Politics, Pitch

Kansas City, Missouri, City Council looking at extending Plaza curfew year-round

Steve Vockrodt — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 10:42:00 -0500

Hey, kids, you're looking at a yearlong grounding by the Kansas City, Missouri, City Council.

That 9 p.m. curfew on places like the Country Club Plaza and Westport may go from a summer thing to a year-round rule.…

Libertarian Party can't shoot down local open-carry bans

Steve Vockrodt — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 10:39:00 -0500

A couple of libertarians from Overbrook and Topeka had no luck trying to get a judge in Johnson County to strike down open-carry firearm bans in Leawood and Prairie Village.

A Johnson County judge on April 17 threw out lawsuits filed by the leaders of the Libertarian Party of Kansas on behalf of themselves and the party against both cities, mainly because none of them could prove that they've been harmed in some way by the open-carry restrictions passed by both cities.…

Right- and left-leaning analysts say Kansas tax plan is deeply flawed

Steve Vockrodt — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 11:49:00 -0500

A pair of tax policy wonks on both ends of the political spectrum met in the middle in an analysis of Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback's tax plan; it's a bad idea, both say.

Governing Magazine, a publication favored by government bureaucrats, published the thoughts of right-leaning Joe Henchman of the Tax Foundation and Nick Johnson of the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, who agreed that Kansas' tax-reform plan was the worst that passed any state's legislature in the last year.…

Will Kraus tries to bring TIF reform to Jefferson City

Justin Kendall — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 15:49:00 -0500

In Wednesday's paper, we wrote about some of the waves Raytown Quality Schools Superintendent Allan Markley has been making in the tax-increment financing bathtub.

TIF is the commonly used development tool that sometimes results in good projects and sometimes results in bad projects.…

Jim Gile, Saline County Commissioner, blows up his career with racial slur

Ben Palosaari — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 13:50:00 -0500

Saline County Commissioner Jim Gile might have some free time on his hands soon. Gile, in his first term, became Internet famous today after it was reported that he used a racial slur during a commission work session.…

Kansas Legislature clears way for booze at Statehouse

Steve Vockrodt — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 15:48:00 -0500

Kansas legislators may no longer have to fear the worst - they're on their way to being able to drink in the Statehouse when they celebrate the completion of $332 million in renovations to the nicest building in Topeka this side of the David Wittig mansion.

The Kansas Senate managed to send a collection of liquor laws, all at the same time, to the House on Friday that lets party-minded legislators drink bubbly at certain Statehouse functions, the Associated Press reports.…

Did Linda Mau lose her Roeland Park mayoral bid because of an anonymous flier?

Steve Vockrodt — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:46:00 -0500

Linda Mau woke up pissed off Wednesday, one of several aspirants for elected office throughout the metro who lost in Tuesday's general election.

She had also joined the historical ranks of politicians who may have been thwarted by negative campaigning.…

A primer about Question Three on Tuesday's ballot

Ben Palosaari — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 10:12:00 -0500

When you close the curtain behind you in the voting booth tomorrow, a certain ballot initiative - Question Three - might seem a little confusing. Basically, if the measure passes, Kansas City would be barred from becoming financially involved in weapons-manufacturing plants.…

Sen. Claire McCaskill announces support for gay marriage

Ben Palosaari — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 09:13:00 -0500

The same week the Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in a gay marriage case, Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill has announced that she supports marriage equality. On her Tumblr page, McCaskill wrote a post saying her feelings about gay marriage had shifted.…

Kansas Sen. Greg Smith wants employment protection for state lawmakers

Jonathan Bender — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 09:20:00 -0600

In an effort to keep Kansas lawmakers from clogging up the unemployment rolls, Kansas Sen. Greg Smith (R-Overland Park) introduced Senate Bill 119 Monday. The bill would require an employer to keep a legislator's job open while the Kansas Legislature was in session.…

Medical marijuana bill introduced in Kansas Legislature unlikely to get a hearing

Jonathan Bender — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 08:35:00 -0600

Kansas Sen. David Haley (D-Kansas City, Kansas) has introduced a bill to legalize medical marijuana, but the Associated Press reports that the Cannabis Care and Compassion Act is not likely to get a hearing. State Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook (R-Shawnee), the chair of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, told the AP that she intends to keep the bill from getting a hearing in the latest session.…

Frank Denning, Johnson County sheriff, knows everything

Scott Wilson — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 08:00:00 -0600

The Johnson County sheriff does more than just run the jail and send deputies to serve foreclosure paperwork. In fact, if you're Sheriff Frank Denning, you do way more than that.…

Pedro Sotelo drops out of 8th District congressional race

Jonathan Bender — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 08:18:57 -0600

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson will not be replaced by a Kansas Citian. Pedro Sotelo, a Kansas City businessman and veteran who declared last month for the 8th District, has withdrawn his candidacy.…

Medical marijuana gets another go-round in the Kansas Senate

Jonathan Bender — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 09:08:00 -0600

Conservatives in Kansas will have to decide how they feel about medical marijuana. For the third year in a row, a Kansas state senator has introduced a bill to legalize medicinal pot.…

KCK Mayor Joe Reardon will not seek a third term

Jonathan Bender — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 09:18:00 -0600

Kansas City, Kansas, is getting a new mayor. Joe Reardon, the mayor of Kansas City, Kansas, and chief executive officer of Wyandotte County, announced yesterday that he will not seek a third term.…

Albert Riederer has died at the age of 67

Jonathan Bender — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 11:58:00 -0600

The Kansas City Star is reporting that Albert Riederer died of cancer early this morning. He was 67.…

Missouri Rep. Jo Ann Emerson plans to resign in February

Jonathan Bender — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 08:04:00 -0600

The longest-serving member of Missouri's congressional delegation will be stepping down next February. Only a month after handily winning re-election with nearly 72 percent of the vote, U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (MO-8) announced her resignation Monday so that she can become the president and chief executive officer of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.…

Missouri, Kansas won't set up health insurance exchanges

Jonathan Bender — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 09:04:00 -0600

Missouri and Kansas aren't going to be picking up the phone this week to tell the federal government that they intend to establish a state-run health insurance exchange program.

Gov. Sam Brownback issued a statement yesterday that he won't support submitting an application by the November 16 deadline mandated by the Affordable Care Act, and Gov. Jay Nixon stated that he will respect the wishes of Missouri voters, who approved a ballot measure that prohibits the governor from creating an exchange without the input of the Legislature.…

It's Election Day ... go vote!

Justin Kendall — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 10:23:45 -0600

No matter who you're voting for, make sure you vote today. If you don't know where to vote, here's where to go: Missourians, look up your polling place here.…

Former Jackson County Democratic boss Stephen Bough claims that Jacob Turk is violating election law

Ben Palosaari — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 09:30:00 -0500

The former chairman of the Jackson County Democratic Committee Stephen Bough likes to document things. On a desk in his Westport law office sits a hefty, red three-ring binder filled with neatly organized complaints against Republican 5th District congressional candidate Jacob Turk.…

Steve Fitzgerald, Kansas 5th District hopeful, jokes about domestic violence

Justin Kendall — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 16:52:00 -0500

Here's your tone-deaf candidate of the week: Steve Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald is the Republican running against incumbent Kansas state Sen. Kelly Kultala.…

Funeral picketing ban to be introduced by the City Council

Jonathan Bender — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 10:06:00 -0500

The Kansas City City Council will convene today in its chambers. Among the agenda items being considered is a proposed ordinance that would keep protesters at least 300 feet from funeral services within the city limits.…

Akin aide calls McCaskill a 'bullshitsu'

Ben Palosaari — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 14:24:00 -0500

It's the campaign that keeps getting stranger. Rep. Todd Akin attracted more controversy and ire this weekend by comparing Sen. Claire McCaskill with a dog who goes to Washington to fetch regulations and higher taxes.…

New York Times profiles Rex Sinquefield's political largess

Ben Palosaari — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 10:45:46 -0500

To Missourians, St. Louis-based political donor and activist Rex Sinquefield is ubiquitous for fueling campaigns and political pet projects with buckets of his own cash. He was the guy trying to outlaw Kansas City's and St. Louis' earnings taxes in 2010.…

Wyandotte County Democratic Chairman Matt Watkins says Sen. Chris Steineger is being investigated by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation

Justin Kendall — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 17:02:00 -0500

Top-ranking Democratic officials claim that the Kansas Bureau of Investigation is looking into whether Kansas state Sen. Chris Steineger illegally used taxpayer money to restore rental properties he owns.

Wyandotte County Democratic Chairman Matt Watkins alleges that Steineger "has accepted thousands of dollars from the federal government to restore property he owns."…