How the arrest of Sly James' brother affects mayor, KC
Yael T. AbouhalkahThe arrest of Sly James’ middle-aged brother has the following effects on the mayor, his job at City Hall and on Kansas Citians.
The mayor has to deal with a distraction that has absolutely nothing to do with his pretty solid plans to improve Kansas City.
Kansas Citians who support the mayor - and many who barely pay much attention to City Hall but generally like James - will ignore the arrest. I’d put myself in the former category here. He deserves the respect of the mayor’s office for the way he has capably handled his job so far, and the arrest of his brother does not tarnish that for me.
The people who don’t like the mayor, including the racists who don’t want a black mayor, will see this as a bad mark against him.
Fortunately, that last group of people comprises a very small portion of Kansas City residents.
James was not elected in a landslide, true, mostly because he faced very credible competition in 2011 in Mike Burke.
But it’s fair to say that James, since taking office a year ago, has pretty much done what he said he’s going to do. He has struck some hard fiscal bargains as part of the new budget. He has appointed committees to look into how the city raises revenue and how ethics could be improved at City Hall.
The personal problems of relatives of high-ranking officials will always be fodder for the media.
Sometimes they will matter: Former Mayor Mark Funkhouser might have survived some of the silliness surrounding the activities of his wife if he had not stepped forward to defend those silly activities, thus making him part of the problem.
James is not doing that, and that’s to his credit.
Phil Cardarella
1 year agoNon-issue.
Frankly, there is no reason for The Star to have even made this a news story. “Man not injured by a gun fired to scare him by drunk relative” hardly deserved coverage.
Instead, we get a non-story — and a pious editorial correctly stating that rational folks will simply ignore the story that was printed.
Christine Taylor-Butler
1 year agoWhat offends me deeply about this story is that while you call attention to it, then say that people like you will simply ignore it.
I’ve noticed that trend from you - damn with faint praise, blow something out of proportion, then claim it’s a non-issue.
With so many other substantive issues routinely ignored by this newspaper, and so few positive stories to point the public towards those unsung heroes doing good things, Why give the print space to this.
Here’s my suggestion - every time a relative of a Star Board member does something untoward, create an editorial, let us know the facts, then tell us that it’s a non issue. Then I’ll call the reporting fair and balanced.
Until then - if it’s a non story - don’t comment on it. The brother was in trouble, not the mayor and the story has no place on these pages tying the two together. If anything it provides fuel for racists (most who might not have known if not for your paper bringing up the connection) and puts not only the mayor, but his entire family at risk.
Pathetic. Just plain pathetic.
Yael T. Abouhalkah
1 year agoChristine:
Thanks for your passionate comments.
Like it or not, in the real world, some people are talking about this story. They are critics of the mayor. They are, generally, the target audience for this piece, as I tell them why it’s not a big deal.
Richard L Wagner
1 year agoYour avatar rather reminds me of the billboard on the highway outside of Branson, MO, of Yakov Smirnoff.
Richard L Wagner
1 year agohttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/ajaqzyrOqY/SrvUumacowI/AAAAAAAACgw/QMWZJ9K7qiU/s320/Yakov+theater+1.JPG
Kent Mueller
1 year agoChristine…well written.
Yael….you used this to support “your guy” and to call his detractors racists. What’s up with the race card? How many of those cards do you have? I’m hoping the supply is dwindling.
And Christine’s idea of highlighting Star employees’ relatives is not off base. Not all of the employees, but the ones who have become “public persons”. The editorial board of the only daily in a metro area certainly fills the definition of a public person. Either that, on no one reads them. You can’t have it both ways. Now, I’m not for delving into all the relatives, it’s just that relatives of some public people are fair game and others are not fair game. That just isn’t right.
Brian Mundell
1 year agoThe fact that you introduce race makes this story have meaning.
Kent Mueller
1 year agoBrian, how so?
I am really tired, at both the local and national levels, when people gratuitously invoke people’s assumed thoughts about race. Once again, it is noted that some who did not vote for James did not vote for him because he is black. That is undoubtedly true. There are a lot of voters and I am sure at times, that is the case.
However, it is much easier to see that there are voters who voted for both James and Obama because they are black. It is undeniable that when a vote is made because the preferred candidate is black that simultaneously, they are not voting for the other candidate because he is white. That is the same exact thing of which Yael and others accuse people when they do not vote for James and/or Obama.
Personally, I wish everyone would leave race out of their decisions about everything. Race has nothing to do with it. Character, political and economic beliefs are what matter.
But people who dwell on whites not voting for blacks because they are black are doing everyone a great disservice when they do not also highlight blacks not voting for whites because they are white. Both are equally reprehensible, but they are not equally discussed, as they should be.