Funkhouser faces huge challenges in staying relevant

Kansas Citians elected Funkhouser mayor with great hopes
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The simple fact is that he was elected by a sliver more than half the people who bothered to vote and not a vote more than that. The people who had high hopes for the Funk were the average ordinary citizens who staffed and voted for the Orange Revolution. If you hadn't noticed, the Orange Revolution is dead.

Last but not least... the Funk got 42631 votes out of a general population of give or take 450,000 people. Granted not everyone of these people is an eligible voter but to say that Kansas Citians had great hopes for this guy is a bit of a stretch. Certainly, the people who voted for ALvin Brooks didn't have high hopes for the Funk A Dunk.

http://webfusion.kcmo.org/ColdFusionApps/elections/CouncilList.cfm?electionID=28&District=m

Council approved half a million research on KC hotel last week.

Look at St. Louis.its'hotel recently sold on the courthouse steps to its creditors after it could not meet its bond obligations.

http://www.showmedaily.org/2009/06/kansas-city-should-learn.html

Kansas City Should Learn From St. Louis’ Mistakes

I don’t have much time to expand on this, because I have a flight to catch, but I see in the Kansas City Star that the city is beginning the process of studying the potential for a new downtown convention hotel. Reading the article — and even more so the comments telling Kansas City to do this and be a “big league city” — I got a sense of déjà vu. St. Louis went through every stage of this a decade ago, before a new downtown convention hotel was built with significant government involvement (i.e., tax credits, etc.). How has that worked out for St. Louis? Well, it is a very nice hotel, but it was recently sold on the courthouse steps to its creditors after it could not meet its bond obligations.

Kansas City should focus on creating a competitive environment for businesses. Then, if there is a real market for a new hotel, somebody will build it. If nobody steps up to do that, then there probably isn’t a market need to begin with. And, before you just assume that the hotel will attract all the new conventions necessary to pay for it, just remember that every single city in the world is planning for the exact same thing.

TO THE PREVIOUS LEADERS UNDER KAY BARNES, PLEASE SHOW KC RESIDENTS WHAT YOU HAVE DONE FOR THE COMMUNITIES EXCEPT GIVING BILLIONS OF TAXPAYERS'MONEY TO THE SINFUL DEVELOPERS, which our kids and grandkids need to pay for in the next 2 decades.

KCMO

2000 Population 441,545
2007 Population 436,562

2000 Families below poverty level 11.1%
2007 Families below poverty level 13.8%

2000 Individuals below poverty level 14.3%
2007 Individuals below poverty level 17.5%

2000 Vacant housing units 18,353 9.1%
2007 Vacant housing units 39,666 12.7%

http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=&geo_id=16000US2938000&_geoContext=01000US|04000US29|16000US2938000&_street=&_county=KANSAS+CITY&_cityTown=KANSAS+CITY&_state=04000US29&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=160&_submenuId=factsheet_1&ds_name=DEC_2000_SAFF&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry=

Bush Compares Obama To Nazi Appeasers
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/15/bush-compares-obama-to-na_n_101859.html

Palin claims Obama "Nazi Sympathizer who hates black people"
http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-114397

Obama's Nazi Doctors
And Their 'Reforms'
http://www.rense.com/general85/obbdmm.htm

Obama’s International Socialist Connections

http://www.aim.org/aim-column/obamas-international-socialist-connections/

Obama climate czar has socialist ties
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/12/obama-climate-czar-has-socialist-ties/

Barack Obama the Socialist
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/barack_obama_the_socialist/

Because kcfan you should go work for them as you have the same shallow understanding of the dynamics of this city. the ineptitude at the city has only exacerbated the underlying issues and problems that face this city which include race, economics and poor governance.

First, it is the overbuilding of residential, commercial, and office space that has contributed greatly to the current national economic crisis (just like the Great Depression) not the failure to engage in more excessive construction. This is true of KC as elsewhere, and is particularly true to the numerous and ill-considered TIF projects including those downtown. Several now are receiving additional assistance from the City's strained budget, and a number of others will soon require such although the City is effectively broke. Second, the Mayor did not stop development. Indeed a more balanced and reasonable development policy within City and local economic financial constraints was needed, and demand for the space mentioned above had already slowed before he took office. All the evidence to date indicates that the City, EDC, and related development policies under Barnes-Cauthen were at best ill considered and not subjected to unbiased professional appraisal. It is true that Mayor Funkhouser for a number of reasons has been a spectacular failure in implementing reform but this has nothing to do with his slowing "development", as you call it.

is in trouble until we finally get rid of Funkhouser. And the city is going to suffer economically until he's gone. It's not that every idea he's had is a bad one. It's just that his people skills are so bad that he can't work with anyone to get them implemented. If this were Cuba and a dictatorship, he would have gotten some stuff done, but in the U.S. where you actually have to collaborate with others, it takes someone with a different skill set. The sooner Funkhouser is gone, the better off KC will be. It's unfortunate that in addition to a recession, KC had to have economic development stopped by Funkhouser.

Let's get some facts straight. The economic plight of KCMO is not due to the "economic downturn." It is directly due to the fiscal and administrative mismanagement of the City under Cauthen and the pro "developer" deep pocket policies of Barnes. These policies were implemented by Cauthen as Barnes' toady and yesman instead of his acting as a professional City Manager as required in the City Charter and demanded in the City Manager (ICMA) Code of Ethics. Indeed, reports in the Star itself apparently never read by Mr. Duiguid have demonstrated how much better Johnson County and other more professionally managed communities are faring than KCMO. Indeed, Barnes-Cauthen have sunk the City in a sea of debt and outstanding obligations from looming TIF failures that will drown residents and taxpayers. The decline of tax revenue that Duiguid notes is a direct outcome of these policies that add further water to the present and worsening flood.

It is true that the Mayor's ham-handed actions particularly those of his pixilated wife have damaged his administration. But, all should be aware that these offerings on a platter by Funkhouser have been generously accepted by the old crew that surrounds City Hall who wish to sink any efforts at more professional management to deal with this fiscal-administrative crisis and to implement meaningful reform. Clearly, this is what happened when the Council (referred to as "Clowncil" by one frequent poster) was railroaded into giving Cauthen, the source of most of the City's problems, a renewed contract.

Last, I must refer to the hidden race agenda in town. I have, among others, commented frequently, strongly, and negatively about the racist comments that are all too frequent at MV. But, it should be clear to all that the policies of Cauthen-Barnes have clearly hurt the minority communities on the East side of town. Resources have been sucked into poorly planned TIF to the point at which tax burdens are shifted onto the remaining middle class and the poor (through rents, earnings taxes, and sales taxes). This tenure of Cauthen has been and is nasty. All know that Cauthen is grossly incompetent if not corrupt, yet the Council does not act except to extend his contract. Clearly, although inept Cauthen has become the token Black. This was particularly obnoxious in the extension of his contract at the public Council meeting when even some ministers made scurrilous, angry (even if fained), and sinfully inaccurate allegations about the Mayor. (And, posters, don't give me any of this Whitey stuff in reply, since I am an outraged minority observer of all that is taking place.) Now, to add insult to injury, Cauthen and his inept Director of Finance are proposing to move $20M+ away from much needed and overdue capital improvements to the Citadel Plaza fiasco, largely extracted by efforts of boss-politicos on the East side of town. This proposal was made with no apparent and professional study that should be expected from a real City Manager and Director of Finance and in total ignorance of earlier studies that show that this project cannot work. This smells like race politics to me, and well meaning people: Black, other minorities, and White should all speak out strongly in justified anger. This project will take away resources from all residents, but especially the communities that need permanent employment, other public services, and a more equal quality of life ONLY to place money in the pockets of some egregious political hacks. Duiguid, gather the facts and speak out! I am more than weary of the Star ignoring the real issues in KCMO.

Kansas City Star,

You have let a lot of good people go and what have you retained?

Why, Diuguid of course. He fits right in with your simpering liberal agenda. Want to prolong the mayor controversy?

SIC EM DOO GOOD!