Smart guy Fred Logan points out that the decision by Becky Nace and Mark Funkhouser to run against City Hall is a risky proposition.
"Kansas City historically doesn't elect anti-establishment mayors," he says in his latest commentary for KCTV5.
Posted by Steve Kraske
The Star is profiling the 12 mayoral candidates one at a time.
Today: Jim Glover: Glover has a plan and it involves neighborhoods
Previously:
Also, Horsley provides a summary look at the council races.
KC mayoral candidate Mark Funkhouser hopes to bring a little "Hardball" or "Larry King Live" TV to Kansas City, if he's elected.
Funkhouser announced today that his administration will hold "town hall" meetings in different neighborhoods each week, plus broadcast a live call-in show each week from City Hall on the city government's Channel 2.
This blog's readers can be creative sometimes, so run with it and think up some possible titles: "Meet the Funk"? "Funk Around Town"?
Funkhouser says the meetings and the show are ways to improve city communications and openness with citizens. Here's his campaign's press release .
Posted by Jeffrey Spivak
In his first month of campaigning for mayor of Kansas City, Albert Riederer relied a lot on general ideas and statements -- he would provide "leadership," for instance. Now he is providing more specific solutions.
Today, he released a set of positions on what he sees as the 5 most important issues facing Kansas City: its financial health, neighborhoods, public safety, education and diversity.
The highlights:
To see it all, go to Riederer's issues page on his Web site.
Posted by Jeffrey Spivak
In election campaigns, first impressions are important. In the Kansas City mayor's race, with only a two month campaigning season, it's even more important. So let's take a minute to consider first impressions.
Consider Thursday evening's forum at the Bruce Watkins Center, sponsored by the NAACP. For many in the audience, this might have been the first and only time they heard a mayoral candidate. And with such a large field of candidates, each must try to capture the audience's attention right from the start. So in this forum, each candidate was given 2 minutes to make that first impression.
The best short presentations, to my ears: Henry Klein, Alvin Brooks, Janice Ellis and Katheryn Shields.
Klein: He made gave an outline of 3 issues he was stressing: schools, crime and jobs. That's easily understood.
Brooks: He gave his usual line that this time in Kansas City is "the best of times and the worst of times." Then he explained it -- the best is downtown's renaissance, the worst is the neglect in neighborhoods. Very pointed.
Ellis: She got the most done in two minutes. She gave a short synopsis of her poor Southern childhood, shifted gears to a plan for the city, then focused on one issue she wants to change: education. Powerful.
Shields: She presented her 3 priorities in a smoother way than Klein. They were: neighborhood basic services, property code enforcement and preventive street maintenance. She might have gone over the edge a bit with the line, "We need to be a city with no potholes." (That's hardly possible with our weather.) But you can't deny that she is a very smooth politician.
Now for the rest.
Becky Nace and Mark Funkhouser: They meandered a bit and didn't hone in on any memorable slogans or points. Nace came close with a line about wanting the city to get its "fiscal house in order," but then moved on to something else. Funkhouser, meanwhile, might be struggling with his presentation. At the first mayoral forums, he displayed more of a commanding presence. Now he's more soft spoken. Maybe that's by design, but it doesn't help him stand out of the crowd.
Chuck Eddy made points about his experience and about how an improved downtown will improve the lives of all Kansas Citians. But his remarks didn't make the turn into "why you should vote for me."
Several candidates were not at this forum: Albert Riederer, John Fairfield and John DiCapo. Jim Glover arrived after the opening statements.
Then there's Stan Glazer. He likes to shoot from the hip. But at times his bullets can stray. On this night, in describing his background, he made this point: "I kept the Union Station from being torn down in 1971." Well, I happened to write the only book about Union Station's long history. It includes lots of verbiage about preservation efforts from the 1970s through the 1990s. Glazer isn't mentioned anywhere in the book. If I missed something in the boxes of documents I compiled and the dozens of interviews I conducted, I apologize.
Posted by Jeffrey Spivak
No doubt, one of Kansas City's most vexing growth issues is its 1 percent earnings tax on individuals working in the city and businesses in the city. Economic development types believe it stunts corporate relocations to KC, and Kansans sometimes quip it's the single reason why they wouldn't work in Missouri.
Mayoral hopeful Henry Klein wants to do something about it. He proposes trying to gradually reduce part of the tax.
"Ultimately, my goal is to eliminate the earnings tax altogether," Klein said in a statement.
This marks a different stance for a KC mayoral candidate. In the race so far, candidates have steered clear of the issue, even though a Missouri think tank recently advocated eliminating the tax. This was brought up at one mayoral forum, but several candidates noted the earnings tax is the city government's largest source of revenue. Becky Nace has pushed for eliminating the tax for members of the military. But Albert Riederer summed up the stance of most candidates: "The e-tax is here, and it does work," he said.
Klein wants to take the first step toward getting rid of the earnings tax by giving small businesses a break. He has studied the issue enough to know that both individuals and businesses pay the tax, with businesses generating a sliver of the total revenue. Klein wants to cut off the bottom 10 percent of that business tax revenue, amounting to an estimated $3 million.
He believes that tax break will end up resulting in more job creation and business growth, which he maintains would generate more revenue for the city in other ways (a little supply-side economics), while also giving those businesses a little boost to stay afloat and contribute more earnings tax down the road.
Klein says if he's elected, he will create a task force to further study the earnings tax.
Posted by Jeffrey Spivak
(UPDATE: A poster asks how voters can learn about forums before they happen.
On Mondays, The Star tries to publish a listing of expected forums for the week ahead. Look for it.)
Last night’s mayoral forum at UMKC focused on the thorny issue of housing segregation and racial disparity in Kansas City. Candidates were asked when in their lives they’ve actually reached out to other ethnic groups. Some candidates have immersed themselves in this issue, while others have mostly encountered diversity through volunteering or through their children’s educations. Their answers:
Alvin Brooks – He said he’s made it his life’s work to bring together different racial and religious groups, beginning after the riots in 1968 when he was appointed the city’s first Human Relations Director.
Charles Eddy – He’s served on the Don Bosco board, which helps refugees from around the world.
Janice Ellis – She grew up in segregated Mississippi and transformed her life through education. As past president of Partnership for Children she worked with the Kansas City School District, including reaching out to Hispanic and Somali parents. She says her website is the only one available in Spanish.
John Fairfield – He hired a Hispanic campaign manager, and his daughter has spent time with some public school classmates who live in Section 8 housing.
Jim Glover – He’s the only candidate who lives in the inner city. He chose to rebuild an abandoned house in the Troost Corridor and says the neighborhood is racially and economically diverse.
Henry Klein – He’s been an active volunteer with Habitat for Humanity and with Crosslines Adult Literacy Program.
Becky Nace – Her mother was Hispanic and she grew up in the Ivanhoe neighborhood. More recently, she participated in school events with her sons that brought together families representing cultures around the globe.
Albert Riederer – He and his wife have volunteered at Holy Family Catholic Worker House and have attended community celebrations at St. James Church at 39th and Harrison.
Katheryn Shields – She advocated a diverse workforce as Jackson County Executive, and was active in launching her son’s language immersion public charter school, which has a diverse racial and socio-economic student population.
Candidates John DiCapo, Mark Funkhouser and Stan Glazer were no shows.
Posted by Lynn Horsley
The Kansas City Pride Democratic Club, representing gay and lesbian members, has announced its endorsements in Kansas City's mayor and council races:
Mayor -- Alvin Brooks.
4th District At-large -- Deth Im and Beth Gottstein.
4th District in-district -- Ezekiel Amador and Jan Marcason.
5th District At-large -- Cindy Baker Circo.
6th District At-large -- Cathy Jolly.
The dual endorsements in the 4th District races "show how far Kansas City politicians have come in their support for the LGBT community," the club said in a statement.
One interesting note: Pride handled their endorsements a little differently than the other large club in the LGBT community, the Four Freedoms organization. While Four Freedoms' endorsements were tinged with controversy, with some of its voting board members involved in political campaigns, Pride's endorsements were based on votes from its large membership.
Posted by Jeffrey Spivak
Mayoral candidate Katheryn Shields filed motions in federal court this afternoon asking for a quick, pre-election trial and complete, public disclosure of all the evidence against her before trial.
Shields, who is facing federal mortgage fraud charges with her husband, asked that the trial begin either Monday or “the earliest possible trial date.” Shields has pleaded not guilty and has said she would like the trial concluded before the Kansas City’s mayoral primary, Feb. 27.
Posted by Mark Morris
KC mayoral hopeful Jim Glover today pledged to make a personal sacrifice in the name of the environment, if he's elected.
He would give up the mayor's traditional Lincoln Town Car, and instead drive around town in a Ford gas-electric hybrid car.
"That's all the style I need," Glover said during a luncheon speech to a local Sertoma Club at Union Station. "I don't need a Lincoln Town Car."
Glover says he drives a Ford Escort now.
Tuesday's speech was billed as a big opportunity for Glover to "lay out his positions on the environment and light rail." But while a 4-page speech was prepared for him, Glover didn't follow it, and ended up only touching on only a couple of the policy positions in the prepared speech.
For instance, the prepared remarks about light rail included a line that he expected the city to deviate from Clay Chastain's voter-approved plan, and that any new plan would go to voters, too. However, he did not mention any of this in the actual speech.
Glover is known to free-form his speeches. But this one was so specific in its points, it begs the question: Should a candidate still be held accountable for printed statements not actually spoken?
Posted by Jeffrey Spivak
The Four Freedoms Democratic Club, a political organization for Kansas City's gay community, announced a dual endorsement for mayor: Alvin Brooks and Albert Riederer.
A statement from the club reads: "Both men have extensive public sector service and have the knowledge, skills and vision to lead Kansas City through the challenges facing it over the next four years. Also, both have shown a commitment to equality for citizens of Kansas City who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender."
UPDATE:
For Brooks, this makes a lot of sense. He organized Kansas City's human relations department.
But Riederer? A statement from his campaign mentioned that he had represented a gay student group at UMKC in a discrimination complaint. But that was in the 1970s. Could it have helped that Doug Gray and Scott Burnett, who both work for Riederer's campaign, are listed as board members of Four Freedoms?
Jim MacDonald, president of Four Freedoms, indicated the endorsements were based on a candidate's qualifications and "support for LGBT equality." The endorsement decision, he continued, was "next to impossible" because so many current council members (who are also mayoral candidates) had a hand in establishing a domestic partner registry in Kansas City.
In a separate press release, Riederer said in a statement that "I will have a diverse staff and will not tolerate discrimination of any type."
Posted by Jeffrey Spivak
With some of the KC mayoral contenders starting to rack up endorsements, Mark Funkhouser finally landed one of this own -- from his dog.
In what may go down as funniest, looniest and certainly the most amusing advertisement in the mayor's race, Funkhouser posted a video with his 3-month-old toy poodle, named Maria, in his lap. (For those of you, like me, who are not dog versed, a toy poodle is a real dog.) With the poodle's lips and tongue moving, a voice-over goes on to provide the dog's perspective.
Such as: "I see the side of him that is not in the newspaper. I see a human I can really trust."
The video slides between the black poodle "talking" in Funkhouser's lap and tootling around his house. The video's creator, Joe Miller, got the poodle to move its mouth by feeding it peanut butter, and the voice-over was provided by an 8-year-old girl.
Out of nowhere, the ad is getting national buzz. It's been picked up by Salon.com's Video Dog and by onegoodmove.org, among others. See the add for yourself on Funkhouser's Web site.
Posted by Jeffrey Spivak
Maybe this is Endorsement Day in the Kansas City mayor's race.
First, Alvin Brooks with Freedom Inc. (see below on this blog), then Jim Glover with La Raza and a Westport club (see below, too). Now Albert Riederer has scored some labor support.
Local #2 of the United Food and Commercial Workers has given Riederer its blessing. UFCW has about 11,000 local members in lots of different jobs, from retail stores to nursing homes, public safety dispatchers to food processing.
UFCW local president Tom Price is quoted in a statement as saying Riederer "has a track record of bringing people together to achieve great things, which is exactly what Kansas City needs."
All this has come after Mark Funkhouser's campaign sent out a late-night analysis of the mayor's race that suggested the lack of endorsements had to do with Funkhouser. The thinking: Funkhouser's candidacy and understanding of the city "caused the traditional endorsement patterns to break-down. Many groups remained on the sideline to see whether Mark's campaign is something to be taken seriously."
Oooooops.
So, does today's spate of endorsements mean that various groups have concluded that Funkhouser's campaign shouldn't be taken seriously?
Or is it a lesson for neophyte campaigns to look both ways before they cross a road?
Posted by Jeffrey Spivak
Jim Glover's campaign for mayor has gained some much-needed momentum with two new endorsements.
The Kansas City chapter of La Raza, a Hispanic civil rights and advocacy group, announced its backing of Glover, a three-term City Council member. Lali Garcia, the chapter's president, cited Glover's involvement in West Side rezoning and the Midtown shopping center as examples of his work for neighborhoods.
Also, the Westport Landing Democratic Club, headed by Dutch Newman, gave Glover the nod, too. "When we call his office, we get an immediate response," Newman said in a statement. "I haven't gotten that from everyone."
Posted by Jeffrey Spivak
At the largest Kansas City mayoral forum so far, Mark Funkhouser emerged as the big crowd favorite, according to audience tallies released by the forum's sponsor.
Sunday's forum at the closed Southwest High School drew more than 300 people. So when 135 of them rated the 11 candidates on, among other things, their opening statement, leadership and communication style, Funkhouser scored highest in 6 of the 7 categories.
Here's the rundown of best and worst scores, as measured by that audience:
Opening statement: Best - Funkhouser. Worst - Chuck Eddy.
Vision: Best - Funkhouser. Worst - Eddy.
Integrity: Best - Funkhouser. Worst - Katheryn Shields.
Leadership: Best - Funkhouser. Worst - Shields.
Communication Style: Best - Becky Nace. Worst - Eddy.
4th District Issues: Best - Funkhouser. Worst - John Fairfield.
Overall Impression: Best - Funkhouser. Worst - Shields.
Now, before anyone reads too much into this, remember this forum was kind of like a home game in sports. Funkhouser lives in the Brookside area. He also had plenty of supporters there, as measured by applause after some of his answers. But about half the total mayoral field resides in the Brookside-Plaza area. So Funkhouser at least gets some props for winning over a home crowd.
UPDATE: Here are the scoring results from the Country Club district homes associations.
Posted by Jeffrey Spivak
KC mayoral candidate Albert Riederer got a late start in the race. But his campaign organization is catching up. Over the weekend, Riederer opened separate campaign headquarters north and south of the Missouri River.
Riederer, a former Jackson County prosecutor who has raised a lot of money quickly and is stressing his "leadership" in the field of 12 candidates, opened a Midtown campaign office at 4125 Broadway (in Jim Nutter territory, by the way) and a Northland office at 8109 North Oak Trafficway.
He told the Midtown group: "Our campaign continues to build momentum. Everywhere I go, voters are responding to our message and are energized that I entered this race. I will be a mayor that brings all of Kansas City together to solve problems. We will take the success we have seen downtown and apply that type of energy to improving our neighborhoods."
Posted by Jeffrey Spivak
Every forum so far in Kansas City's mayoral primary seems to develop its own personality. Sunday afternoon's forum, in front of about 350 people at the now-closed Southwest High School, seemed to have a Halloween flavor.
Many of the 11 candidates there were donning masks, figuratively speaking.
Here's a rundown of the more memorable lines, moments and claims:
Most overused words: "leadership" and "vision." Several candidates talk about them, particularly Albert Riederer, but few are presenting specific solutions to problems that citizens care about. A question about crime, for instance, produced no particular plan from any candidate who answered. Only later did businessman Henry Klein mention that he would push to add 100 patrol officers on the streets.
Best opening statement: Janice Ellis. She explains that nearly half the big cities in the country have elected mayors without political experience (like her). Then she introduces her specific plan for Kansas City's future and outlines several key points in it, such as creating a policy to handle economic development tax breaks in a more "prudent" way.
Best pitch for the importance of political experience in running the city: Becky Nace. Referring to all the fiscal challenges the city faces and the fact that the mayoral field includes several political newcomers, she said, "There is no time for on-the-job training."
Most far-fetched promise: Nace again. She said, "If you elect me mayor, we will have a city that . . . will have basic services that are the envy of the region." In annual citizen surveys, Kansas City residents rate their city services so much lower than residents of most suburban communities, it will take some work for Kansas City just to approach suburban satisfaction levels.
Most entertaining disagreement: Mark Funkhouser and John Fairfield on the city's use of tax breaks for economic development. Funkhouser, the former city auditor, compared tax-increment financing (known as TIF) to a drug, and said the city had "come to completely rely on drugs." Fairfield, a current City Councilman who spoke next, said, "That's all bunk." He went on to defend the city's record of attracting development and pointed out, "Folks, grass does not generate sales taxes."
Most outlandish claim on a resume: Stan Glazer, who said, "Stan Glazer's the guy who brought the National Hockey League to Kansas City." A check of The Kansas City Star's archives from the early 1970s showed that Glazer was never mentioned in articles about the ownership group of the short-lived Kansas City Scouts hockey team, or about the civic delegation that went to NHL meetings and applied for a team. Later note: Glazer disputes this characterization, says he has articles showing he was in one potential ownership groups at the time, and he maintains he was a "catalyst" in getting the NHL in KC.
Laugh line of the night: Glazer again. After noting that in Kansas City's latest citizen satisfaction survey, 76 percent of respondents were dissatisfied with a particular city service, he said, "Stan Glazer could do this good, I promise you that."
Best question at a mayoral forum so far: The last question at Sunday's forum, which asked, "Why would you be a more effective mayor than the candidate to your right?" It produced some laughs (Katheryn Shields didn't seem to know her right from her left) and no direct barbs at any opponent. Instead, candidates used it as an opportunity to point out how they stood out from the field. Jim Glover was one who rose to the occasion: "I have not just served and voted," he said. "I have also delivered on promises," referring to the midtown shopping center he championed.
Posted by Jeffrey Spivak
The recommendation from the screening committee of the Greater Kansas City Women's Political Caucus was clear:
Endorse Becky Nace for mayor.
But the caucus' board and membership didn't take that advice. On Thursday night, their decision was to make no endorsement. The official explanation today: Too many well-qualified candidates.
So what happened between the time the screening committee recommended Nace and the full board opted to take a pass?
The yak Thursday night and this morning is that Nace's ties to GOP consultant Jeff Roe and the campaign donations she's received from the likes of GOP state Sen. Matt Bartle, GOP Congressman Sam Graves and other Republicans turned off some caucus members.
Bartle is a leading opponent of broad stem-cell research in Missouri. The caucus pushed the issue hard last year.
Nace disputed that thinking this morning. "They didn't say that last night," she tells the Buzz Blog today.
She said her ties to Roe and GOP dollars was not a factor. Only 8 percent of her money has come from Republicans, she said.
"Opponents," Nace said, "are negative campaigning with that. I think it's a smear campaign."
The reason for the no endorsement, Nace said, was the realization that many board members already had ties to campaigns. And, therefore, it only made sense to pass.
Caucus president Ina P. Montgomery wouldn't talk about the reasoning. The deliberations of the board, she said, are not for public consumption.
Posted by Steve Kraske
In a field of 13 candidates, the KC Buzz Blog realizes the pressure is on for the Kansas City mayoral candidates' campaigns to send out catchy news releases that catch the media's attention.
So props to the folks over at Councilman Jim Glover campaign for promising "coffee and pothole pastries" at their Pothole Party Sunday afternoon. (Clever way to get the media to advance announce that Glover is going to unveil his plan to ensure basic street repairs get their funding due.)
But are the Glover folks from Buffalo or Montana? Cause in the next news release, they invite folks to campaign for Glover by going door to door Saturday when the weather "will be unseasonably warm." Uh, the National Weather Service and other forecasters are predicting a high Saturday of 32 degrees, which is officially freezing! The normal high for Jan. 27 would be 37 degrees, the NWS says.
Posted by DeAnn Smith
Katheryn Shields may be gone, but the former Jackson County executive definitely isn't forgotten at her old stomping grounds.
During today's budget committee meeting, Jackson County Legislator Henry Rizzo pronounced that Shields had left the county's finances "in shambles," and it would take the county years to recover. It took her successor, Mike Sanders, about a nanosecond to agree.
Later, Legislator Dan Tarwater took his own tart-tongued shot at Shields.
Those three berating her certainly isn't anything new. But the unexpected shot came out of the blue from Legislator Fred Arbanas, who seldom criticizes anyone publicly.
Arbanas was talking about an effort to arm park rangers, which has Sanders' support and apparently sufficient legislative backing. He said the only reason it couldn't get done before was because Shields didn't agree with it.
"And now we do have a county executive that agrees," he said.
Posted by DeAnn Smith
Maybe the largest Kansas City mayoral forum of the primary season will occur this Sunday in the Brookside-Waldo area.
Thirteen homes associations in the Country Club District are sponsoring the forum. It will be at 3 p.m. at the former Southwest High School, 6512 Wornall Road. The event will take place in the auditorium and feature mayoral and 4th District City Council candidates.
Based on previous candidate forums put on by Brookside-area homes associations, this promises to attract several hundred attendees. And it doesn't conflict with any big football games.
Posted by Jeffrey Spivak
One of the more revealing discussions at Tuesday night's KC mayoral forum dealt with tax-increment financing, or TIF, an economic development tax break that is moving up the ladder of citizen concerns.
Last week, University of Missouri-Kansas City researcher Michael Kelsay released a study criticizing the city's give-away of these tax breaks. His study didn't break much new ground -- it relied a lot on past reports from the City Auditor's office -- but it did represent the first review of TIF outside of city government.
Anyway, UMKC labor studies expert Judy Ancel said the TIF study had been sent to each mayoral candidate, and she asked during the forum what each candidate thought of the study.
The split among candidates was interesting.
Among current City Council members, Alvin Brooks and Chuck Eddy said they hadn't read it, and John Fairfield and Becky Nace didn't directly say whether they had. (Jim Glover was absent for this discussion.)
However, all six candidates who are current City Hall outsiders claimed they had read the study and supported some limits on TIF.
Stan Glazer: "They should be stopped."
Janice Ellis: "We need to apply TIF only to those areas where they were most designed for," such as really blighted parts of town.
Joining them was former city auditor Mark Funkhouser, who was something of an outsider himself on this issue, considering he raised red flags for years about TIF's profileration, to no avail.
Posted by Jeffrey Spivak
At the latest Kansas City mayoral forum, the public displays of mutual respect between candidates showed early signs of cracking.
This forum took place Tuesday evening on the University of Missouri-Kansas City campus and was carried live on KKFI-FM radio. During a question about the city's abundant use of tax-increment financing in funding economic development, former county prosecutor Albert Riederer directed a missile at former city auditor Mark Funkhouser.
The proliferation of those tax breaks, Riederer said, was "an indictment on City Hall and people like him who have allowed this to happen."
That drew several "eeewwws" from the audience, most of whom seemed to know that Funkhouser as city auditor had been his bosses' most vocal critic of TIFs.
The next time Funkhouser got a chance to speak, he shot back with a jab at Riederer's lack of city government experience, explaining that Riederer's statement showed "he hasn't paid any attention at all to how decisions have been made at City Hall."
Later in the evening, during a discussion on environmentally friendly "green" building requirements, City Councilwoman Becky Nace briefly mentioned some features built into at a new Wal-Mart in her southeast council district.
Given the fact that one of the forum sponsors was Reclaim Democracy, whose national organization has led anti-Wal Mart crusades across the country, candidate Henry Klein couldn't resist playing to the crowd when it was his turn to speak.
"I refuse to acknowledge Wal-Mart . . .," he said, as audience applause drowned him out. To do so was "absolutely outrageous," he added, to more applause.
Too bad the forum itself ended on a sour note, the result of poor clock management of the program itself. A discussion about battling crime -- one of Kansas City's most pressing issues -- was halted before half the candidates had a chance to speak.
Posted by Jeffrey Spivak
Kansas City mayoral hopeful Mark Funkhouser has announced a new target on his "fix Kansas City" list: those %&@$! metal plates on city streets.
"I think just about everyone would agree that one of the things that annoy Kansas Citians . . . is all of the metal plates on the streets," Funkhouser said in a statement. He added later: "They are a symbol of how city leaders have neglected street maintenance."
Funkhouser said his plan would involve setting up an easily accessible Web site with information on each plate -- location plus what company or contractor cut open the street and is responsible for the plate. Then, he wants city staff to be more vigilant in getting the plates removed.
It should be noted that in the fall of 2005, the city promised to keep a list of plates and require companies to pay a "fee" for plates left for more than 60 days. That list does exist, but it's on the city's Kiva database.
Funkhouser said in an interview that he wanted 90 percent of the plates gone within two years, and if that required higher fees or fines as incentives for companies to remove the plates faster, then so be it.
Posted by Jeffrey Spivak
Kansas City mayoral candidate Henry Klein, trying to stay one step ahead of the pack, turned today to the issue of crime and released his six "Commitments to Cut Crime."
(Reporter's aside: That's a sea of Cs to see.)
Among Klein's promises: hiring 100 new police officers, increasing efforts to diversify the force and putting the police board under more local control.
A little background on that last one: The city's 5-member police board is actually a state entity, with 4 members appointed by the governor (the exception being the mayor, who is on the board, too). Klein wants the mayor to have the power to appoint two board members, plus become the chair or president of the board. This would require approval from the Missouri General Assembly. No word on what legislators think of that.
"Dealing with our crime problem is one of the reasons I entered this race," said Klein, a former business executive making his first bid for public office. "I can not sit by any longer without being part of the solution."
Posted by Jeffrey Spivak
More interesting tidbits and trivia from the campaign financial reports of KC mayoral candidates:
The candidate with the backing of the most sports figures: Alvin Brooks (the late Buck O'Neil and former Chief Kimble Anders).
The candidate with the most support from Mission Hills: Janice Ellis (Barnett & Shirley Helzberg and Julia Irene Kauffman, among many others).
The candidate who doesn't even have the financial support of his own father: John DiCapo (long-time local restaurateur Carl DiCapo has pumped more than $1,000 to Chuck Eddy).
The candidate with an eye-raising out-of-town supporter: Stan Glazer (who was against the downtown arena and now has St. Louis-based Enterprise Rent-A-Car, which tried to defeat the downtown arena, on his side).
Posted by Jeffrey Spivak
By now, we know the leaders in the money race for the KC mayoral hopefuls. We also have gotten an early glimpse at who some of the town's political and civic heavyweights are getting behind (for instance, Firefighters Local 42 has given to Becky Nace, DST's Thomas McDonnell is backing Albert Riederer, etc.)
But several well-known or politically connected Kansas City citizens and companies are still hedging their bets in the mayor's race. That is, these donors have given to more than one candidate. In fact, looking over all campaign finance reports for the mayoral candidates, there are at least dozen individuals and corporations that have given to three or more candidates.
Leading this pack is Landon Rowland, a retired Kansas City financial executive and current chairman of the Local Investment Commission. His name (and in many cases, his wife's too) pop up on -- count 'em -- five campaign finance reports. He's contributed more than $1,000 to Chuck Eddy, Alvin Brooks, Mark Funkhouser and John Fairfield, plus he gave a couple hundred dollars to Nace. Talk about spreading the wealth.
Following Rowland with contributions to four candidates are: Stinson Morrison Hecker attorney David Frantze (supporting Eddy, Brooks, Jim Glover and Janice Ellis) and development firm Hunt Midwest.
Among those who have contributed to three campaigns: developer David Block or his company, long-time Northland political leader Mike Burke, downtown developer Brad Nicholson, and even the two big local engineering firms, Burns & McDonnell and Black & Veatch.
There a few other big names who are also can't quite make up their minds: Mayor Kay Barnes' deal-broker Herb Kohn (who has given to Eddy and Ellis) and barbecue baron Ollie Gates or his company (supporting Brooks and Glover).
The candidates missing out on all this (and thus not seen as good bets by KC's political and corporate community so far): Katheryn Shields, Stan Glazer, Henry Klein, John DiCapo and Riederer (but he's just getting started).
Posted by Jeffrey Spivak
UPDATE: Links to Funkhouser, Klein reports now available. Except for John DiCapo, all mayor fundraising reports filed this week are now available.
Click on the name to access the full report.
John Fairfield: $145,110.91 raised; $51,492 cash on hand
Al Brooks: $163,156 raised; $87,324.16 cash on hand
Chuck Eddy: $161,416.93 raised; $48,417.10 cash on hand
Janice Ellis: $203,547.13 raised; $25,424.75 cash on hand
Stan Glazer: $52,842.40 raised; $9,994.75 cash on hand
Katheryn Shields: $108,175.77 raised; $89,646.36 cash on hand
Jim Glover: $50,746.58 raised; $29,599.83 cash on hand
Becky Nace: $228,701.20 raised; $180,425.72 cash on hand
Albert Riederer: $103,120 raised; $103,120 cash on hand
Henry Klein: $185,432.95 raised; $69,283.24 cash on hand
Mark Funkhouser: $44,589.33 raised; $8,858.60 cash on hand
John DiCapo says he doesn't plan to file.
Posted by Buzz Blog staff
John Fairfield (click here to see the filing)
Raised to date: $143,715.90
Cash on hand: $51,671.40
Becky Nace (click here)
Raised to date: $148,326.20
Cash on hand: $100,050.72
Chuck Eddy (click here)
Raised to date: $161,416.93
Cash on hand: $48,417.10
Posted by Buzz Blog staff
With a flourish, mayoral candidate Janice Ellis signed her name this morning to a poster-sized “Covenant with Kansas City.”
It’s all about four beliefs and five priorities and more than 100 specific policy actions intended to make Kansas City a “five-star rated city.”
“It is essential that we not succumb to the notion that Kansas City is still a big friendly cow town, great but just not ready for prime time,” the covenant states.
Despite all the specificity, the Ellis approach emphasizes study groups and advisory panels. She would, for example, establish a separate entity to set guidelines for the Tax Increment Financing Commission to follow but she has no position on the Briarcliff Super-TIF plan now dividing some of her opponents. She thinks parts of Clay Chastain’s light-rail plan might not be practical but she wants to assemble engineers to study it. She says attending to basic services is the “minimum performance requirement” for the next mayor but she won’t commit to setting aside a specific percentage of sales-tax revenue for deferred maintenance. She wants a performance review first.
Still, Ellis describes herself as a “pace setter” and not a “stand patter.”
“I’m not interested in studying things forever and a day,” she said.
For the full covenant go to jeforkc.com
Posted by Matt Campbell
Kansas City mayoral hopeful Mark Funkhouser spent part of this blistering cold morning at the site of a recent city water-main break, in Brookside. He took the opportunity to reiterate his image as The Candidate Who Cares About Infrastructure.
Because, who else would stand outside in single-digit temperatures to talk about water pipes?
Standing along a closed section of Oak Street just south of Meyer Boulevard -- the site of a busted pipe last week -- Funkhouser outlined his ideas to eventually pump more money into the city's aging infrastructure and backlog of "deferred maintenance," or the streets, bridges, sewers and the like that need fixing.
His platform: 1) Reconvene a citizens Community Infrastructure Committee to recommend how much money should be devoted to infrastructure. 2) Pass a city ordinance requiring the city to follow the committee's recommendations -- unlike the last time the committee recommended more funding, which the City Council followed for just a few years. 3) Get voters to renew a one-cent sales tax for capital improvements for the last time, by making that tax permanent, and devoting half of the revenues to infrastructure maintenance.
"We need to keep people living in the urban core, and water main breaks and things like that make that more difficult," Funkhouser said in the cold.
Posted by Jeffrey Spivak
There was no shortage of current, former and wannabe public officeholders at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. mass celebration Monday night at St. Stephen Baptist Church.
The event was apparently required for any candidate seeking to garner votes and support among African-Americans, Hispanic, Asian and progressive voters.
Faces in the crowd included former Rep. Karen McCarthy, former Mayor Richard Berkley and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver.
Terry Riley and mayoral candidates Katheryn Shields and Mayor Pro Tem Alvin Brooks had seats on the pulpit.
However, Mark Funkhouser opted for a seat in the pews while others such as Jim Glover, Janice Ellis and Albert Riederer found seats in the deacon’s section beneath the pulpit. Candidates for the city council had seats in a section nearby.
During the program, the Rev. Nelson “Fuzzy” Thompson, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Kansas City, lavishly introduced Brooks as the city’s next mayor. Shields did not receive such an endorsement but was equally praised by Thompson who referred to the former Jackson County executive as his close friend and sister.
However, one should probably not read too much, into who sat where. One could theorize that Brooks was representing Mayor Kay Barnes, who did not attend the event. Shields is a longtime supporter of the SCLC program.
Posted by Glenn E. Rice
Political outsider and KC mayoral candidate Henry Klein wants the city government to do more for people with disabilities. In the process, he's taken a jab at City Hall.
Klein has issued a proposal to strengthen the Mayor's Office on Disabilities. Klein, who volunteers his time to work with disabled adults at a Methodist church, wants the office to be more involved in housing, transit and other issues involving accessing services.
Part of the reason behind is proposal, Klein says, is that the current Mayor's Office on Disabilities is "dormant." In a statement, he added: "Our aging citizens and those with disabilities have been without an active office that can properly identify and respond to their issues and concerns."
Well, a few people at City Hall take issue with that.
It's true that the person who officially occupied the Mayor's Office on Disabilities has retired. It's also true that on one part of the city's Web site, the telephone number given for the office is actually the Action Center, which takes complaints on all city subjects.
But there are a couple of people inside City Hall who still identify and respond to concerns related to disabilities. One is an Americans with Disabilities Act specialist in the capital improvements office. The mayor also has an assistant, Pat Gallagher, who handles many of the issues of the Office on Disabilities. She, for instance, has worked to provide more accessible parking on streets downtown.
Yet, even she admits the Mayor's Office on Disabilities has never been influential. And Klein's intent is to raise the profile of that office.
Posted by Jeffrey Spivak
Another KC mayoral forum is scheduled at the annual Martin Luther King Jr breakfast on Monday. The event is sponsored by the Kansas City Chapter of the Missouri Association for Social Welfare and cosponsored by the All Souls Forum and Racial Justice Committee. The panel will be moderated by Lewis Diuguid, The Star's vice president for community resources, and will begin at 8 a.m., followed by breakfast. There will be a charge of $5 to cover the costs (including breakfast). To attend, contact Carolyn MacDonald at ctmacdonaldkc@aol.com.
The forum/breakfast will be at the All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 4501 Walnut St.
Posted by Keith Chrostowski
Will Mark Funkhouser be the chamber's choice for mayor? Consider:
In its questionnaire for KC mayoral candidates, the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce asked what they would do about "deferred maintenance," the city's habit of not spending enough money maintaining streets, bridges, etc. Funkhouser's answer included his proposal to renew the city's one-cent capital improvements sales tax (set to expire in 2008) and commit half that tax to deferred maintenance.
A week later, the chamber released a new study of the city's deferred maintenance problem. Its chief recommendation: renew the capital improvements sales tax and commit half of it to deferred maintenance.
Could this be a case of great minds thinking alike on an important issue? For those apt to think it's a case of cahoots, there is some ammunition: The chamber report was co-written by Ed Wolf, Kansas City's former public works director. That's the same Ed Wolf who is listed as a supporter on Funkhouser's Web site.
Either way, does all this mean that the business community will be getting behind Funkhouser's candidacy with buckets of money?
"We don't have any favorites right now," said Pam Whiting, the chamber's vice president of communication. She pointed out that the chamber can not endorse candidates.
Yet, she noted that the chamber has a political action committee, called BizPAC, which happened to be one of the largest in Missouri last year. And chamber board members oversee that PAC. And Whiting expects that the chamber's interest in deferred maintenance will serve as a "template" for donations.
Put it all together, and it sounds like Funkhouser has a chance to emerge as the darling of the business community in this election.
Posted by Jeffrey Spivak
It's early, but after a week in which the KC mayor's race really got cooking, you can see some personalities emerging from the expressions and passions of the candidates. Here's a quick rundown of the personas that the candidates are presenting so far (in no particular order):
John Fairfield: Mr. Economic Development. "That's what you do to pay for everything else," he said at one candidate forum.
Chuck Eddy: Mr. What This Council Has Done. He likes to bring up what his City Council committees have accomplished or addressed.
Albert Riederer: Mr. Take Charge. At a Northeast neighborhood forum Thursday night, he was the only candidate to stand up to make his opening statement, and he punctuated his remarks by gesturing and pointing, which commanded the audience's attention.
Mark Funkhouser: Mr. Academic. He's smart, and he peppers his positions with words and explanations only a wonk could love. For instance, he wants to build trust in government with, among other things, "transparency." That means citizens can see what's going on.
Jim Glover: Mr. Soft Talker. He doesn't speak loudly to make his points, which has something of a calming effect.
Henry Klein: Mr. Dark Horse. We've called him a dark horse candidate on this blog. He's picked up and mentioned it. His campaign poll had him fourth in the race so far, so he's making a showing.
Alvin Brooks: Mr. Dickens. He likes to quote "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," from author Charles Dickens, as a way to make his points that Kansas City has made progress in recent years but has some problems to address.
Janice Ellis: Ms. No More Business As Usual. She wants change, whether it's the culture of City Hall or the mayor's involvement in schools (she wants the mayor to "own" the issue of education).
Stan Glazer: Mr. Quip. He offers comedic relief in dry discussions of policy positions.
Becky Nace: Ms. Anti-City Hall. Although she's on the City Council, she proudly lauds her record of voting against TIFs and against the arena contract in which minority participation goals were waived. She promises, in her words, to "get tough" on many things and even proposes to eliminate Kansas City's earnings tax, which is sure to earn some votes.
Katheryn Shields: Ms. Experience. She touts her two decades of local government experience, between her past seat on the Kansas City Council and her recent tenure running Jackson County.
John DiCapo: Mr. No Show. He said he was running for mayor but hasn't shown up for forums and hasn't answered candidate questionnaires.
Posted by Jeffrey Spivak
Love him or hate him, KC mayoral hopeful Stan Glazer does have a way with words. He may not have the most knowledge of the city budget or a concrete plan about improving neighborhoods, but he does elicit laughs.
In two mayoral candidate forums on Thursday, Glazer mentioned several times that he would like to shed his image as a comedy guy, a guy who started the Stanford & Sons Comedy Club in Westport. But then he offered enough comedic quips to begin filling a book.
Here are some:
Noting his advanced age: "When I was a kid, back when the Dead Sea was only sick . . . ."
Hearing that voters approved light rail was "like seeing my mother-in-law go over a cliff in my new Mercedes. I had mixed emotions."
When he stumbled over some words: "I spent $1,000 to fix my nose and now my mouth won't work."
Gotta give it up for a little humor during political season.
Posted by Jeffrey Spivak
Kansas City's mayoral candidates spent nearly four hours spouting and, in some cases, sparkling, at a couple of public forums Thursday afternoon and evening. One forum was sponsored by a committee of the MidAmerica Minority Business Development Council, and the other was hosted by a group of Northeast neighborhoods.
Here are highlights from each candidate (in alphabetical order):
Alvin Brooks: regarding the problem of absentee landlords who let their vacant homes become rundown, he proposed an idea that the city go to court for punitive damages against those owners. "It's never been tried, but I think it can be done," he said.
John DiCapo: was not at either forum.
Chuck Eddy: while some candidates spoke out about misuses of tax breaks for economic development projects, he defended tax breaks in principle as a way Kansas City can compete for jobs and businesses. "It (economic development) is the engine that drives the resources that are then put into the neighborhoods," he said.
Janice Ellis: wowed some leaders of the minority business council by repeatedly maintaining that the city needs to better enforce its requirements for minority participation in construction contracts. "It really comes down to enforcement," she said.
John Fairfield: while many candidates are running on neighborhood platforms, he is not afraid to tout what's been happening downtown and how it makes Kansas City a better city. "I'm not afraid of what we've done," he said.
Mark Funkhouser: he received the only round of spontaneous applause when he talked about testifying at City Hall this week against a tax break for an office-hotel development in ritzy Briarcliff. "This is ridiculous," he said.
Jim Glover: he became most impassioned when talking about the need to lobby for federal money to build the voter-approved light rail project. "I want to bring home the money."
Henry Klein: he told a story about walking the streets of Northeast with a campaign intern who grew up there and whose father could not sell the family home because the neighborhood was slipping. "I can not sit by and watch this happen anymore," Klein said.
Becky Nace: she, like Brooks, brought up a possible solution for the problem of rundown rental housing, which involves attaching code violation fines to the homeowner's tax bill, so the fines must be paid. "It's been done in other communities," she said.
Albert Riederer: the former Jackson County prosecutor, who just entered the race this week, lashed out against the proliferation of tax breaks, in the form of tax-increment financing (TIF). He wants the city to create a policy to control TIFs. "You know why we have TIFs on Ward Parkway and not in Northeast? It's because we don't have a policy," he said.
Katheryn Shields: she has championed better stewardship of the environment and established recycling in Jackson County buildings. "The environment is the main issue . . . that will be facing our children and grandchildren," she said.
Posted by Jeffrey Spivak
Katheryn Shields and husband Phil Cardarella appeared in court today to answer federal charges against them in an alleged mortgage fraud scheme. They and other defendants pleaded not guilty.
Said Cardarella: "Absolutely not guilty."
Posted by Keith Chrostowski
Kansas City Councilwoman Becky Nace formally kicked off her mayoral campaign Thursday at a Northland residence. The residence of Jay and Kristine Byer, she said, is one of more than 100 “neighborhood information centers” throughout the city where residents will have the opportunity to gather inside someone’s house to meet Nace and hear about her vision for the city.
Nace described the neighborhood information centers as an innovative approach to a campaign. And they demonstrate, she said, her commitment to focus City Hall’s attention on neighborhood issues rather than “big-ticket” items.
Nace also says that she promises to run a positive campaign. But some political insiders are skeptical of that promise because she has hired political consultant Jeff Roe to manage her campaign. Roe has managed numerous local Republican campaigns, including the ones for Missouri Sixth District Congressman Sam Graves, and has a reputation for producing negative attack ads. Roe was behind the television ad that linked Sara Jo Shettles, Graves’ Democratic opponent in the recent election, to Penthouse magazine. Shettles worked at one time for a science magazine that had corporate ties to Penthouse.
Nace said she hired Roe because of his experience, hard work and past success, and not to attack other opponents. “As a consultant, he will run a campaign that his candidate wants to run,” Nace said. “I am guiding my campaign.”
Nace also has former Graves’ spokesman Jason Klindt working for her. Klindt recently handled communications for the re-election campaign of Republican Montana Sen. Conrad Burns, who lost to Democrat Jon Tester in November.
Another one of Nace’s campaign workers is Mary Jacobi, who worked for Shettles’ campaign. As they say, politics make for strange bedfellows.
Posted by Mike Rice
The Northeast Side's mayoral candidate forum is scheduled tonight from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Melrose United Methodist Church, 200 N. Bales Avenue in Kansas City.
The audience will receive the latest edition of a nifty Voter's Guide put out by Scott Wagner of Wagner Marketing. It includes each candidate's answers to a variety of questions important to all of Kansas City and a few questions of particular concern in the Northeast.
The slick 24-page questionnaire includes color photos of the 10 candidates who agreed to attend the forum in time to be included. They are Alvin Brooks, Chuck Eddy, Janice Ellis, John Fairfield, Mark Funkhouser, Jim Glover, Stanford Glazer, Henry Klein, Becky Nace, and Katheryn Shields.
Other candidates who signed up later might appear at the forum, but won't be included in the guide. To check out the guide ahead of time, click here.
Posted by Kit Wagar
Score one for Mark Funkhouser in the race to make an impression in the KC mayoral primary.
In case you missed it, the year's first mayoral forum in the Northland on Tuesday night ended with an audience vote. The 198 people in attendance at the Park Hill High School auditorium were asked to fill out ballots based on the performance of candidates. The candidates were rated on their opening statements, vision, communication style and Northland issues, among other things.
After the event was over, 110 ballots were turned in. Funkhouser topped the field with 2,438 points. Businessman and political newcomer Henry Klein came in second with 2,062, and City Councilwoman Becky Nace was third with 2,056.5.
For Nace, that was a better showing than The Star's political correspondent Steve Kraske thought in an earlier posting on this blog. But it should be noted that Nace had a contingent of supporters in the audience -- something that Klein didn't have, for instance.
Rounding out the Northland audience's rating were Al Brooks, John Fairfield (this Northlander was 5th on his home turf, not a confidence booster), Chuck Eddy, Jim Glover, Janice Ellis, Stan Glazer and at the very bottom, Katheryn Shields.
Congrats to the forum's host, the Community Coalition to Fix Barry Road, for turning a dry political event into something fun.
Posted by Jeffrey Spivak
There's an early poll out about the KC mayor's race. It's not much, but it's something.
The poll, commissioned for and released by darkhorse candidate Henry Klein, puts him in fourth place, just 1 percentage point out of third, according to campaign manager Sean Spence.
Klein's campaign, though, won't say which candidate is on top, only that the top four -- in alphabetical order, Al Brooks, Mark Funkhouser, Jim Glover and Klein -- accounted for 59 percent of all respondent votes.
The rest of the field -- including City Council members Chuck Eddy and Becky Nace, plus the controversial Katheryn Shields -- together earned just 13 percentage points.
The poll was done by Virginia-based Strategic Services and surveyed 500 likely Kansas City voters from January 2 to 5. That means it was done before Shields officially entered the race.
Another interesting tidbit: "These voters want change," according to a memo to the Klein campaign from Strategic Services. That's because 62 percent of respondents said the current City Council was doing a fair or poor job. Only 2 percent of respondents said the council was doing an excellent job.
Spence acknowledges that Klein's campaign, like other mayoral hopefuls, intended to keep this poll private and not release any findings. But then, Klein's handlers didn't expect him to show so well this early. Klein is a former RR Donnelley businesses executive who is running as a political outsider, stressing issues like improving schools. But he also was the first candidate to air a television ad on the mayor's race.
Strategic Services also forecasted: "If Klein is able to raise and spend the resources he needs, there is little question that he can surge ahead of this pack and make it to the runoff election."
OK, any other candidates want to rebutt these polling results with their own numbers?
Posted by Jeffrey Spivak
Who mananged to raise their heads about the pack Tuesday night at the first major mayoral forum of 2007?
Let's say Al Brooks, Mark Funkhouser, Chuck Eddy and, by gosh, Henry Klein.
Those who struggled: Katheryn Shields, Becky Nace, Jim Glover and Stan Glazer.
Nearly 200 attended the Park Hill High School forum