "Popular reporter on KAKE-TV confirms she is leaving the station". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
- ^ Kelly, Matthew; Swaim, Chance (March 1, 2023). "Television reporter Lily Wu resigns from KWCH to explore a run for mayor of Wichita". The Wichita Eagle.
- ^ Swaim, Chance (April 3, 2023) "Lily Wu announces run for Wichita mayor, flexes broad coalition of business support"., The Wichita Eagle.
- ^ "Wichita Chamber PAC Announces Election Endorsements | Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce". www.wichitachamber.org. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
- ^ a b Swaim, Chance; Kelly, Matt; Rengers, Carrie (November 9, 2023). "'We need to do this together': Lily Wu will be Wichita's next mayor". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
- ^ "Brandon Whipple, Lily Wu advance to general election for Wichita mayor". KCUR - Kansas City news and NPR. August 2, 2023.
- ^ "Lily Wu wins election for Wichita mayor". KSN. November 8, 2023. Archived from the original on November 22, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
- ^ "Political newcomer Lily Wu becomes 1st Asian American mayor of Wichita, Kansas". Yahoo News. November 8, 2023. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
- ^ Plummer, Kate (November 8, 2023). "Libertarian Party scores biggest ever election win". Newsweek. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
- ^ Jacoby, Jeff; Globe Columnist (November 22, 2023). "Wichita picks a libertarian". The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
- ^ "'Humbled and so grateful': Lily Wu sworn in as Wichita's mayor". The Wichita Eagle. January 9, 2024.
- ^ Swaim, Chance; Cameron, Kylie (January 25, 2025). "Wins & losses: How has Lily Wu fared in her first year as Wichita mayor?". Wichita Eagle. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
- ^ Mayor Lily Wu's 2025 State of the City. Retrieved June 6, 2025 – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ White, Kevin (March 19, 2025). "Did Mayor Wu violate city law by not signing transgender proclamation?". KSNW. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
- ^ Newton, Ryan; Lytle, Derek (April 10, 2025). "Wichita Ethics Board to look into 10 complaints against Mayor Lily Wu". KSNW. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
- ^ Cameron, Kylie (June 12, 2025). "Here's what Wichita ethics board decided about Mayor Lily Wu & transgender proclamation". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
- ^ Duarte, Jack (July 10, 2025). "Ethics Board affirms its decision: Wichita mayor violated city code". KWCH-DT. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
- ^ "August 1, 2023 Primary Results" (PDF). sedgwickcounty.org. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
- ^ "November 7, 2023 General Election" (PDF). sedgwickcounty.org. Retrieved November 14, 2023.