a major shakeup in the race to be Kansas city's next man plus
a new push to restrict judges in Kansas and the body camera
in Kansas city national right to life convention comes to
Oakland park and protesters rally for immigrant children on
the closet white is brewing in KC Kate and how much is a
Bruneian policeman within the race to unseat Kansas
congressman week in review is made possible
through the generous support of Dave and Jamie Cummings Bob and
Marlese Gourley Smithfield foods Haas and Wilkerson
insurance the Courtney S. Turner charitable trust John H.
Mize and bank of America N. A.
co trust and by viewers like you thank
you hello again I'm Nick Haines and
welcome to the program that connects the dots on the news
of the week in this place we call home rolling up their
sleeves to analyze the week's top local stories from the call
newspaper senior writter Eric Wesson from KMBC nine news
chief political reporter Micheal Mahoney and from forty
one action news cat Reid I'm from the pages of your Kansas
city star all Dave Helling now for many of us the biggest
local story of the week was the brutally hot weather if you
live out in the least summit area it was damage from a
tornado that touched down at the lake Lotawana causing
extensive storm damage a storm of a different kind wreaking
havoc in the Kansas city mayors race last week it was rumored
this week it is fact former US Senate candidate Almanzor the
secretary of state Jason Kander making it official he's running
for mayor I want to make sure that
everybody in Kansas city feels that they don't have to move
across town or move out of town in order for their family to
have a chance of success also this week city councilman
Quinton lucas joining the growing list of people who now
see themselves in aly James's job meanwhile city
councilwoman Jolie justice to some viewed as the front runner
in the race quits and endorses Kander while initially I had
some disappointment that this wasn't going to be my immediate
path I I quickly pivoted to what's in the best interest of
Kansas city and I put Kansas city first and I'm excited to
keep doing that I noticed you cat Reid because
they'll video that but arms is Jason Kander considered now the
frontrunner in this race or is that a short term shallow
analysis of this race we're song way out but he is
definitely considered one of the front runners I would say
his entry into the race was that a shock to all including
councilman Jolie justice and councilman Quinton Lucas who
said when they called him latter when he called them last
week they were totally taken aback had no idea that he was
going to consider that and so we see Jolie justice the city
councilman who some people viewed as the front runner
leaving the race quilts lose his because of Jason Kander
entering this race Micheal everybody that didn't have a
lot of money in this race and was hoping to be able to fund
raise there are some candidates in here that do have money out
Scott Taylor has over three hundred thousand dollars Lucas
has one hundred twenty five some of the other candidates on
the city council do not have that kind of my of money a
couple of private businessmen better in this race like Steve
Miller also have it what's really important here is to
make sure that this is still a campaign and not a coronation
and I think there's a rush to judgment here that bank teller
Jason and we and we're done that campaigns the reporters
are going to cover this and the voters that are going to make
this decision need to continue to ask questions about some
very important issues that the next mayor is going to have to
deal with like violent crime like the sales tax like
affordable housing and a half dozen others that probably I
don't know about right out right now this rush to
coronation is a bad move for Kansas city and Jason Kander is
one of the candidates he's not the mayor let's put out by the
way the the full screen you have all of the candidates I
mean they're on nine currently in this race but date Dave
Helling the some people would be Jason
Kander though as being of a partisan individual heat in a
big Democrat poster child individual who has been going
after the Republican Party going after Donald Trump if
he's going to be having to go to Jefferson city to ask for if
he was elected mayor to ask for legislation support of four
supportive of Kansas city how is that going to be viewed then
given his background well he might argue that it would be
helpful to have a background in Jefferson city and he was of
course a state representative but remember Nick when he left
the secretary of state's office he delivered a speech before
the General Assembly that irritated just about everyone
just blasted him on voting rights so it'll be tough but
sly James doesn't get above you know a lot of audiences down in
Jefferson city that result in actual legislation so I'm not
sure that's a big qualifying factor I do want to mention a
little bit Mike talked about some of the folks who might
have been hurt by this announcement I think Phil Glenn
was one of those most set back in fact we were led to believe
that Phil going got into the race in part at the urging of
Jason Kander and their friends or were friends and that Phil
Gramm is quite angry that Jason Kander has than and S.
and surprisingly got into the race but I do think that's the
same constituency that the same aged sort of that fourth
District Court or vote that they were both going for so I
don't expect him to get out anytime soon and my because
what we need to listen to everybody but that's one of the
guys that was hurt Eric and I agree with Mike to I wouldn't
jump out and call Jason Kander the four runner or one of the
four runners because one when he ran in the Senate race
against blind he didn't do
overwhelmingly well and Kansas city that's number one number
two I think that out of all the candidates that you have you
have Quinn locus who's run as city wide election before and
did pretty well because he was elected versus the other
candidates who haven't run city wide jamais Reid has done well
in the third district voting wise but can he run a city wide
campaign that's something there remains to be seen Phil Gramm
has an issue as well and it's been rumored throughout that he
might try to go for four district at large seat rather
than the mayor's race because him and Jason Kander is
relationship so Jason Quinn look as does have crossover
appeal north to the river some places south of the river so I
think it's going to be a pretty interesting rice and Scott
Taylor has money but Scott Taylor doesn't have that
personality or charisma I did one out I think we cannot
forget that the Kansas city electorate is very savvy and
very keyed into wanting someone who understands the local
issues and has been here and that is one of the obstacles
that Jason Kander faces he's been traveling the country with
and his group let America vote to combat voter suppression and
he's been very popular with his podcast nationally but it's
going to be talking about those issues talking about the
terminal talking about street car extension talking about his
vision for Kansas city specifically that voters are
really good I'm not so very different skill than being a
secretary of state in Missouri all pushing a button along with
a hundred other people in the Missouri house of
representatives Micheal Wright and that's one of the reasons
that he it was interested and got into this race is because
there's nothing wrong with it with political ambition looking
for for say he needed executive experience in a serious fashion
forty runs for governor down there down the line in the
United States Senate or go or whatever the other things Jason
Kander in that Senate race in twenty sixteen perform very
very well Eric in can't be in Kansas city he did he did he
did very well on that and will in the black home well I'm
talking about Kansas city and the other thing to remember
about this is Jason Kander would be a senator the United
States Senate right now had it not been for the trop landslide
in the state of Missouri white blood road of the Donald Trump
coattails to a three point win in in twenty sixteen from Kerry
Missouri by nineteen trump on that race or blood run that
race but just three you know while some may be concerned
that Jason Kander would be too partisan to be an effective
nets like the current officeholder doesn't embroiled
himself and divisive national issues made James joining
hundreds on the country club posture over the weekend at a
rally against separating immigrant parents from their
children separated from their family
it is it is
it is the mayor also telling the
crowd to seize the issue was Kevin so city schools but what
role does Kansas city play what really is a federal issue here
cat well I think that it it all comes down to pressure from
constituents and we do have representative cleaver and
obviously on the Kansas side we have Yoder who has that the
keys to the money in some cases and when it comes to homeland
security so I think that those are the ways that Kansas city
can put pressure or influence the outcome of this you know I
also noticed that they'd Kansas city started an editorial about
asking government Colyer and other state officials in in the
state of Kansas to also speak out against this and look into
this what is the role of state officials in Kansas in this
issue foresaw like all states Kansas and Missouri have some
stake in what we decide on the border in Kansas there of some
of the kids that were being separated from their families
were actually being held or captor how whatever verb you
want to use into PK in a private facility and we were
anxious to make sure that they were looked after well and that
the state had some oversight role in terms of the way those
children were being but held in that facility so that that's
important to almost but but I would say that the fact that
mayor James is talking about this national issue reflects a
little bit his own national ambitions eyes are to run for
president but he does have a role in the national Democratic
Party in some ways that's why a lot of people by the way Nick
expects like James to endorse shortly support tracing Kander
point for Micheal where the rule of Kansas in housing these
unaccompanied kids the the about fifty than the river the
villages group home in to pick up is very very limited and
it's limited because they don't have any contractual control
over this the villages contracted with the department
of health and Human Services the house about fifty kids that
were unaccompanied when they crossed the border and that
they are being held there and most of them are there and have
been there before this crisis erupted the this spring so when
the governor says we're going to make sure that the the
villages comply with all the state laws
regarding the group Holmes this is a facility that has been
around since the nineteen sixties it was created by Karl
Menninger if they have passed repeated inspections by the
state state of Kansas it's nice to say yeah we're gonna look at
him but the the the amount of state controller is extremely
limited because of federal contract Kansas city is playing
hostess went to the national right to life convention the
Oakland park convention center the stage for the country's
largest anti abortion organization over the years the
convention has attracted some of the nation's best known
political names from John McCain Mitt Romney Marco Rubio
and Ted Cruz and you'd think with abortion family back in
the headlines with the retirement of Supreme Court
justice Anthony Kennedy the stakes have never been higher
so why is it that the most prominent speakers this hero
locals Kansas governor Jeff Colyer and Kansas secretary of
state Kris Kobach the reason that the network national right
to life convention is in overland park this year has to
do almost exclusively with Kansas abortion politics there
is a law that was passed by the legislature in twenty fifteen
that bans a certain procedure during second trimester
abortions in the use of surgical instruments to remove
a remove the fetus it has never been put in place because it's
the it's been tied up in the court the Kansas state Supreme
Court has had this case since March of twenty seventeen more
than a year ago and one of the reasons Kander and for life
press the national right to life organization was bring
this to Kansas because we want to call attention to the
situation and if we lose this court case and they expect to
lose the court case into taken from the High Court if we lose
this case then there's going to be concerned effort in the
state of Kansas to pass a right to life amendment to the state
constitution the fact this happened that this convention
opened up one day a after the Kennedy announcement of his
retirement is serendipitous and energized that convention as
you can imagine what this is about Kansas abortion politics
the fact that the national right to life folks are in
Kansas you had Kris guide Jeff Colyer the government can't
Kris Kobach absent from the speakers list was Kevin Yoder
Dave Helling the Kansas congressman who lives in
Oakland pockets act the oval talk convention center he has a
national one hundred percent rating from the national right
to life convention why wasn't he caught the ball it may be
because in the third district he doesn't want to draw a lot
of attention to that issue if the third district race
revolves around abortion come especially now with the change
in the court it might cause him a problem with some voters
might help with others but it's extraordinarily important that
Kansans and for that matter Missourians pay attention to
abortion related politics now more than ever before precisely
because of Anthony Kennedy's retirement because it's likely
if the court ever deals with abortion it will tell the state
your free now to do what you want to do and at that point
the governor the lieutenant governor of the state
legislators will be enormously important in that debate and so
everyone should pay attention to that and so how is that
decision by the Supreme Court justice to retire changing the
nature of our local campaigns here
what will go ahead cat many like ours
and don't ever do that to an Irishman
this will a raise the profile of the of
pro choice pro life debate in the Missouri Senate race and
Josh Helling made some indications in this past week
or so that he really wants it to be now one of the focuses of
this campaign the Supreme Court beta vacancy interestingly
enough if the Republicans have their way in the Senate that
they could you will be filled before a before election day he
went out holy did our last week and said Claire McCaskill I
want to debate you on the vacancy about the Supreme Court
and Supreme Court issues ironically Holly is not agreed
to any debates with his primary opponents full of in front of
the August primary while he's busy serving as Attorney
General he does have a day job okay and
so look for this this has been set all of the
all week long he probably heard earlier tonight here on channel
nineteen Republicans galvanized over judicial issues and have
been for this entire generation whether
or not Democrats get energized by it because they feel that
roe versus the right weight is at rest remains to be seen I
think what's important for people to remember is I don't
think that roe versus Wade is going to be overturned in one
fell swoop but they will try to attack it incrementally and in
fact the other thing to remember is in places like the
state Kansas and Missouri in other words abortion
restrictions have been either put in place
over the course of roe versus Wade the that law has been
narrowed you should've interrupted in
one thing that I think we need to keep an eye on Susan the
Kansas gubernatorial race because Kris Kobach who spoke
yesterday and obviously governor Colyer said as well
that Kris Kobach did tell the star that he supports the very
controversial heartbeat legislation and said that he
would like to see that he supports as similar that being
an active which is and requiring no acting in your
heart beat not allowing the abortion he was treated like a
rock star on during the last presidential election but how
much clout does Bernie Sanders have now this week the Vermont
senator endorses rent well that was trying to unseat Kansas
congressman Kevin Yoder in a crowded democratic primary send
this makes me feel endorsements and rarely makes alien
contested primaries doesn't support help or hurt went well
does he runs against teacher told Newman technology non
nonprofit executive Micheal McAllen bank the Soviet
williams' attorney Shelly stated Angie society running
its Yoder a two years ago what about it Bryan to a book
ability send this endorsement at Eric he has a base still has
that millennial base and if people still believe in him and
people still follow him so I think it's a good move I don't
know whether to help that Kander to get the voter turn
out but I would have his support cat wanted to run for
office I will say this I don't think that in Yoder sisters Mrs
great endorsement for and I don't don't make that much of a
difference for from all nine to get this endorsement because
the and this is very far laughed at you need something a
little bit more moderate if you're gonna challenge Yoder
what's really interesting about this to me is the fact that the
the Sanderson Dawson was not the only one that was made on
welders behalf this week the young woman from from the Bronx
and Brooklyn that pulled off the upset in the New York state
primaries Alexandria because he'll Cortez endorsed Brett
welder is well talked about in on an interview with MSNBC this
week and said that welder and she and some other Liberal
Democrats very progressive Democrats are part of the slate
of called what's called justice Democrats and they are all for
the Bernie Sanders like agenda in terms of of public the
public policy so while I'm on the left hand the democratic
primary is going to be a basic primary even even in the Kansas
third you know having a Bernie Sanders endorsement having the
hot democratic ticket the flavor of the week at the very
least endorsing you don't hurt and can I add to that too what
they'll do is they'll go out after those voters that haven't
voted and nobody talks to that'll be the difference in
you star my other comment to about the lady under back here
right now already another push and wait
to restrict judges in Kansas this after the state Supreme
Court rules this week that the legislature is still not
providing enough money for schools despite adding all the
Holmes billion dollars in new funding to the last section the
branch of seven justices argued they need to add more cash to
compensate for inflation but the request for more dollars is
prompting legislative leaders to revive talk of a
constitutional amendment blocking the courts from
interfering with school spending how would that work
Dave Helling well you'd need two thirds of both houses of
the state legislature to approve the constitutional
amendment to put it on the ballot and then a simple
majority of voters no one thinks that's going to
happen before November's so any change would have to come after
the court has ordered of the legislature to come up with
this additional money but I I think it's just a lot of wasted
energy Nick frankly because first of all you're not going
to get two thirds of the vote at least with this legislature
for portraying the although the the state is very close to
where it needs to be on its schools the court in essence
said Hey trustees figures for inflation and you'll be fine
that could be another fifty hundred million dollars a year
there's money to do that are close to money to do that
they're talking about gambling taxing gambling on sports
events in Kansas maybe the internet sales tax the I think
reasonable people in the Middle think they can get the courts
endorsement and that will short circuit this idea of changing
the constitution Dave for the first time is right okay and do
the best I can very quickly this is not a new
idea in Kansas this was discussed two sessions ago it
came up in the tail end of this last session and it didn't go
anywhere and Dave's right this is really tough to amend the
state constitution and it's going to be a long shot and
won't have until at least twenty twenty a week after
three Kansas city residents are shot dead by police in the same
afternoon the Kansas city police department announces
they put in a bit to quip offices with body cameras
there's no time table offered to purchase the cameras on
there's no money for them so is this just an effort to show
community members of the police department is doing something
Eric probably I think cleaver has set aside some federal
money and they were going to go after that money but is
definitely something that raises eyebrows yet to people
that Barney Alice plaza one had to go on the other one didn't
they both wind updated wise the victim day and so I think the
body camera out xcelerated that conversation to get them to do
something about it two points on this one I think that one
thing that gets lost in this discussion is it's not just the
cost of buying the cameras it's the story
that is a major financial component and can be
logistically difficult for departments to figure out that
the second thing I want to bring up is even if they do
have cameras I think that one thing that'll be informed to
watch in the future is how often add the camera footage is
released because in other states that has been and to say
quickly that cat is Reid storage is an expense but it's
also an excuse because police departments all over the
country are adding body camera somehow they figured out the
riddle of being able to pay for an of storage and for the
instruments themselves Kansas city is resisting this the
police department is resisting at the line officers don't want
to do it and that's why it's suddenly cost so much money to
suggest that the Kansas city police department can't find
efficiencies to pay for this important tool what about two
hundred fifty million dollar but yeah somewhere off the mark
imagine getting hired for a new job and when the boss tells the
rest of the staff you coming they turn around and start
doing something that's not saying no would crap out loud
how how would that make you feel well that's what happened
this week as the Kansas city council school board announces
its pick for a new superintendent
Jules laws the board's picked to replace
superintendent simply Elaine is doctor Charles fox chief of
performance in the sixth largest school district in
North Carolina before that he supervised principles in the
largest public school district in Texas so why the angst and
indignation over his HYVEE of Micheal Mahoney hometown high
hires a the folks in KC K. number one believe that sent
Elaine did a great job and of they were part of this lawsuit
that we just discussed this with the education they believe
that Center landed a good job they're gonna miss our they
wanted somebody that was familiar with their district
the Deputy Assistant superintendent was the other
candidate they wanted him I mean the hometown
it seems extreme though to see that kind of reaction at a
board meeting right Eric the ideas and I feel sorry for him
and hope he makes it but when you come in and you got that
kind of response from the community doesn't that doesn't
make for good too quickly the Kansas city Kansas school board
is undergoing some of political vibrations things or you know
it used to be of fairly smooth operation there are
disagreements on the board urban education is always
difficult change is difficult Center Elaine has been there
for a long long time to bring someone from out of town will
obviously upset some constituencies in the Kansas
city Kansas district and this may become an issue and further
elections for that for a long time the racial dividing line
Kansas city has been viewed as trust Avenue this week one of
the region's largest low income daycare centers is bridging the
divide literally operation breakthrough expanding its
thirty first into specifically with the building on the other
side of the road which they connected with an actual branch
what's the significance of this move for trust Avenue it gives
it more visibility it expands the their care opportunities
because now they'll have both sides made me there I have
larger classroom space that I have other programs that they
can put in there for parenting and some other things but it
looks nice I saw the bridge the other day when I was driving
out troops so it looks really nice I wrote a column about
true still mean it with four years you're right Nick decades
it was seen as the dividing line drive down troops now I
mean it's that the changes they're a pretty dramatic if
you go from downtown south and the and the edge of the
border between the east side of the rest the community is
shifting more toward prospect it's been nothing but bad news
of late for the eighteen combined entertainment district
as the jazz museum tries to rescue itself from dance the
district's newest amenity falls victim to vandals intruders
purposely cut a water line causing hundreds of thousands
of dollars in flood damage at the buckle Neil research and
education center what happens in that building at what's the
impact of this expensive act of vandalism well right now
they're using the ballroom there was going to be some
office space available I think they were in the process of
transferring it from the museum over to the city so that they
can use the jail by money to finish it it is considerable
damage it was somebody that had a venue of vengeance against
somebody they know exactly where to go cut to turn the
water off cut the pipe then went to turn the water back on
so was somebody that knew exactly what they were doing
can't I think it's very sad because just a few months ago
we had the are set and suspected arson attacks being
investigated at the satchel Paige house another I.
Klein and ten of monarchs baseball and that house they're
still trying to find funding to me restore it but it's gonna
take talk situation before the demolition I did notice this
week on a positive note when it come to eighteen the vine
though that the KCTV because the bus service now looking for
bands to connect the crossroads to the to the buying trustees
get the wind would be the best service doing that well because
for reasons that are completely clear they own that land and
they do want to be involved in development on that part of the
east side the problem Nick is the Bruce Watkins freeway which
goes over eighteenth street roughly where that of
discussion is and that is a bit of a problem in terms of
linking eighteen to buy with eighteen the grand where you're
Kansas city star prints on a daily basis
and a lot of people in the community feel like the jazz
district is black that's our heritage our legacy why
connected with crossroads even though the city council person
said it was a good idea they'll probably be a lot of pushback
about it and that is all we can really well thanks to a new
city was from KMBC nine news Micheal Mahoney and from your
Kansas city star Dave Helling folk forty one action news
reported cat Reid and on call after call Eric Wesson nine
Nick Haines from all of us at KCPT thanks for spending part
of the weekend with us
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