RAYTOWN'S LEADING NEWS SOURCE

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From Paul's Pen

The Raytown Board of Aldermen has moved its monthly meeting scheduled for Tuesday, November 15th to Monday, November 14th. The reason given is there will not be a quorum of six members to hold the meeting on Tuesday night. Six members are required by state law for pass any business before the elected body. The root of the problem can be found in the two vacancies that have remained unfilled in Ward 1 and Ward 5. Three members missing a meeting is not unusual. However when three members are missing out of seven, it is enough to force the meeting to be cancelled. If the two vacancies were filled, which can be done by Mayoral appointment and a simple vote by a majority of the Board of Aldermen to approve, the problem would be solved. There has not been any word from City Hall as to when Mayor McDonough will make the appointments.

AS SEEN ON RAYTOWN'S WEBPAGE . . .

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Winners and Losers BY GREG WALTERS AND PAUL LIVIUS

By this coming Tuesday Donald Trump will have been President Elect for one week.

Who were the losers and winners in this historic campaign?

It goes without saying the Democratic Party took this one on the chin. Not only did they lose the Presidency, they also lost a good opportunity to gain control of the Senate. As it turns out, the net gain in governors and Congressmen goes to the Republicans.

The major mistake made was when party leaders literally handed Hillary Clinton the nomination because it was “her turn”. As the surprisingly strong campaign by Bernie Sanders demonstrated . . . she was not a popular choice.

Some changes are in order. For the Democratic Party, the first order of business should be to do away with the super delegates in the nominating process. It is surprising that a party, notorious for opposing the electoral college, has embraced a nominating process that literally makes a farce of the popular vote in the way they choose a Presidential nominee. It is interesting to note that between the two major parties nominating process, the Republican process is for more “democratic” than the one used by the Democratic leadership. It is becoming very apparent that many of those Sanders supporters chose not to vote for either candidate in last Tuesday’s election. The hurt was felt most by Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

The Republican leadership needs to bite down hard and recognize how out of touch they have become with the rank and file of their party. Those of them who turned their back on the voter’s choice may have to realize that Trump won. He won because a large number of Democrats crossed over in both the primary and general election to support Trump. As it turns out, Trump took them to school on how to win an election. If they are serious about maintaining power, they need to mend the schism between the different factions of the party to do so.

If there is a big loser in this Presidential Election, the hands down loser is the national news media.

By far, the largest loser of the big three is CNN. One of their news correspondents leaked questions to be asked in national debates to the Democratic Party. On election night, they were light years behind MSNBC and FOX news in announcing winners. Their editorial guests almost unanimously called for a landslide by Hillary Clinton by 10 o’clock in the evening. They over-played fringe stories about voter registration along the nation’s southern border while ignoring what was taking place in the Midwest.

Worst of all, is the intense coverage of scattered protests in America after the election by those who do not like the result. The coverage on CNN reminds me of coverage from the 1980’s when Eastern Europe began to throw off the shackles of Russian Communist rule. Except in those European countries, most notably Poland, the protests were monstrously large. What I saw on three nights of what seemed like continuous loops from CNN was a disgruntled minority, angry that they lost an election.

Donald Trump won his election. He deserves the chance to govern and make his mark. He will not be sworn into office until early January. Until then, he deserves the same chance the 45 President elects ahead of him received.

BY GREG WALTERS

Bits and Pieces . . .

Translation Please!

I had to laugh when I read in the Raytown Times that Alderman Steve Meyers wanted to “dispel rumors of a moratorium on street resurfacing”. He said street overlay and the ever popular chip and seal works has only been postponed until next Spring,

We will translate this for you . . . it means there will not be any street overlay and chip and seal work done on streets this year.

By setting aside street maintenance for one year the Board has put their footing on a slippery slope that will only mean more deterioration to residential streets. I served on the Board for over 30 years and cannot remember one instance when streets were not routinely improved on an annual basis. If they do the work next year, as Alderman Meyers says, does that mean the amount of money spent on streets will be doubled to make up what was missed this year?

Way to Go Jason!

Ward 2 Alderman Jason Greene deserves recognition for standing his ground on the residency rule for the Raytown City Administrator. Seven of his fellow Aldermen (two seats are vacant) disagreed and voted to allow the Board to waive the law requiring the City Administrator to live within city limits. Greene is correct in his vote. If a non-resident is appointed to the position Raytown will be the only city in the metropolitan area whose chief administrative officer does not live in the city they serve.

Like police and firemen, city administrators are considered to be “first responders”. The “first responder” tag loses meaning if the holder of such a position is over a one hour commute away from the city.

Hopefully, the Board will begin a search for a permanent city administrator and find one who thinks enough of the city he will be leading to make it his home.

Other Papers Discuss

Former Ward 1 Alderman Joe Creamer has been writing a string of letters accusing the Raytown Police Department of irresponsible spending. Apparently he has come to the realization that if you overspend in one area of the budget, the rest of the budget suffers. It could very well be one of the reasons our streets are being covered with a slurry seal type of finish rather than repaired properly with asphalt. Another loser is those who wish they had more street lights in their neighborhood.

Everyone wants an effective and professional police department. But with that wish comes the responsibility of managing a budget correctly. So far, Creamer has been a lone voice on the topic. His friends at the Raytown Times and some of his old allies on the Board of Aldermen have not publicly broached the subject. Granted, it is a political hot potato, but it comes with the territory when addressing budget issues. Still, it is an issue that deserves a public debate.

Proper Disposal of Leaves

Fall has arrived and you can tell by the work Raytown homeowners are putting in to clean up the leaves in their yards. The best place for your leaves is to mulch them up for your lawn. It will pay dividends next year. One final word on leaves . . . we have noticed that some homeowners are using the street in front of their house as the final resting place for dead leaves. That is not what streets are made for, and, it is illegal. A note to the Raytown Police Department . . . it is your job to enforce that law. If the leaves are left on the street they will eventually make their way to the storm sewers. If the storm sewers become clogged with leaves (and they do) there will be flooding of our neighborhood streets.  

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