Michael O'Donnell II (born August 6, 1985) also known as Michael O'Donnell, Jr. is a former Republican member of the Sedgwick County Commission in Kansas, representing District 2 from 2017 to 2020. He previously represented the 25h district in the Kansas Senate, and was a member of the Wichita City Council.
Early life
O'Donnell is a native of Wichita, who grew up in south Wichita and neighboring Haysville, and subsequently moved to nearby Bel Aire.
O'Donnell's father Michael O'Donnell Sr. was senior pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Wichita. In 1991, pastor O'Donnell was a participant in the nationally prominent the Summer of Mercy anti-abortion protests, and the younger O'Donnell has noted "We just got involved in campaigns at a very young age." His mother, Peggy O'Donnell, a teacher at the Sunrise Christian Academy, eventually served as a member of the Bel Aire city council.
O'Donnell attended a year at Baptist Bible College, before graduating from Friends University in Wichita, with a B.S. in political science.
In 2005, while in college, O'Donnell worked as an ad salesman for Clear Channel Radio, continuing in radio sales until 2011. In 2011, the year he ran successfully for Wichita City Council, O'Donnell was employed in marketing by local businessman-politician Wink Hartman, for whom O'Donnell claimed to work 20 hours a week.
Political career
Sedgwick County Republican Party
O'Donnell has been the chair of the Sedgwick County Young Republicans
Bel Aire mayor candidacy
In 2005, during his sophomore year in college, at age 20, O'Donnell ran, unsuccessfully, for mayor, in his hometown of Bel Aire, Kansas (a suburb of Wichita) finishing second in a four-person mayoral race. However, in the same race, his mother Peggy O'Donnell won a seat on the City Council.
Wichita City Council
In 2007, O'Donnell ran for Wichita City Council, but was disqualified, and removed from the ballot, because he did not actually live in Wichita (despite claiming a parsonage of his father's church, in Wichita, as his residence).
In another attempt, April 2011, O'Donnell was elected to the Wichita City Council, representing District 4 (southwest Wichita), a district of about 60,000 residents. The victory came despite his endorsements of his opponent, Joshua Blick, from the district's current Council member, the Mayor, and the local newspaper, and higher campaign spending by his opponent. O'Donnell was boosted by endorsements from two Republicans for whom he'd previously worked: former Congressman Todd Tiahrt and former Wichita Mayor Bob Knight.
In city politics, O'Donnell expressed opposition to taxpayer-funded incentives for business developments, and argued for better roads in his district.
While on the City Council, O'Donnell ran for Kansas Senate, and won in November 2012 resigning his seat on the City Council in 2013 to accept his seat in the Kansas Senate.
Kansas Senate
In 2013, O'Donnell resigned from the Wichita City Council to take a seat in the Kansas Senate, representing the 25th District from 2013 until 2017. O'Donnell reported he was recruited for the role by Republican Kansas Senator Susan Wagle (later the Kansas Senate President).
Elected to the seat, O'Donnell defeated a moderate-Republican three-term incumbent, Jean Schodorf, in the primary election on August 7, 2012, by a 58.8%-to-41.2% margin. In the 2012 Republican Primary, Senator Schodorf, and Senate President Stephen Morris and six other state senate moderates were opposed by Governor Sam Brownback, the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and the Koch brothers. part of an effort by the Governor to replace more-moderate senators with more-conservative senators. At the time, Schodorf was the Majority Whip.
In the general election on November 6, 2012, O'Donnell beat Democrat Tim Snow by 263 votes, 46.6% to 45.3%, with Libertarian Dave Thomas garnering 8% of the vote.
O'Donnell was Chair of Regulatory Boards and Commissions, a member of Ethics and Elections, and Vice-chair of Education Budget, Legislative Post Audit, and Public Health and Welfare. Fellow Senator Susan Wagle reportedly described O'Donnell as a "team player" and "good communicator."
While in the Kansas Senate, O'Donnell championed tax relief for south Wichita tornado victims, proposed a bill limiting welfare recipients to a maximum of 36 months of payments, and advocated for the elimination of sales tax on food. However, all of the legislation sponsored by O'Donnell died in the Kansas House or Senate, except for general statements of congratulations, support, and commendation.