Kansas City

   So what are the chances KC will snag the Seattle SuperSonics?

   Tim Leiweke, president of Anschutz Entertainment Group, which will manage the new downtown Sprint Center, said he's encouraged.

Mike Mansur and Jeffrey Spivak of The Kansas City Star have analyzed the direct campaign contributions to the new 13 council members, including newly elected Mayor Mark Funkhouser. The Star used campaign disclosure reports filed with Missouri Ethics Commission. Often the reports are incomplete or open to some interpretation. The newspaper attempted to add in the appropriate affiliations, addresses and other information when possible. To total the contributions, the analysis links contributions of companies, employees and family members.

• Top Overall Contributors
• Contributors By Council Member
• Circo
• Curls
• Ford
• Funkhouser
• Gottstein
• Hermann
• Johnson
• Jolly
• Marcason
• Riley
• Sanders Brooks
• Sharp
• Skaggs
• Total Election Money Raised
• Hedgers & Losers

  Some Kansas City Council members are aiming for an August or November 2008 election to resolve the future of light rail and the local bus company.

   Good idea or not?

    In his column today, Mike Hendricks opines that city leaders are obligated to try to implement the light rail plan as passed -- as best they can.

   Thoughts?

    Some good-government folks are whispering about new blood being needed on the Kansas City school board. 

   Who better than earnest City Councilman Jim Glover?

   Since folks close to Harriett Plowman indicate she's unlikely to seek re-election. She won by a scant four votes in 2004 when challenged by Rhonda Burnett, wife of Jackson County Legislator Scott Burnett. The thinking: Glover could run for her seat.

   Glover told Prime Buzz no one had talked to him about running for school board. But he said he was willing to consider it, along with running for his council seat again in four years. Glover was not term-limited. Rather, he gave up his seat to run, unsuccessfully, for mayor.

   Public service is important to Glover, he said, and he's keeping his options open. He said he's focused on completing his term as councilman.

   "I am going to be deliberative about my future," he said.

   After lively discussion this week about a request to use city sales tax revenue to build landscaped parkways at a second phase of the Zona Rosa, Kansas City Council members approved yesterday funding for "basic" streets. The Northland shopping center will have to cough up the extra dough to ensure the streets match the first phase.

   The story, however, omitted the names of the three council members who opposed the request. They were George Blackwood, Jim Glover and Becky Schumacher. Mayor Pro Tem Alvin Brooks had left the room and missed the vote.

   Usually when Jeff Roe campaigns for political office, he isn’t elected. The reverse happened Tuesday.

   Roe, the Republican campaign strategist known for his no-holds-barred approach, was elected city auditor in Liberty on the strength of 15 write-in votes. He ran no formal campaign.

   “I run campaigns for a living, and this is the easiest campaign I ever ran,” joked Roe, whose firm, Axiom Strategies, worked for a campaign committee in Liberty’s City Council races this spring. “This is a very unexpected, neat experience.”

   The city auditor is one of four honorary positions elected every two years by Liberty voters — a throwback to the days before professional staff took over the day-to-day operations of the city. City codes outline no specific duties for the auditor, although officeholders are paid $1 a year, said Jane Sharon, deputy city clerk.

   Never before has Roe been elected to public office. He didn’t know he’d been elected until Dave Reinhart, Republican director of the Clay County Election Board, called him Wednesday. Roe said he still has no idea who voted for him.

   Regardless, Roe said he's happy to assume the post. He'll use it as an opportunity to “dig in and see how city government works.”

   “Fifteen people wrote my name in for a reason," he said, "so I should perform the job and treat it with the respect it deserves."

   The Funk threw an open house for his incoming colleagues on the City Council Wednesday night, and it looked like just about everybody showed up at his Brookside digs.

   No big speech. In fact, the mayor-elect spoke in the vicinity of 54 seconds, drawing appreciative laughter from the group.

   He said he look forward to a "great experience" and said he was confident the group was going "to do some great things," and he capped it with, "I really look forward to this."

   And that was about it.

   He broke one piece of news: Although the new mayor officially takes over May 1, inaugural ceremonies will be May 4 at Union Station. Casual events will be outside the station while more formal events will take place inside.

   Asked about tuxes, Funkhouser had a one-word response.

   "No."

   Mark Funkhouser is holding an informal reception and discussion with the new city council from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. tonight.

   Spokesman Joe Miller said the get-together would be open to the press. 

   Funkhouser takes office May 1.

   Here's the latest missive from soon-to-be KC First Lady Gloria Squitiro, who wrote regularly about the campaign in e-mails to supporters.

   This one was dated Friday.

Dear Friends,

Well, just as I suspected, election night was a real nail biter.  Luckily for my nerves, we were always in the lead, but I’ve got to tell you, that vote was too close for comfort.  But we did it, didn’t we?!  By we, I mean you and us, as it really was a group effort – Funk and I know that we could not have done this alone.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the campaign today and one of the strangest things that I keep going back to is how it never failed, that when someone walked into the doublewide, they would immediately become caught up in the energy of the campaign, so much so, that when they walked back out the door, they did so with an armload of work to do!  I’m sure that it must have made some of the poor souls question what in the world happened to them in the trailer.

That’s kind of how it was for me.  My initial intention was just to help my dear old hubby get set up in his headquarters and then to quietly walk back out the door and into my own life again.  I never expected to work around the clock for four months.  But like you, I got caught up in the energy of it all and here I sit, still working for the big lug 3 days after the election.  Not only that, but I’ve decided to volunteer part-time in the Mayor’s office so that I can continue to provide a personal touch so that people feel like they are included in all of the happenings down at city hall.

Funk and I want to thank you all again for helping to make this happen.  We promise you that we will do our very best to make you proud of us and we will work hard to continue to earn your faith and trust.  And as the saying goes, “you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”  I cannot wait for you to see my hubby unleashed.  He’s the smartest hick I know and I know that he’s going to do wonders for this community.

Until next week, we bid you a good night.

All the best,

Gloria & Mark

   It looks like KC Councilwoman Saundra McFadden-Weaver has lost her council seat.  So she wasn't having any party tonight. She said she was on her way to minister to a cancer-stricken constituent and had no idea that returns were showing her losing.

   "I am going to keep doing what I do," she told Prime Buzz. "This kind of stuff doesn't bother me one way or the other. I just continue to do what I do."

  McFadden-Weaver was indicted last year on mortgage fraud charges related to the purchase of a home in Lee's Summit.

   As is usually the case, last-minute accusations are flying in city elections, most of them contained in mailers that will hit mailboxes over the weekend.

   Sixth District council candidate Darrell Curls is the target of one piece, alleging that during his time as chairman of the Jackson County COMBAT commission, the "spending of your drug tax dollars was the subject of a U.S. Justice department federal corruption probe."

   The flier adds: "This investigation revealed that millions of your tax dollars that should have been used for fighting crime and drugs had been misspent and abused."   No federal investigator has ever publicly disclosed such a finding. The Justice Department has never issued any indictment alleging any illegal misconduct with COMBAT funds. Curls said he’s never even been questioned.

   “I have done nothing wrong,” he said Friday night. “If there had been something done wrong, I would think there would have been charges brought against me. I think there would have been some type of hearing or some type of trial or what have you.”

   The flier does not appear to be directly connected with Curls' opponent, John Sharp, though Curls said he still suspects his opponent’s campaign. “It has to come from somebody who has a vested interest in this race,” Curls said.

   Sharp denied any involvement. “That’s utter baloney. … I don’t believe in negative campaigning. Never done it, never will.”    Instead, campaign spending reports appear to indirectly connect the flier with supporters of Jackson County executive Mike Sanders, who has claimed COMBAT misspending.

   Sanders, however, never brought such charges while Jackson County prosecutor.

    U.S. Attorney Bradley Schlozman of Kansas City drew fire from Washington Thursday when Sen. Edward Kennedy blasted him as an “inexperienced political appointee” in a speech and web posting.

   Prime Buzz reported that speaking before the Judiciary Committee — and posting comments to his Senate web site — Kennedy derided Schlozman as “a loyal Bush supporter who was willing to use the power of federal law enforcement to benefit the Republican Party.”

   The remarks came as senators joined house members in approving subpoenas to force Bush administration officials to testify about the firings of federal prosecutors.

   Schlozman was the principal deputy assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division before being appointed U.S. attorney in Kansas City in March 2006. He soon could be replaced by John Wood, whose nomination is pending in the Senate.

   Kennedy’s criticism focused heavily on Schlozman’s work in civil rights. Schlozman said Thursday that division is a lightning rod for criticism, but that his interest always was in enforcing the law fairly.

   “It’s full of controversy,” Schlozman said. “That’s why the focus should be on enforcing the law and not pushing some political agenda.”

   Kennedy also accused Schlozman of participating in a “politicized hiring regime” that emphasized partisan credentials rather than education and experience.

   Schlozman responded that he had no problem hiring Democrats and always gave career department heads veto power over his hiring decisions.

  “My guiding principle was to hire professional attorneys who wanted to enforce the law, regardless of their personal viewpoints,” Schlozman said.

    With less than two weeks to go in the Kansas City mayor's race, Alvin Brooks is quietly introducing new wrinkles: He's stressing leadership and starting to criticize his opponent, Mark Funkhouser.

   At the Broadway Westport Council forum Wednesday afternoon attended by Prime Buzz, the candidates were given a little more time than usual to talk and lay out their political philosophies. Brooks tried to hammer — directly and indirectly — at Funkhouser's perceived weaknesses.

   The March 27 election, Brooks said, "comes down to two basic things now: leadership and vision." That includes being able to "pull the entire community together" — a swipe at Funkhouser over concerns he has not been a team player at City Hall.

   In addition, Brooks said, the city needs "someone who will not sell" the water department, recreation centers or the airport. That's a swipe at some of the suggestions Funkhouser made during his 18 years as city auditor.

   Funkhouser, meanwhile, stuck to his basic message: "I want to make government work better."

   But Funkhouser, the candidate seen by some in the development community as anti-TIF, also introduced circumstances when he would support tax-increment financing projects: 1) If there's an overall net revenue to the city, such as the economic substitution effect of, for instance, new retail impacting existing retail; and 2) for "social justice" reasons, on projects proposed in impoverished, not just blighted, areas.

   "There are times when we will want to use economic development incentives," he said. "There are times when we will use TIF."

   Well-known Kansas City campaign consultant Pat Gray is no longer running 4th District-at-large candidate Beth Gottstein's campaign, Prime Buzz reported Tuesday.

   Gottstein said she believed Gray had his hands full handling mayoral candidate Alvin Brooks' campaign and that Gray would "continue to advise."

   Gottstein said she hired Enrique Chaurand of Vista Communications, who handled the campaign of former mayoral candidate John Fairfield. Gottstein has also hired Michele Lahr of Meridian Strategies, who ran Jim Glover's failed mayoral campaign.

   This week, the 4th District at-large race heated up with accusations from both sides that Gottstein's opponent, Doug Gamble, hired Jeff Roe, a campaign consultant known for his controversial practices who represented failed mayoral candidate Becky Nace.

   Gamble adamantly denied hiring Roe and posted a letter Friday in the KC Buzz Blog complaining that supporters had called to report that Gottstein was spreading the Roe rumor.

   Gottstein said she would not respond to Gamble's letter.

   “I have pledged to run a clean campaign," Gottstein said. "I’m standing by that, and I hope the same for my opponent."

    Gamble said his co-campaign manager is Chris Werner, who was criticized for negative attacks while working on State Senator Charles Wheeler’s campaign for Jackson County executive. But Gamble said, "He is not handling the mailers at all.” 

   Gamble's other campaign manager, Diana Kander, handles his mailings.

   Monday night was a historic night for Kansas City's West Side. For the first time ever, a city candidates forum was held there, according to long-time advocates like Rita Valenciano.

   The forum was sponsored by the Coalition of Hispanic Organizations and featured more than 100 people in attendance at the Guadalupe Center.

   A couple of issues were directed at the mayoral finalists that haven't come up at other forums this campaign season: diversity at City Hall and property maintenance.

   With diversity, the two candidates were asked how they would improve diversity in the city's workforce as well as the city's citizen commissions.

   Alvin Brooks on the workforce: "No one will support quotas, but there is support for goals to make sure we're inclusive."

   Mark Funkhouser on city commissions: "I will be brief. My appointments will reflect the community."

   As for housing, the candidates were asked about codes enforcement and how the city can help well-meaning residents facing codes problems.

   Brooks focused more on the first part of the question. "Absentee landlords must be dealt with," he said. He added that he supported a lawsuit recently filed by longtime neighborhood activist Sidney Willens on behalf of an East Side property owner against an out-of-town neighbor who let her fire-damaged house sit in a neglected state for years. "We will revolutionize how we deal with absentee landlords in this city."

   Funkhouser, meanwhile, focused on the second half of the question. "We're going to have to put a lot more money into housing," like minor home repair, he said. "We spend virtually no general fund money on housing." 

  In Forums, the Doug Gamble campaign for city council has posted a letter to Beth Gottstein denying charges he hired political consultant Jeff Roe. Read it here.

   A day after being the subject of political satire that he's anti-downtown, mayoral candidate Mark Funkhouser paid a visit to First Fridays in the Crossroads to talk about how he'll market downtown to the nation.

   The satire came from blog kcrag with the heading: "Funkhouser proposes downtown closure." It contained such nuggets as: "An avid opponent of progress and development, Funkhouser promises the elimination of all functioning elements inside the downtown loop within six months." Now remember that City Hall is within the loop.

   Funkhouser responded in a good-hearted way, calling it a "good satire" on his own blog. He then stood in the cold and wind Friday evening outside the Dolphin Gallery to outline his plans for two different communications teams in his mayoral administration.

   One team would crunch numbers on various measures of city progress (or lack thereof). The other team would hold focus groups and town-hall meetings with citizens. Funkhouser promised that he will hold a meeting in every neighborhood within a year. With 240 city neighborhoods, that's almost one per day. But later he added that several neighborhoods would be represented for each town-hall meeting.

   As for marketing downtown, Funkhouser suggested that "I have a lot of experience doing this stuff" because "I have been on the national stage" in his industry, auditing. Of course, he did win national awards, but they found him out, not vice versa.

   Still, he figures that because his campaign has been innovative and creative -- such as with the poodle endorsement video -- his communications teams will be just as innovative in selling Kansas City to Madison Avenue or anywhere else Kansas City lacks brand awareness (which is a lot of places).

   Candidates for five Kansas City council races and two for mayor will attend a forum next Wednesday sponsored by the Clay County Economic Development Council.

   This forum is free and open to the public at at Finnigan's Hall, 503 E. 18th Avenue in North Kansas City. Doors open at 7:30 a.m. and the forum will be from 8 a.m. until 9 a.m. 

   For more information, call the Clay County Economic Development Council at (816) 468-4989 or visit www.clayedc.com.

    A Kansas City Council committee held a meandering hearing yesterday afternoon on efforts to restrict panhandling in certain parts of the city, including the Plaza area, which some say would impact street performers.

   So again, the balloon artists, musicians and other performers were back in force along with Brett Shirk, the executive director of the local ACLU. One musician seranded the committee with a satrical song.

   Shirk said the ordinance proposal was too broad and unconstitutional and that the proposed penalty of a $500 fine and six months in prison was too harsh.

   The hearing also led to some boasting. Several artists bragged about their legendary music skills. One said without batting an eye, "I'm a legend in my eyes."

   Councilman John Fairfield, who is leading the panhandling restriction movement, made clear he appreciates some of the musical sounds during his jaunts around the Plaza.

   "I typically tip in a buck," he said. He later described being chased a block once when he declined to show sufficient financial appreciation for a performer.

   Fairfield asked Shirk to produce some city ordinances regulating panhandling that he did find constitutional. Reviewing laws is also something Fairfield plans to spend more time on.

   Now that he was defeated for mayor and is leaving the council, Fairfield said he plans to tend to his neglected legal practice.