For candidates, it was the place to be seated

    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

Comments

Certainly speaks for where they each place themselves in the area of importance.

A self imposed hierarchy.

[Up2Late]

"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."

At least "close friend and sister" has a better ring to it than "unindicted co-conspirator."

Where was Mike Sanders... the self-annointed "friend of the African Americans?" Oh I guess eastern Jackson County guys don't celebrate MLK Day.

Tom Pendergast was in the back pew.

I missed this years ceremony. Did Shields once again announce her solidarity with minorities based on her ill treatment by the FBI?

[Drew Murphy]

What's up with Fuzzy Thompson crowning Brooks mayor at public function?

Sanders did the right thing by not going. Thompson is nothing more than another whore looking to get paid in the name of progress.

Where's the ACLU when we need it? Clearly we have a pastor endorsing a political candidate from the pulpit. We need to pull the tax-exempt status of St. Stephen Baptist Church! Wait, I forgot about the hypocrisy... It's OK for a black pastor to endorse democrats in the inner city, but Jerry Johnston discussing (not endorsing) candidates at First Family Church in Overland Park draws the scrutiny of the liberals and the ACLU.

[James]

Just another case in point, where a religious figure is using the pulpit for politican purposes. Again, you wouldn't see a white pastor endorse a white candidate because the ACLU and other self serving organizations would say that their civil rights were being violated. Its a double standard, you can do it but when I try to do it,it's called civil rights violation.

I was pleased to see both area Latino elected officals attended the event. Both County Legislator (1st at large) Teresa Garza and State Representative (37th District) Mike Talboy were front and center.

[Bill Dennis]

The anti-ACLU commenters show their stupidity. Show me where the ACLU has done anything about Jerry Johnston? The ACLU sues governments to protect our civil rights. They don't sue individuals.

OK, if not the ACLU, how about the MAINstream Coalition? Same group of liberal hypocrites, just a different name. http://www.acfnewsource.org/religion/politics_pulpit.html