Resolutions we'd like to see kept in 2013
I will hit the gym.
I will give up sweets.
I will read War and Peace, learn French cooking and compete in a triathlon, while making sure to get eight hours of sleep a night and also taking time to meditate.
Uh huh.
Those, or some variation, are generic resolutions which many of us will make and break with relish. We endorse them all.
For newsmakers in the Kansas City area and its two states, we have more specific resolutions for 2013. Would that they put them on their lists.
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback: I will break my addiction to raiding Missouri businesses. If an outfit within 25 miles of the state line wants a tax break, I will just say no. See, I can do it —N oh.
Kansas City Mayor Sly James: I will stop trying to show up the entire state of Kansas by luring a few of its businesses over to my side of the state line. Let Brownback give up $250,000 in income taxes for every job he raids from me if he wants. I will spend my time improving my city and its business climate in more productive ways.
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon: I resolve to lead, especially on expanded Medicaid limits. I will veto any bill that tries to put guns into schools. I will attempt to convince legislators in my own party that I am not a closet Republican.
U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill: Whew, 2012 was some year! I will send a belated thank-you note to my Republican opponent, Todd Akin. And I will keep rooting out the waste in wartime contracting.
Kansas City Police Chief Darryl Forté: I will redouble efforts to stop shootings in Kansas City. My officers will get better at convincing shooting victims to name and prosecute their attackers. We’ll mount an even more concerted campaign to convince witnesses to report crimes.
Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster: I will carry through on my promise to appoint a statewide task force to take on urban violence, including the problems with witness and victim cooperation. I’ll make sure the recommendations do more than sit on a shelf.
Julia Irene Kauffman: As the titular head of Kansas City’s cultural community, my resolution is to see the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts booked with world-class talent and great regional artists, and to see the many arts organizations in this region thrive.
Steve Green: Have I really been superintendent of the Kansas City Public Schools for a year and four months? Just give me that survivor award already. My resolution is to get the district back to provisional accreditation in 2013. I’ll need all the help I can get.
Clark Hunt: Worst. Year. Ever. My resolution as owner of the Kansas City Chiefs is to get this team back on track with new leadership and to rebuild the relationship with our fans. Ideally, we will be in the front of a pro sports resurgence in Kansas City.
Johnson County Commission Chairman Ed Eilert: Sure, I haven’t been a big supporter of mass transit in the past. But this county is evolving, so I’m changing my tune: I resolve to stop cutting the bus service that serves our growing number of elderly and lower-income residents.
Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders: Unlike my esteemed Johnson County colleague, I don’t need a kick in the pants to look at ways to boost mass transit. So I resolve to give county voters a well-organized, cost-effective commuter rail line plan for them to vote up or down at an election later this year.
Bernadette Gray-Little: As chancellor of the University of Kansas, I speak for many in higher education. We must resolve to prepare a new generation of students for the demands of a 21st-century economy without burdening them with staggering debt. We in the public sector need help from our state legislatures.
Kansas City Council: We resolve to actually do some pension reform for city employees. We know, we said we’d do that in 2012. But hey, it’s a new year and we’re feeling brave.
Mark McHenry: As director of Kansas City’s Parks and Recreation Department, I resolve to spend all the new tax money boldly approved by voters in 2012 to keep community centers open longer hours, better maintain our parks and fix the deteriorating fountains. We’re the “City of Fountains,” and we need to act like it.
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