Name and office sought: Claudine (Dinie) Sanders running for Unified Government, Commissioner at-large District 2.
Age: 51
Occupation and experience: I have worked in Armourdale at CSTK, Inc., a refrigerated trucking sales and service center, for 25 years. I have worked every office job there in my time, from HR director, A/P, A/R, parts management, service writing/management, corporate accountant and now serve as the administrative manager. I have also been the executive secretary for Wyandotte County Bar Association since January 2020.
Education: Associates degree in business administration/general accounting received from American Institute of Business in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1990.
Organizations, clubs, groups to which you belong: Armourdale Renewal Association former secretary and current vice president since 2015; Stony Point – Hunters Glen Neighborhood Association former secretary and president, current member since 2015; District Attorney Community Liaison Board since its creation in 2017; 12 Step “Anonymous” Program since getting clean and sober 11/29/97, in which I’ve held nonprofit positions in from meeting leader to regional convention chair and multi-zonal service symposium registration chair.
Reasons for running: The empathy and compassion she has gained from her own journey through addiction – recovery and support for fellow addicts carries over to everyone she meets. She views no person and no situation unmanageable or without promise. Having lived everywhere from 5th Street to 83rd Street and in between, while working in Armourdale the past 25 years, she feels strongly that all residents of WyCo deserve an equitable amount of honor and respect, as well as access to the same services. She lives by her principles and believes that living in the problem and not the solution is unacceptable. Her honesty and openness in her personal life leads her to seek the truth and transparency in others, especially at the level of local government.
What are the three most important issues facing this position and how would you handle them?
Community involvement
We must hold town halls to have discussions with residents. Attending neighborhood meetings is sporadic. I will push to have a monthly town hall in different parts of the county so that all residents have an opportunity to be heard. They are currently allowed a very small amount of time to give voice to issues at Board Meetings.
Community transparency
Create a commissioners page and email the access to residents weekly that plainly and simply states what is happening and what’s coming up. Residents should not have to search through pages of minutes to find out what is going on in WyCo.
Better eco devo
We need to start attracting green energy and technology businesses to WyCo instead of low wage distribution warehouses. I will stop allowing the latter businesses to get in here tax free, when businesses that have been in Wyandotte for decades are experiencing giant property tax increases.
If you are not an incumbent, what would you change if elected?
I would vote yes for Safe and Welcoming.
I would push for help for existing and new small businesses instead of low paying warehouses.
I would ask for a community board to look into the corruption issues that everyone in Wyandotte has talked about for decades and work with the KCKPD and Sheriff’s Department to regain the residents’ trust.
Have you run for elected office previously? When, results?
No.