Johnson County Commissioner Ed Peterson

Community service distinguishes the career of First District Commissioner Ed Peterson. Ed was elected to the Board of County Commissioners in 2003, and is currently serving his second four-year term.

Ed’s experience demonstrates a genuine commitment to public service. He served as Mayor of Fairway from 1993 to 2002, and as a member of the Fairway City Council from 1988 to1993. He is Co-Chairman of the Mid-America Regional Council’s (MARC) Air Quality Forum, is a past Co-Chairman of the MARC Water Resources Task Force, and was Chairman of the Johnson-Wyandotte Counties Council of Mayors from 1998 to 1999. As Chairman of the Environmental Citizens’ Advisory Task Force, Ed works closely with the County’s Sustainability Coordinating Committee. As a result of Ed’s leadership, the County is committed to sustainable goals of zero waste output and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 80%. Throughout Ed’s tenure as a Commissioner, he has focused his attention upon sustainability and environmental issues and is a frequent speaker on those topics.

A native of Pittsburg, Kansas, Ed received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Philosophy from Wichita State University in 1974.  He earned his Juris Doctor from Suffolk University School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts in 1979.  Ed returned to Kansas to practice law beginning his legal career as Assistant General Counsel for the Kansas Corporation Commission.  He then moved to private practice in the Kansas City area in 1984.  As a partner with the Finnegan, Conrad and Peterson, L.C., law firm in Kansas City, Ed concentrates his practice in public utility law, civil litigation and estate planning and probate work.

An Eagle Scout, Ed is an adult supervisor for Boy Scout Troop 192 at Old Mission United Methodist Church since 1999. He is a member of the Shawnee Mission School District Committee for Excellence, the Shawnee Mission Education Foundation Board of Directors, and the Kansas City Consensus Board of Directors.

Ed and his wife Laura have been married 27 years and are parents of two children who are graduates of the Shawnee Mission Schools. Ed enjoys golf, reading, cooking, and travels with a preference for mountain locations.