Often, I wonder where the blue is in these “blue-ribbon committees” that make recommendations on various aspects of local governments.
I refer specifically to two Kansas City committees — whose members were appointed by Mayor Sly James — that recently submitted recommendations to the City Council on different subjects.
They were the Police Governance Committee and the City Charter Review Commission.
Let’s take them one a take them separately…
Police Governance Committee
On a 13-12 vote, the governance committee recommended to the City Council that the Kansas City Police Department stay under state control, instead of coming under the mayor and council.
State control — where the governor names several commissioners, who, along with the mayor, comprise the Board of Police Commissioners — is a vestige of the days of crooked government under the Pendergast regime.
Hey, commission members, Mr. Pendergast has been dead for almost 70 years! Isn’t it about time to turn the car keys over to the adults at City Hall?
St. Louis was in the same state, so to speak, until Missouri voters last year approved a change to local control.
Kansas City now has the distinction of being the only city in the state where the governor has more power over a local police department than the locally elected mayor and city council.
How can this be?
Darryl Forte seems to be a good police chief, but shouldn’t the chief be hired and fired by the mayor and council, not an appointed board controlled by the governor?
As long as we have good chiefs, the damage should be minimal, but God forbid if we got a chief who flatly refused to cooperate with the mayor and council. It’s a recipe for potential chaos.
About that vote last night…Dave Helling’s front-page story in today’s Kansas City Star said that five commission members were absent. An editorial posted on the kansascity.com website today said four members did not vote. And in an email tonight, Yael Abouhalkah of The Star told me the city today corrected the record, saying four of 29 potential voters were absent.
Hard to fathom, isn’t it? You’ve got an issue that’s decided by one vote, and four members miss the meeting?
I’ve got a call in to Jason Hodges in James’ office to try to find out who was on the committee (see comments), how the vote broke down and who was absent.
God knows you can’t get that kind of important detail from The Star. It dishes out the bare minimum on its government coverage. (As far as I can tell, The Star never published the names of the members of either the governance or charter review committees.)
The tattered-ribb…I mean blue-ribbon…committee does not have the last word on this. The City Council could vote to seek local control. But that wouldn’t end the matter: The Missouri General Assembly would make the call, short of a statewide initiative petition, which isn’t likely.
That means a bunch of rural legislators who have no use for Kansas City and St. Louis — and generally want to keep the cities under their thumbs as much as possible — would have the final say.
I think I’m gonna cry.
**
Kansas City Charter Review Commission
This commission, appointed by Mayor James, last week recommended that the City Council should have 12 people elected solely in districts, instead of the current system of six council members elected in districts and six elected city-wide.
The recommendation to change is utter balderdash: Only the mayor, the 13th member of the council, would be truly focused on the good of the entire city. Every other member would be going around — heads down, blinders on — trying to pick up crumbs of pie, instead of making sure the pie was baked properly and that it would appeal to a broad majority.
The charter panel also made two other recommendations:
1) Give the mayor the power to fire the city manager without needing the concurrence of six of the 12 other council members.
2) Move the city’s election dates from February and March to April and June. (The primary election would come first and then the general election.)
Both of those recommendations make sense. How or why a commission majority came up with the 12-districts plan is beyond me.
Fortunately, those recommendations also will go to the City Council, which will decide which, if any, recommendations to put on an election ballot.
I urge you to call or email your council members (the one in-district and the one elected at large) and tell them to drop the notion of changing the City Council make-up.
There is nothing to be gained from a chopped-up, hydra-headed council.
JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC 
According to TKC this is who was appointed. I also would like to know the vote breakdown and who FAILED to attend the meeting. The Mayor and Yael had a little “Twitter” debate this morning. Star / Heling should have provided BETTER coverage of this meeting!!!!
Members of the Blue Ribbon Commission:
Kay Barnes, Co-Chair – Mayor Barnes served as one of the first two women elected to the Jackson County legislature prior to her election to the Kansas City City Council in 1979. In 1999, she was elected as the first woman Mayor of Kansas City, serving two terms. Mayor Barnes is rightfully credited with the revitalization of downtown Kansas City, and has served as a member of the Kansas City Police Board.
Pat McInerney, Co-Chair – Mr. McInerney most recently served as President of the Kansas City Police Board and is currently a partner at Husch Blackwell. Previously, he served as Assistant U.S. Attorney where he prosecuted cases involving racketeering, money laundering, court fraud and violent crime. Mr. McInerney also was appointed by the Jackson County, Mo., Circuit Court as a Special Prosecuting Attorney.
Sandra Aust – Director of Coming of Age Kansas City Metro, a civic engagement initiative researched at Temple University and sponsored by Shepherd’s Center Central. Her career has spanned a wide range of pursuits, including acute hospital care and home health care serving the chronically ill.
Erika Brice – Principal of the si12 Group, a consulting firm she founded to focus on the real estate & economic development needs of low to moderate income communities. She currently serves on the Blue Hills Community Services Board of Directors.
Hyajin Bushey – Officer Bushey is currently assigned as a Project Officer within the Research and Development Division. She has been with the department since 2001. Her previous assignments include Central Patrol Division, South Patrol Division, and East Patrol Division.
Emanuel Cleaver, III – Dr. Cleaver serves as Senior Pastor of St. James United Methodist Church in Kansas City. He is a member of the Concerned Clergy Coalition and the Methodist Minister’s Fellowship where he currently serves as president.
Councilwoman Melba Curls – Currently serving the 3rd District at large and previously served four terms in the Missouri House of Representatives. She is the Chairwoman of the Neighborhoods and Healthy Communities Committee.
Duke Dujakovich – Life-long Kansas City, Missouri resident who grew up on the east side. Duke joined the KCFD in 1987 and is currently a Battalion Chief. He is the Past President of IAFF Local 3808 and is currently the President of AFL-CIO.
Tim Flook – Former Missouri State Representative Flook represented the Liberty area and was first elected in 2004. Mr. Flook is an attorney at the firm Flook and Graham, and is a former Clay County Counselor.
Councilman Ed Ford – Currently represents the 2nd District at large and previously served two consecutive terms as the 1st District at large councilman from 1995-2003 under Mayor Cleaver and Mayor Barnes. Councilman Ford is the Chairman of the Planning, Zoning and Economic Development Committee.
Eddie Gladbach – Vice President, Legal for AMC Entertainment, Inc. and is a resident of the Hyde Park neighborhood. Prior to joining AMC, he was an attorney for Interstate Bakeries Corporation and Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP.
Gwen Grant – President & CEO of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City. Mrs. Grant serves as Vice President of the Kansas City, Missouri School District Buildings Corporation Board of Directors; Arts Council of Kansas City Board of Directors; and Institute for Urban Education Advisory Board.
Carol Grimaldi – Active in several civic groups and issues including the Wet Weather Community Panel, the Jackson County Ethics Commission, the Public Improvements Advisory Committee and the Mayor’s Commission on Race. She has been the Executive Director of Brush Creek Community Partners since 1998.
Barrett Hatches – Dr. Hatches is the owner of Hatches Consulting, LLC, and the president and principal owner of BHMM Energy Services. Dr. Hatches serves as the Chairman of the Missouri Gaming Commission and Chairman of the Board for the Full Employment Council.
Jerry Jones – Lead health equity community organizer with Communities Creating Opportunities and a life-long resident of Kansas City.
Justin Kobolt – Sergeant Kobolt is currently assigned as a supervisor within the Research and Development Division of the Kansas City Police Department. He has been with the department since 2002. His previous assignments include Central Patrol Division, Metro Patrol Division, Special Victim’s Unit, and the Homicide Unit.
Brad Lemon – Currently serves as the Executive Vice President for the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 99 and has been a member of the Kansas City Missouri Police Department for well over two decades. He has been a member of the Kansas City Health Care Task Force and most recently the Kansas City Pension Task Force.
Ron Lindsay – Pastor Lindsay, a native of Kansas City, is the founder and Senior Pastor of Concord Fortress of Hope Church. Concord is located in South Kansas City, Missouri.
Beth Low – Vice President (Policy & Public Affairs) of KC Healthy Kids, and Director of the Greater Kansas City Food Policy Coalition. A resident of Western 49-63 neighborhood, Low served three terms in the Missouri legislature (D-39), representing much of Kansas City, including midtown, Westport, The Country Club Plaza, and much of Brookside from 2005 to 2011.
Sean McCauley – Attorney at McCauley & Roach with over 12 years of experience in all facets of labor relations. He is the current legal counsel for the Kansas City Fraternal Order of Police.
Gene Morgan – Graduate of Rockhurst University and holds a Masters Degree from the University of Central Missouri in Corrections and an MPA from the University of Missouri Kansas City. He worked for five years at the Jackson County Juvenile (Family) Court, 17 years as a Superintendent for the Missouri Department of Corrections, 20 years at the Kansas City Community Center, 14 years as President/CEO, and is now an adjunct instructor of criminal justice at MCCKC, Penn Valley Campus.
Charles Myers – Attorney at Lathrop and Gage, LLP on healthcare law issues. He served on the City Plan Commission of Kansas City, Missouri from 1991 to 2010, serving as chair for 11 years and vice chair for four years.
Dr. Ken Novak – Associate Professor and Chair of UMKC’s Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology. Areas of research and teaching interests are policing, criminal procedure, and criminal justice organizations.
CiCi Rojas – Mrs. Rojas is President and CEO of Kansas City’s Central Exchange. She is formerly Vice President of Community Engagement for Truman Medical Center with previous experience serving as the President and CEO of both the Dallas and Kansas City Hispanic Chambers of Commerce and as Vice President of Strategic Alliance with the Washington, D.C.- based U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Councilman John Sharp – Currently represents the 6th District and previously served five terms in the Missouri House of Representatives, representing the Ruskin/Hickman Mills area, and two terms on the Hickman Mills Board of Education. Councilman Sharp is the Chairman of the Public Safety Committee.
Sandy Skaggs – Lifelong resident of Kansas City has been a political activist involved in our community. She served on the Mid-Continent Public Library Board for 30 years and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Clay County affiliate of Hillcrest Transitional Housing.
Angie Stanland – vice president of Associate Services and Recruiting at Cerner Corporation. Prior to joining Cerner, Stanland worked for Executive Travel and the Hyatt Hotels and Resort network. Stanland sits on the boards of the Kansas City Convention and Visitors Association and the American Royal and is a vestry member of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church. She resides in downtown Kansas City with her husband, Cy.
Imam Sulaiman Z. Salaam – Resident Imam of Al – Haqq Islamic Center, recently appointed as an Ambassador for Peace by the World Federation of Peace and presented with the “Merging Leadership Award” by the Heartland Chapter of the Muslim American Council.
Balius Tate – Retired Great Plains Energy executive; concluded a 33 year career as Vice President of Administration. He has also served on the Board of Police Commissioners for the City of Kansas City.
Brenda Tinnen – Brenda Tinnen, general manager and senior vice president of Sprint Center/AEG-KC, and serves as vice-chair of Missouri Tourism Commission. Tinnen has held operational roles with STAPLES Center, Home Depot Center, Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace and the Kodak Theatre.
Thanks, George…Great information. And congrats to Tony for publishing the list.
I’m going to keep trying to find out how the vote went and who was absent.
Fitz,
I get a feeling that this council district plan has been conjured up by people who don’t like the fact that a white representative has held the 5th District at-large seat since 1999.
You are 100 percent correct, Mike…I just got confirmation tonight that my friends at Freedom Inc. badly want that second 5th District seat. They strongly believe that the African-American community is entitled to at least four council seats.
I disagree with them on this point, not because I don’t think the community is entitled to another seat but because I think that the loss of six council members who must consider the interests of the entire city is too much of a sacrifice in order to get proportional representation.
This could end up being hotly contested at the council level.
fritz i disagree with you on the pd being controled by the state. just by talking to several policemen that ive known over the years they all say the same thing that they dont want the city to have anything to do with there department.
I think I remember reading that Forte was against local control….not sure if that’s correct. But if it is, I wonder what his reasons are. And I’m inclined to give his opinion some weight, in any case, but of course it shouldn’t be up to him.
Fitz:
You’ll notice the list above, which is the blue ribbon task force, has 30 names. If the vote was13-12, that would leave five members not voting. The tally sheet Monday night showed five non-votes.
But in the tally released Tuesday morning, only four members were officially considered non-voting. Apparently, two members stopped coming to the sessions and one vote Monday was a substitute, yielding a 29-member group.
But the original mayoral commission had 30 members, and only 25 cast votes. That was the basis of the five non-votes in my story.
I explained the situation on the Buzz Blog Tuesday morning (http://www.kansascity.com/2013/11/12/4616556/police-control-in-kansas-city.html) and listed how all task force members voted on the issue, as well as the names of the non-voters. I told the ed board Tuesday the official tally now showed four non-votes, not five.
Dave H.
Thanks, Dave…Your blog piece explains it well…So well that I’m going to drop the vote in right here….I can tell one thing from this vote: Almost everyone who ever had any kind of position relating to the PD, including past commissioners Bailus Tate and Pat McInerney, voted to retain state control. The one exception I noted was former Mayor Kay Barnes, who voted for city control.
**
BY DAVE HELLING
How they voted on police control:
State control: Bailus Tate, Beth Low, Brad Lemon, Charles Meyers, Erika Brice, Hyajin Bushey, Jim Pruetting, John Sharp, Justin Kobalt, Pat McInerney, Sandy Skaggs, Sean McCauley, Tim Flook.
Local control: Barret Hatches, Carol Grimaldi, Cici Rojas, Duke Dujakovich, Ed Ford, Gene Morgan, Gwen Grant, Kay Barnes, Melba Curls, Ken Novak, Sandra Aust, Imam Sulaiman Z. Salaam.
City officials now say there were 4 members not voting, instead of the five reported Monday night. They were: Emanuel Cleaver III, Angie Stanland, Eddie Gladbach, and Jerry Jones.
The committee started with 30 members, but two apparently dropped out, with one replacement, leaving the committee with 29 members.
Jim,
While I wouldn’t mind current local officials being in charge of KCPD, I would hate to think of the mess we could have had to deal with if a guy like Funkhouser had hiring and firing power and had a council backing him.
For this reason I am torn on that particular issue. On the other hand, I’m with you on leaving the current City Council structure as is.
That’s a good point, Jason, and the one that a lot of people focus on — concern that one or more mayors might exercise their prerogative and fire a perfectly good chief. At the same time, however, most of these guys who become chief are eligible for retirement by the time they make chief and have no intention of hanging around very long. They like to get that high salary for a few years, then retire, draw a big, fat pension and maybe become chief in a smaller city. Happens all the time. Watch Forte. He’s eligible, and I bet he’ll be gone within two years.
Fitz,
On the council district issue, what area municipalities have councils that are comprised solely of in-district/in-ward seats? One city I know of that has that set-up is the Raytown Board of Aldermen. I covered that city for The Star from 1993 to 1998. Its board had 10 aldermen serving 5 wards and getting elected only by the people living in their respective wards. I can safely tell you that, based on the six years I covered Raytown, this was one of the most dysfunctional elected boards I ever covered. “Why is his/her ward getting sidewalks when mine isn’t?” type of bickering was the norm. I can’t help but think that had Raytown not been bogged down in these petty ward politics back then, it would be much better off today.
I realize that there are many people in KC’s 5th District who do not like the political powers-that-be finding someone in the mostly-white area of the 5th District between Raytown and Lee’s Summit to run for the at-large seat and seeing mostly white Northland voters propelling them to victory. The alternative, however, would be disastrous. Nothing or, at best, very little would get accomplished.
KC has had some fine at-large council members: Joe Shaughnessy, Evert Asjes, Deb Hermann and Ed Ford just to name a few. And please correct me if I’m wrong, Fitz, but I don’t recall any at-large council members who have embarrassed themselves to the point of putting a black eye on our city _ at least not in recent years.
I think you’re right about the at-large council members having stayed out of trouble. The council members who were convicted of felonies several years ago were Chuck Weber, Jeanne Robinson and Mike Hernandez. I believe each of them was elected in district.
Those who did not vote should resign.