JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC

Over the next few weeks, the campaign for mayor will get increasingly interesting, and probably more pointed.

With the holidays in the rear view mirror and baseball season a long way off, the mayor’s race is about the only excitement on the immediate horizon. By default, if nothing else, people will begin taking a closer look at the seven candidates heading toward the Feb. 22 primary, when the field will be whittled to two.

Several mayoral forums are scheduled to be held this week. All are open to the public.

The times, days, sponsoring agencies and locations are as follows:

— 8:30 a.m. to noon Tuesday, Kansas City Regional Transit Alliance, City Stage Theatre, Union Station. Each candidate will have 30 minutes to answer questions on mass transit.

— 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, American Institute of Architects, Kansas City Chapter, 1801 McGee, Suite 100.

— 8 p.m. Thursday, UMKC’s Pierson Auditorium, 5000 Holmes. (A council candidates’ forum will be held from 6 to 8 p.m.)

— 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, The Call, Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center, 3700 Blue Parkway.

While waiting for the action to intensify, here are some observations on the candidates:

** Jim Rowland. The “corridor kid” made good points at the Central Presbyterian Church forum last week when he reminded the audience what a jerk Mayor Mark Funkhouser has been. He’s the first mayor in at least 40 years to banish a council member (Jan Marcason of the Fourth District) from all standing committees. But Rowland has a couple of major problems: Beady eyes and a sour personality.

Burke

** Mike Burke. Has the deepest, broadest background in civic matters and projects confidence. Needs to sharpen his message, however, and tell people clearly why he is the best candidate and paint a sharper picture of where he would lead the city. (He also needs to drop his “perfect storm” explanation for why things have gone so badly at City Hall the last four years. It wasn’t the jet stream that wreaked havoc at City Hall; it was the mayor and his spouse.) Burke hurt himself by initially refusing to publicly talk about the Port Authority scandal, citing attorney-client relationship. (He was general counsel at the time.) Documents unearthed by The Star, however, show that after learning about the $9.7-million contract between the company developing the Richards-Gebaur site and a company owned by another Port Authority attorney, Burke wrote a scolding letter to the attorney, William Session.

Hermann and James

:: Deb Hermann. Straight shooter. Easy to talk to. Has guts. (Stood up to Local 42’s demand that the city include the former MAST employees in the city pension system at an estimated cost of $30 million.) Her kindly grandma appearance and non-threatening manner stand as appealing contrasts to Funkhouser’s bashing, avenging ways. Leadership is a question, though. She’s led the Finance and Audit Committee, but is that enough?

:: Funkhouser. Speaks knowledgeably and authoritatively about the issues, as you would expect of an incumbent, and almost makes you forget what a disaster he’s been. That’s why Burke and Rowland have to keep reminding the voters. (Hermann probably would like to slide through without going negative, at least in the primary.)

:: Henry Klein and Sly James. Well-meaning and well-spoken individuals who add a lot to the discussion. However…these and similar pretenders from past elections (Stan Glazer, Gomer Moody, etc.) who wake up one day and think, “Hey, I could be mayor,” need to go back to investing, the law, show business, liquor sales and whatever else it is they do and stay there. The last 40 years of Kansas City history shows that you can’t get elected mayor unless you’ve held another major elective office (Charles B. Wheeler); served on the council (Richard Berkley, Emanuel Cleaver and Kay Barnes); or been hand-picked by The Star’s Yael Abouhalkah.

:: Charles Wheeler. The most candid, accessible and entertaining mayor we’ve had during the last 40 years. (Held the office from 1971 to 1979.) I’ll never forget when he wrestled a bear in the mayor’s office and then regaled the press with the details: “The bear sat right over there on that couch and drank a Pepsi.” That said, he might not even get on the ballot. It takes 1,000 signatures of registered voters to qualify for the ballot, and, at this point, that translates into supporters willing to stand outside supermarkets, in the cold, approaching shoppers and saying, “Excuse me…are you registered to vote in Kansas City?”

Suggestion: If you really want on the ballot, Charlie, hire Clay Chastain to get your signatures. He needs something constructive to do to take his mind off himself.