Election Central

   La Raza Political Club, a Hispanic political club, has decided on who it’s endorsing in the Kansas City mayor and council races. The club said it made its decision based on candidates’ statements and interactions with the audience during a forum jointly sponsored by La Raza and the Coalition of Hispanic Organizations last week.

   Here are La Raza’s endorsements:

   Mayor: Mark Funkhouser

   At-Large races

   1st District: Deb Hermann

   2nd District: Ed Ford

   3rd District: Melba Curls (She didn’t attend the forum, but her daughter, Monica Curls, spoke for her. Monica gave part of her opening and closing statements in Spanish.)

   4th District: Doug Gamble

   5th District: Cindy Baker Circo

   6th District: Cathy Jolly

   In-District races

   1st and 2nd districts: no endorsement

   3rd  District: Saundra McFadden-Weaver (Opponent Sharon Sanders Brooks did not attend the forum because she had other engagements.)

   4th District: Jan Marcason

   5th District: Terry Riley (Opponent Mark Porter did not attend the forum. Riley did not attend, either, but he did have someone there representing him.)

   6th District: Darrell Curls

   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.