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| BY PAUL LIVIUS |
Look for a new
Board of Aldermen
This last cycle of Raytown elections saw some of the most
fierce contests in years. A review of the races, the winners and losers,
follows.
Before we go there, our congratulations to the winners,
all of them deserve the recognition of winning a hard fought campaign. Credit
also goes to those who ran but fell short of their goal. For most, their
campaigns were honest attempts to serve the public.
MAYOR: When filing for office closed in January
most observers thought the election would be a one-sided contest for Mayor
Michael McDonough. His opponent, Tony Jacob was an unknown. McDonough had a
small but active base of supporters who used social media (Facebook) as a foil to
relentlessly attack Jacob. Despite the long odds against him, Jacob was able to
put together a credible campaign that left the outcome in doubt until the votes
were finally counted.
It is doubtful Jacob is through with Raytown politics. He
led the effort to petition for a State Audit in the Fall of 2018 when Raytown
voters successfully petitioned the State to conduct an audit. The audit is expected
to officially begin in May or June of 2019. Jacob has made it clear he intends
to be continue in his role as the lead petitioner for the Audies role in the
audit expected in Raytown this summer.
WARD 1: Greg Walters put together a classy campaign
of ideas boosting improvements to the city’s infrastructure, particularly in
the related areas of street lights and overlay of streets in Raytown’s
neighborhood. He will not allow those issues to go un-addressed at City Hall. He
led the ballot with 43% of the vote in four way contest for the Ward 1 seat.
His
main opponent in the race, Joe Creamer, ran an extremely negative campaign
against Walters leading up to Election Day. When that day arrived, Creamer
doubled down with personal attacks and false accusations against Walters.
The strategy failed. Creamer came in a distant second, receiving
only 35% of the vote.
Two other challengers, Josh Bennett and Quentin J. Brown,
collectively garnered 22% of the vote. Ms. Brown had previously announced she had
withdrawn from the race. However, her name remained on the ballot. The Mayor
actively campaigned for Bennett (who also had the endorsement of Susan Vorbeck
Brown, publisher of a Facebook page named Raytown Unleashed, received 115
votes. Brown received 45 votes.
WARD
2:
Jim Aziere and Loretha Hayden had the closest race of all. At the end of the
evening Aziere led in the count by three votes. Contests this close are
required by the State of Missouri to be re-counted before being certified.
This was Hayden’s second attempt for public office. She
lost to Alderman Jason Greene in 2017.
WARD 3: The Ward 3 race was an odd one. Janet
Emerson is the winner with a healthy 65% of the vote. The second and third
place winners were a surprise of sorts. Otis Taylor III, came in second, just
two votes ahead of Jeremy Utterback. Taylor, like Brown in Ward 1, had announced
fairly early in the race that he had withdrawn from active campaigning. Still,
his name remained on the ballot. Utterback had attended the Raytown Candidate
Forum, and had campaigned for State Representative in last November’s election.
Taylor is the grandson of former Kansas City Chiefs
football star Otis Taylor.
WARD 4: Mary Jane VanBuskirk defeated Bob
Cochran in an interesting race that revolved around an unusual question . . . should
a woman be allowed to run for office if her husband is already on the governing
body. A large contingent of voters said a resounding yes by giving Mary Jane
54% of the votes cast.
Cochran
was supported by many in the current administration, including Mayor McDonough
and the current Ward 4 Alderman Steve Meyers (who had chosen not to seek
re-election).
The
new Board will be sworn at the second regular business meeting of the Raytown
Board of Aldermen at City Hall (10000 East 59th Street) on Tuesday,
April 16th. The meeting starts at 7:00 p.m.
ANALYSIS . . .
New Board will Shift City Priorities
Voters appear to have split their votes in last Tuesday’s
election. Candidates the Mayor had supported did not win any of the five seats
up for election. The only incumbent to face a challenger was Ward 2 Alderman
Jim Aziere was not viewed as an ally of the Mayor before the election.
Ward 5 Alderman Derek Ward has steered an independent course
since he was appointed to the Board to fulfill the term of Eric Teeman. Ward 3
Alderman-elect Janet Emerson, who had served on the Board before, also has a reputation
as an independent voice on the Board. Both
will be open to new ideas.
As noted above, Ward 4 Alderman Jim Aziere does not have
close ties to the Mayor. In fact, McDonough openly supported Aziere’s opponent
in the election.
That leaves Greg Walters in Ward 1 and Mary Jane
VanBuskirk in Ward 4. Neither of them served under the current Mayor.
Both favor a more pro-active code enforcement department
with an emphasis on stricter enforcement.
Mrs. VanBuskirk stressed in her campaign the need for the
city to pursue outstanding criminal warrants in Raytown as well.
Both campaigned on the need for improved neighborhood
street maintenance and street lighting in Raytown neighborhoods.
Walters has proposed the City re-finance the 350 Live TIF
debt to receive more favorable payment terms of the city’s debt payment
schedule. Financially speaking, the TIF District is under-performing. This
means the city is on the hook for payments to keep the District solvent.
Mayor Recommends Controversial Appointment
Mayor
Michael McDonough is making a last minute attempt to appoint a controversial
figure to one of the city’s advisory boards. Paul Whitney served on the Mayor’s
Elected Official Salary Review Board. He made a name for himself by suggesting
that all members o f the City Council have their pay cut in half.
But his
proposal did not include two other elected officials in Raytown. The Mayor’s salary and the City Marshal/Chief of Police
salary were left unscathed in Whitney's proposal.
Cooler
heads, led by Salary Review Board Chairman, Ralph Monaco, rejected the
suggestion.
This
last minute packing of advisory board positions is a waste of time. All
advisory Boards in Raytown have no real power other than to recommend. Under
Missouri State Law the Board of Aldermen has the final vote on all matters
before the City. They cannot delegate their authority to others.
As
Harry Truman once famously said . . . the Buck Stops Here.
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25 comments:
To not have the City/Mayor get in front of this story relating to what appeared to be an ongoing and accepted pattern of behavior in the Police department is once again shunning public trust and transparency. I personally spoke to a current Alderman and I fully trust that they had no idea of this particular situation. I understand some of this was sensitive and needed to be carefully maneuvered around, but to not have a carefully legally approved statement formulated to notify Raytown Citizens that this culture and behavior is not an acceptable standard once again does nothing to bridge the ongoing trust issue that is deeply seeded in Raytown. True leaders surface and face the firing squad when necessary. Others just resign!
"To not have the City/Mayor get in front of this story relating to what appeared to be an ongoing and accepted pattern of behavior in the Police department is once again shunning public trust and transparency....True leaders surface and face the firing squad when necessary. Others just resign!"
Flawlessly stated! From here on out, we must demand accountability. If anyone discernibly disregards such a basic precept, they need tender their resignation immediately or face removal from office.
Here we go again, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck then it must be a duck. All signs point to the handling of Captain Goode as just one more example of the good ol’boys taking care of each other. The mayor has said more than once he is and always will be a cop first. I will be calling the Attorney General Monday with a complaint. I was pulled over last year for absolutely no reason other than the fact my friend and I were wearing swim suits on our way home from the pool. The officer said I was speeding, but refused to show me the radar gun and let me off with a warning after my friend said it was a creepy way just to try to hit on us. I called and complained to a major I think but could have been a captain and I was laughed at and made to feel like I was crazy. I hope there is a record of this and it was Mr Goode that gaslighted me. I would like nothing more then for the mayor to have to realize he needs to be a gentleman first, the mayor second and a retired cop last.
April 7 @ 4:47
I would also call the state auditors office.
See if they can check on a pattern as every time and officers stops someone it should be called into dispatch and/or captured in the CAD.
Remember we are getting a state audit the mayor doesn't want.
Working together we will get the professional services we pay for and our Mayor likes to claim we already have.
Who knows who stopped him. If it was last year, it wasn’t Goode because the story said he retired two years ago. Obviously no one wanted to prosecute, meaning the victims, so he apparently retired. Not saying it’s not creepy and disgusting but it’s over and didn’t cost the city any money.
I have been around and lived in the Raytown area for all of my 50+ years on this earth. I became an Eagle Scout in a troop in Raytown. I worked in Raytown for over 30 years in various jobs. When I got married, my wife and lived in Raytown, started raising our two kids in Raytown. Moved out 15+ years ago for various reasons, mainly for better education opportunities for our kids. My wife and I have gone to the same church in Raytown our whole lives. We were baptized, confirmed and married there. We still go there. Our dogs veterinarian and groomer is in Raytown. Those are the only things we still do in Raytown. It used to be a great community. But decisions by elected officials years and years ago are killing the city now. Doing slurry seal on streets rather than replacement was dumb and very costly. Now they need $36 million to get all streets to average. Sidewalks aren’t in great shape either. Reopening super splash years ago after spending tons of money wasn’t smart either. Way too many parks for the size and budget of Raytown. Too many outside of city etc. should have stuck with the two or three in the city and focused on keeping them nice.
The school district is a mess and like most districts have way too many big salaries at central office than they need. The decline of the district is part of reason we moved out of the city when we did. As I watched this last election, it was truly sad to watch all the antics against certain sitting officials and claims of some of the candidates! I know longer have any blood relations living in the city. I have a few friends and always hope the city pulls it out and can get out of this funk. But the only way that will happen is to get some money to truly fix things. I wish them luck and will continue to watch meeting etc.
5:19 PM
I think when the citizens of Raytown are allowed to see the full report without any blacked out parts we will learn a different story.
Look at all the lies coming from the police department like when Lynch made the comment that the 3 mil budget cut would reduce traffic stops, but it was proven Lynch had already given the word to reduce stops several years prior and one of the Alderman had the data to prove the truth.
I guarantee you have your information wrong. I was in the traffic unit until it was disbanded due to the budget cut and I was never told to and never did reduce the number of stops I made. I probably wrote over 1000 tickets a year, easy. Because it reduces the severity of crashes and the actual number as well. The only reason stops were reduced was the disbanding of the unit and no time to do stops due to going from call to call and writing incident reports.
Interesting read on the group that had been using cave springs address for their online paper.
Excuse is all they have to offer, but that is to common the answer toady.
We all need to be conserned about this behavior as it is they same thing we have seen from our Mayor.
This is not the first time this group played this game and I am sure it will not be their last.
Those who have not be following may not know they claim to be state audit certified with there story about how the audit is a waste of money, but there may be a few small misdoings, but that is expected as our elected officals are not professionals.
Wait two minutes!
Chief Lynch was or do they have knowledge he really was not certified for the position of chief as required by MO state law.
Who can forget the lawsuit over the city clerk's inability to follow state law and provide requested documents. Keep in mind many others around the city have requested documentation from her and not gotten it or had to get the AG to step in.
If you don't think that is not going to come up in the audit finds you are dreaming as all you have to do is read the findings on other entities in the state from the state auditors website.
We all know as it came out with the 2018 budget issues that set the citizens on fire that the police officers were taking cares home just as they are using for private security today. That is a benefit and must be reported as income on those officers W2's. Who bets they were not reported.
I guessing the Mayor and his out of town team will be talking how the findings are fake once released or placing the blame on those who requested the audit as they are doing and so did that paper using cave springs address.
Those with that paper were not really didn't do business at Cave Springs why didn't they just use one of their home addresses or get a PO Box.
Why did Ahern feel the need to report them to the county? The Tribune does not have Raytowns interest at heart.
I watched the BOA meeting tonight.
I was getting angry listening to a certain person.
"Clueless" is a good word that would describe him.
I guess we are going to have to listen to him rant for another 4 years. Oh joy!
12:05 say what your want, but the data from the city doesn't support your clams
Sorry, but the data is public information.
So either Lynch lied with the data or Lynch lied on the stops and if cops are still backing up the lies the Board of Alderman needs to clean out the department and start over with not hiring anyone who worked for Lynch
Time for Professionals
Q. Why did Ahern feel the need to report them to the county? The Tribune does not have Raytowns interest at heart.
A. If something looks like it is a violation of the law you should report it. In this case the non-profit is getting a benefit from the county and shouldn't be doing other business on the property to include using the address for another business.
As taxpayers we should be thanking Alhern for looking out for "our money"
You’re funny. There’d be no one working there then. And doubt they’d be able to hire anyone. Stops May have been down but that was not due to any order. It more than likely was due to senate bill 5 and the bs restrictions it put on cities, counties and the state as well as courts in regard the false narrative out of Ferguson, Mo that he had his hands up when he was killed by the officer he was assaulting. Officer Wilson was cleared by the DOJ and the criminals dna was on the officers gun. There was no order.
I believe she said it was reported to them and they checked into it and printed it.
If there had been an order like that, I would have requested it in writing and then continued to stop people and if they tried to discipline me, I’d of filed a lawsuit.
5:22 good for you but as stated one of the Alderman provide the proof that we lack professional issuing traffic tickets after our city marshal at the time opened his mouth about reductions and no more tickets.
No the city marshal shouldn't take all the blame so should the board of alderman for not bring in the state to take over and cleanup what has been a three ring circus of fools for at least 16 years.
I’ve no such proof that an order was given to reduce the number of tickets written!
And a week and a half later, still no statement besides "it was almost 2 years ago get over it". I hope the new board deals with these issues and holds all accountable.
Right, 5:19. Intimidation and sexual assault aren't that big of a deal to some.
That's not what the data shows. It plainly shows in 2014 we had less officers than 2016 but more tickets... get off of it mike.
Right it's not the violaters at fault, it's a 70 year old woman who in her email stated she wanted to protect the county and not use public assets for private business ventures. Perhaps you should look at the NPO. It was closed for fraud...
You and no one else filed a suit or even complaint when a dozen people were being assaulted constantly. I doubt you'd file one for hard feelings and laziness.
Where is the proof that the chief ordered people to not write tickets? Because tickets being down doesn’t mean an order was given. It is always an officers choice whether he/she writes a ticket or not. So unless there is written proof of such an order, you can move on. And now they don’t have enough people to go out and focus on tickets. And that’s on the board for cutting $3 million from their budget.
3:22 Maybe they could if they wouldn't hide at the old bank drive up on Raytown Road or down the street at the church at Gregory and Raytown Road.
I'm sure you will have an excuses for this to, but honestly if they cannot write their reports and setup the radar gun at the same time maybe it is time they consider retirement.
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