The next mayoral race right now, in money (wanna' good laugh?)

Again, according to The Kansas City Star today , the next mayoral race is heating up.

This was pretty staggering to me--it was a real eye-opener: Attorney Sly James "continues to have the biggest war chest. He has raised $370,760 to date, including $37,508 in the first quarter of this year. He had $194,987 cash on hand, and he has lent his campaign $23,000."

Wowzer. That's a heap.

And the person who's next in line, in terms of raising money for this race, is former city councilman Jim Rowland with $41,045.

Not even close.

So it looks like it might be Sly James race to lose, at this point, if money is any indicator. And, of course, in American political campaigns, it absolutely is.

And sure, I mention this because it's pretty big news, as far as the race goes, and it's good to know, as a citizen of the city.

But here's the real reason I write this entry today--here's the real kicker, since we can always use a good laugh: Mayor Mark Funkhouser's campaign to retake his office?

"Mayor Mark Funkhouser listed $3,000 in contributions since the first of the year."

Wait. It gets better.

"Funkhouser had $1,948 cash on hand, andhis campaign committee still owes him $1,000."

Looks like we won't have the ol' Funk to "kick around anymore", as Dick Nixon said, so many years ago.

Man, it's a beautiful weekend, isn't it?