Wyandotte County, Keeping That Task Force on Police and Community Relations White--and Ineffective?--As Can Be

I can really hardly believe what I've seen and read. Check out this article from the Star last week.

Wyandotte County DA is left out of law enforcement task force seeking ‘objective’ view

A bit of the article:

A task force on police and community relations in Wyandotte County will include the sheriff, the Kansas City, Kansas, police chief, and the mayor of the Unified Government.

But it will not include the Wyandotte County district attorney.

Mark Dupree, who has clashed with police and pushed for reforms since he was elected in 2017 as the state’s first black district attorney, was left off the list of members announced Monday.

In a statement to The Star, the office of David Alvey, the Mayor and CEO of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, said the task force will be charged with gathering community input and passing that input on to local officials. The members will not be making recommendations for change based on that input.

The group, the statement said, is intended to be an “objective panel” — a consideration that contributed to Alvey’s decision not to include Dupree.

“The intent was to allow the district attorney to remain independent, providing inputs and recommendation as part of the task force’s future public forum process, actually ‘presenting’ before and to the task force and offering his perspective and insight as it moves forward.”

But wait. It gets better...

The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to questions regarding what criteria was used to determine whether a task force member was objective and whether any of the chosen members have a history of advocacy.

So the "White Guy In Charge" decides that the local DA, the local District Attorney, shouldn't be included in a task force on police and community relations in light of the street murder of a black American citizen, George Floyd, and consequent calls for police reform in and across the nation.

Even though this very District Attorney has been loudly and publicly calling for that very reform in his job for the last 3 years.

Right.   Got it.

Seriously Mayor Alvey, Wyandotte County, Kansas City, Kansas---can you hear yourselves?  

And check this out. this is how this was all announced, days before the above article.

KCK mayor announces task force to help improve relations between community and police

Let me say again, this Mayor announces a "task force" to "improve relations between community and police" but his first task on this force he created is to throw out the very qualified black guy who has been calling for this for years?

You can't make this stuff up.

Another thing to see from the article:

A woman in the crowd asked why no young black men were on the task force. The mayor said they aren’t trying to exclude anyone.

To which they should have added, "Well, except the one black District Attorney in town who's been calling for change for years.  We ARE trying to exclude him, for sure."

How much more blatantly racist and exclusionary can we all get and be, folks?  Incredible.

At least, thank goodness, the kindly Mayor did allow, in fact, for Unified Government Commissioner Harold Johnson, who is black, to be on the committee. Thank goodness for that, anyway. How good of him.

Interim Kansas City, Kansas, Police Chief Michael York is on the committee.   A white guy.

Fortunately, too The Rev. Tony Carter Jr. of Salem Missionary Baptist Church, a black man, they let him in on the committee, too, thankfully.

Other members of the task force:

• Donnelly College student Yareli Castor-- a young woman of color. Apparently they think she'll be "safe"
• Randy Lopez of the Wyandotte Health Foundation-- not a white guy, thankfully, and not ancient, either
• Donnelly College President Monsignor Stuart Swetland-- White guy.  Very white.  (On the side, someone please tell me what an elderly white Monsignor knows about young black guys being pulled over by police. Please. I'm all ears}.
• Wyandotte County Sheriff Don Ash-- And closing, of course, with a white guy. Another very, very white guy. And a member of a police force, in effect. Because he's not going to be subjective or defensive of his force, right, Mayor Alvey??  Right??  I'm just glad we wont' have anyone on this task force that is nothing but "objective." (Are you freaking kidding me??)

But let the local District Attorney in on this committee to examine relations between the police and the community?  The guy who's been clamoring for change for years? 

And as the young woman in the audience that day asked, not one younger black man on the task force? Not one?   What?  They didn't want his input?  His "subjectivity"?   Excuse me but I thought that's what a community task force was for. That is, to get people's input. You know, THEIR OPINIONS?  THEIR EXPERIENCES??

Added to this, I haven't seen or read anything critical about this task force at all. Not in the Star, not in the younger people's media like The Pitch--which doesn't really get widespread readership anyway, rather sadly.   Certainly not on the vacuous, local evening news.  

Nah....

Don't ask the DA in town. He's a black guy.

He won't be "objective" about it.  His, the Mayor's words, reportedly.

He may have an opinion.

Isn't having an opinion on a task force a good thing? Isn't that what this is all about? Or supposed to be?

This doesn't look like an attempt to fix or change anything as much as it does to maintain the status quo.

Systemic, institutional racism, anyone? Everyone?

Are you freaking kidding me, Mayor Alvey?

Are you kidding us?  All of us?

This is going to stand?

Our Mayoral Race-- A Prediction

So yes, we're coming down to voting day next week in the Kansas City, Missouri Mayoral race. As we well know, it's between Jolie Justus and Quinton Lucas.

I think it's widely believed it's anyone's race to call. It looks to be very close, a toss up, if you will.

I saw the two candidates this week in their final debate at the Kansas City Public Library on the Country Club Plaza.

Before this debate, I'd only read and heard about them both and I thought they seemed close on all the local topics.

After seeing the debate, I'm still convinced that's true.

Having said all that, I do think I can make a prediction on this race, crazy or brave, one or both, as that may be.

Having heard and seen the two candidates, I believe this race will come down to who, exactly, people think looks "Mayorly", like it or not, agree or not. And sure, I'll say up front even after my prediction, it could still go either way but I'm still willing to put this out there.

I think Quinton Lucas will be Kansas City, Missouri's next Mayor.

And it will be because a good deal of the voters think he more looks the role, again, like it or not.

Let the best person win.

We can't do any worse than the Funk.

God willing, we never will again.

Link:

Here’s your guide to Kansas City’s election: The candidates, the issues and more

Mark Funkhouser - Wikipedia

The Big Takeaway From Yesterday's Election

Okay so we got that election out of the way, for better or worse.

Thankfully, we are now down to only two candidates for mayor of Kansas City, Missouri. That trying to weed through a dozen was a bit crazy but hey, this is America. We love choice.

No surprise, I don't think, the vote to possibly help pre-kindergarten with daycare died. Between the fact that even the school district didn't support it and that it was "just one more tax", I can't say I'm surprised it died.

And now we have 2 choices for mayor. The differences couldn't be more stark, could they? Jolie Justus and Quinton Lucas? Yet more of us will have to go out and do some more homework, for those not fully familiar with both.

But here's the big takeaway, the big blessing, for me, anyway, and maybe for a lot of us--the entire city?--after this election.

We likely--hopefully?--don't have to hear from or about Clay Chastain any longer.

Understand, this is not a post to mock, ridicule or otherwise make fun of Mr. Chastain. Not at all.

But come on.

We have seen and read and heard so much from and about him over the last several years and it seems he doesn't even really live here.

I get the sense he was sincere and well-meaning, good intentioned with his hopes and plans and dreams and ideas for our city. I'll give him that.

But you ought to live here. And you ought to live here full time.

And you shouldn't have what seem to be kooky--or worse--ideas. 

As mayor, you would have to lead all of the city. Everyone would have to come along with you. That means being with and behind you on your ideas.

Too often, it seemed Mr. Chastain had his own, very headstrong ideas but that much of the metropolis wasn't with him on them. I could be wrong on this but I don't think so.

So with this, Mr. Chastain, I think it's safe to say, again, for most of the area, maybe thank you for your thoughts and ideas and efforts. Thank you for those intentions. We wish you well.

Now, go, enjoy retirement.

Wherever you live.

Another Plea to All Local Media--On This Mayoral Race

The topic is Kansas City Mayor.

The election for a new one, after Sly James terms, is coming up, of course, April 2. Weeks away.

All I personally know is that there are at least several people running for the position. This is most of them, I understand

I've seen a few names. I've gotten some mail from a few but really, I've no idea who's running, who they are, what they stand for or what they say they will stand and work for.

I know Clay Chastain threw his proverbial hat in the ring. That's all I need to know about him.

And Jolie Justus. I know she's running and from where she's coming, mostly, since she's been around the area for some time.

I did a cursory Google search today and found this, thankfully, from our local NPR station, KCUR:

Here's Who's Running For Mayor Of Kansas City, Missouri

But if you go there, you'll see they are extremely brief descriptions of the candidates, of one small paragraph. That's it. It is also, brief as it is, the most complete description of these candidates I've been able to find. That's sad.

I don't think our Star newspaper has run articles on all the candidates yet. I don't see every daily paper but I do check in regularly.

There are a couple more links on the interwebs, from national sources:

Mayoral election in Kansas City, Missouri (2019) - Ballotpedia

According to that link, above, there are officially 11 candidates in the race. Six of those candidates are currently on the City Council. Three are on the Council for their first terms--Alissia Canady, Jolie Justus and Quinton Lucas. Two are second-term candidates--Jermaine Reed and Scott Taylor while Scott Wagner is currently Mayor Pro Tem.

2019 Kansas City mayoral election - Wikipedia

The Star did run this piece:

Newcomers to 2019 KC mayoral race most active fundraisers

This is helpful, of course, but it more tells of their fundraising than anything, of course. It's important, sure, but still doesn't tell what they stand for and say they're going to work for in the office. It is also an extremely brief article. If that tells us anything, it's that the one candidate, City Council member and candidate Scott Taylor has the most money behind him and by a long shot. (This may make him the defacto winner. We'll see, of course). Another interesting thing coming from that article is that it doesn't even mention Clay Chastain. 

Finally, Flatland KC ran this online article.

What You Need to Know About KC's Mayoral Election

It gives the most perfunctory information, with links to the candidates own websites so again, it's up to you, the reader and voter to chase down any and all information.

So my question. Is any news media out there--KCUR, KCPT, the Star, Mike Shanin and his program "Ruckus", Steve Kraske and his, anyone, anyone doing any in-depth interviews and research on these people and who they are and where they come from and what they stand for and what they say they'll work for as mayor?

I surely hope there is. If someone's seen or heard something, please let me know. I want and need to know, before the election, just as we all do here in the area. 

It's coming down to election time. We need to know.

With the Star having famously/infamously and recently slashed its staff, it seems unlikely we'll now get this kind of article and coverage, however important.

Seems like the perfect program for KCPT, doesn't it? "Meet the Candidates"?

KCPT? Thoughts?

Link:

Meanwhilere's the scary part. The honestly, deeply scary part.

As Newspapers Close, Role of Government Watchdog Disappears