By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist
So which leaders in Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas had a good 2008 -- and which ones didn't? One man's opinions:
DOWN: Mayor Mark Funkhouser, caught up in defending wife Gloria Squitiro, lost almost all of his longtime supporters and much of his influence at City Hall.
UP: City Manager Wayne Cauthen has skated free of much public criticism from his City Council bosses even while city services got worse.
DOWN: Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius supposedly was a vice presidential candidate earlier this year for Barack Obama, then a potential Cabinet candidate, only to pull out of the running for any D.C. job a few weeks ago.
UP: Democrat Jay Nixon had been stuck as Missouri's attorney general for years, until....
DOWN: Republican Gov. Matt Blunt thankfully decided he didn't want to face re-election after just one term in office, paving the way for Nixon's November election as governor.
UP: Annabeth Surbaugh, Johnson County Commission chairwoman led the campaign for a successful public safety sales-tax renewal, and Johnson County lawyer Fred Logan helped push through a sales-tax increase for a so-called research triangle in the county.
DOWN: Former KC Mayor Kay Barnes was trounced by Republican Sam Graves for the 6th District U.S. House race in November.
DOWN: Finally, don't forget that Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline soon will be gone from public office, after voters decided to toss him out.
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up and down 2008
Invite me to post my list and I sure will, Yael.
Yael, Yes, but .........................
You've picked some pretty obvious choices. Jay Nixon is up and Matt Blunt is down? What's more obvious than that?
Now, it's time for the real fun. What about the KCMO city council? Who's up? Who's down?
County governments other than Johnson County? Make some picks in Jackson, in Wyandotte, in Clay, in Platte, in Cass. Who's rising/falling?
What is the significance of light rail being approved in NKC but losing in KCMO north of the river?
Or, would you like for your readers to send their picks of who is up and who is down? Might make for a good debate.