In an interview featured in the fall-winter issue of Aristocrat Motors’ clientele publication, Today’s Aristocrat (motto: “Settle for more” — really), Barnes assures us that she’s staying busy teaching at Park University, and she’s crazy in love with her Mercedes. Which she purchased, of course, from Aristocrat.
Today’s Aristocrat notes that, as mayor, Barnes had a city-paid car and driver. Looks like she has made a smooth transition to getting herself around. "I’ve had a great experience with my Mercedes and also with Aristocrat Motors," she coos to the magazine. "The car is a dream to drive! The quality of service and friendliness of the staff at Aristocrat are exemplary." Take that, Mark Funkhouser. (What Craigslist user finally separated Mayor Funk from his old Toyota when it was time to unload the beater? We may never know.)
Right, so: dream, friendliness, exemplary — got it. The tackiness doesn’t stop there, though. The piece reads like an exit interview that has been stuffed between the seats of an S-Class for five years.
The best part might be when Today’s Aristocrat wonders: "What would you consider to be your legacy and most important contribution?" Wisely, Barnes doesn’t blurt out, Seeing blight everywhere! Tax-increment financing for everyone! That kind of enthusiasm she reserves for paydays, such as her recent trip to Sacramento, where she told that city’s leaders how they, too, could ramp up really expensive projects with hazy dreams of big-league tenants and booming profits.
Ah, well. She instead says: "I’m very proud of the 100’s [we don’t know why Today’s Aristocrat is edited this way — "hundreds" at a dealership usually refers to Franklins] of citizens who I appointed to city boards and commissions. They provided yoeman’s [uh, sic; maybe there isn’t an editor at Today’s Aristocrat] service whether we were dealing with downtown revitalization, creative programs for neighborhoods, or the myriad of unexpected challenges that occur in any community."
Today’s Aristocrat goes on to ask Her Former Honor to name her biggest "crisis or challenge" during her two terms at City Hall. Was it crime? Crumbling infrastructure? All that TIF? No, no and no. Barnes’ answer: 9/11.
"Perhaps the biggest challenge was the immediate aftermath of 9/11," she tells the glossy. "In Kansas City that morning, there was uncertainty about what might happen next so the Police and Fire Chiefs asked that I stay away from downtown to avoid having all city officials in the same place at the same time. In addition, we had planes landing at KCI from throughout the Midwest and beyond, so arrangements had to be made quickly for 100’s of people who were landing unexpectedly in our community." So ... mints on pillows and fresh-cut flowers?
All right, fine, that must have been a difficult week for Barnes and other Midwestern mayors. But with eight years in office to reference, couldn’t she have summoned the memory of something a little more local?
But wait, she still cares about us! By the end of the interview, Barnes manages to squeeze in a plug for the plan to build a 1,000-room convention hotel, which the City Council enjoys spending taxpayer money to study but not — so far — to build. It seems that she’s still smarting over that missing third of her big-dollar downtown-development hat trick.
Your move, Mayor Sly James. But if we see Barnes’ Benz parked around town with a bumper sticker reading "My other car is a streetcar," we’ll know it was you.
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Lol. Too bad all her corrupt money can't buy her class! With that "coat" she looks like Red Green with a bad peroxide job. So what if she has a Mercedes. Now her fat a** has more smooth cushion than it already has. White-Trash Chronicles "Ex-mayor gets a Mercedes and now thinks she's Mrs. Mitt. Romney!" What else is new?
P&L?? Fuck that fake ass "Entertainment district". I liked that area better in the 1980s when they had that little hole in the wall strip joint that was run by these greasy old Greek guys. Anyone remember the name of the place?? You could only fit 20 or 25 patrons in there if you were lucky, and the drinks were very cheap. The River Market??? It was more fun when Parody Hall and the Red Front Liquor were a couple of the few operating business there. Now its occupied by a bunch of 20 something douche bags who think that they are living upscale because they rent a drafty warehouse apt!!
Okay - so I get that this is supposed to read like political satire, but yo...you're just not that funny. If this is the A-list material they hired you for, please go find one of those writing clinics you see advertised on light poles.
Drivel. Poorly written with no real topic, trying to spark attitude.
Let's not forget that Barnes is not the voters of KC. They are the ones that chose to approve the funding mechanism for P&L. A simple Google search shows your own paper wrote the article. http://www.kchistory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/Local&CISOPTR=23580&CISOBOX=1&REC=20
And, how about the funding for the sports complexes... how well is that doing on returning the investments of the citizens of KC?
Oh come on now Pitch...slow times at the "breaking news" desk yesterday? She bought a Mercedes...a lot of poeple do, big deal. And slamming Aristocrat...get a life. Marion Battaglia is probably the most honest car dealer in town and he runs a clean up front operation. You made a story up out of Kay buying a Benz...you better hire me I can do better than that. I want to know what the author drives...bet it's a Jap car.
Not mention the dealership, which sells wrecked vehicles without telling the buyers.
Sounds like Kay's kind of people.
For those praising the P&L district, it is owned by a greedy private corporation based in Baltimore. Cordish Co. has gotten 300 million dollars in subsidies (taxpayer money) to build P&L. Now they are hitting up the city for even more public funds because apparently 300 million wasn't enough. All while making obscene amounts of money selling overpriced drinks and cover charges to the chumps in KC.
No wonder Kay can afford a Mercedes...wonder what kind of kickback she got from Cordish to plunder KC..
best mayor ever????doing what?-spending more money that the city doesn't have-those projects are costing the city millions each year in subsidies.
keep it real-Why did she pay a company in baltimore to do what a LOCAL company could have done?
So Kay, out of all that kick back $$$ you got from Cordish, you managed to spend some at a local business? Amazing.
I figured you would have bought it in Baltimore.
truth told, one of the best mayors KC every had. P&L district, Sprint Center, and just the ability to deal with others. Remember Funk baby? Also, verdict is still out on the new guy...but so far to much talk and not enough walk.
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