Category: Election 2017

Three candidates run for UG Commission, 8th District

Running for the 8th District, Unified Government Commission, are, left to right, incumbent Commissioner Jane Winkler Philbrook, Kendon McClaine and Brad Isnard. They were at a candidates forum July 19 at KCKCC. (Staff photo)

In the 8th District, Unified Government Commission contest, incumbent Commissioner Jane Winkler Philbrook has opposition from Brad Isnard and Kendon McClaine.

Philbrook, a fourth-generation optometrist, grew up in a family business in Kansas City, Kansas. She attended Washington High School, Park College and the University of Missouri – St. Louis School of Optometry. She has served as the 8th District commissioner for four years.

During her past term, she has made a special effort to work to improve animal services and also to coordinate local community efforts for jobs with Workforce Development.

The 8th District has everything in its district, she said, including very nice homes, and blighted areas, and new manufacturing with Amazon jobs in the Turner Diagonal area.

Philbrook said she viewed her job as a commissioner as listening to her residents, and giving direction to City Hall.

In response to a question from Edgar Galicia about what the candidates bring to the table, Isnard, who is the assistant director of finance for the Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools, said his biggest asset for this position was his understanding of public finance.

He said his skills will help make better decisions for the public, when discussing projects that are important versus projects that can wait.

Isnard said he had experience managing a public budget of more than $350 million.

Isnard has a bachelor’s of business administration degree, and has worked with turning around large-format businesses that were struggling, he said.

He said he was in favor of expanding economic development to all areas of the city, and he supported expanding the partnership between the UG and the school districts.

McClaine, who grew up in Kansas City, Kansas, said he had a passion and a drive to do what’s best for his family. He wants to live here and is raising his family here, he said.

McClaine added he brings a mix of skills to the position, including board and financial experience, as well as community experience. He said he works in client services for a company that manages portfolios.

Also, McClaine said through his community work, he has helped feed people in apartment complexes, provided backpacks, and offered services to make life better for residents.

“We’re all about ensuring that everyone gets their fair shake,” McClaine said. “This isn’t about a position for me. It’s not about how much money I can make, it isn’t about how much money I manage. This is about purpose. What is your purpose for doing the job that we do? Is it about the people or about the businesses, or about the businesses that serve the people?”

Philbrook, who has been active in community groups including Business West and the Kansas City Kiwanis West, said she brings experience in business and working for others to the table, skills such as working as a team and following directions at work. She has worked with the UG’s budget of $330 million for the past four years, she said.

While they all have their own goals, the commissioners have to collaborate with each other, or they won’t get any work done, she said.

“Our commission has worked well together, although we don’t always agree,” Philbrook sad.

“I don’t attend the mayor’s church, and I wouldn’t be a rubber stamp for his agenda,” Isnard said during the forum.

Isnard said at the forum that he didn’t owe any allegiance to any other candidate or group, and has no alliances with others. He added his only allegiance was to voters here.

“I don’t owe anybody anything, and no mayor tells me what to do, and neither does my minister,” Philbrook said during her remarks at the forum.

On the topic of what to do with Indian Springs, Philbrook said there will be another community conversation about what will happen with Indian Springs. She said she hopes it will be something that is progressive and has the local community involved on it.

As to the Leavenworth Road improvement project, Philbrook said originally the plan was for utility lines on the south side to be underground, north side would have utility poles, and the lines across the street would be removed, to give it a more open and pleasing appearance, and let people feel that they matter.

“Hearing somebody say Leavenworth Road doesn’t count just hurts my heart,” she said.

McClaine said Indian Springs should sit until the UG can get it right.

Ideally, the site should bring in new revenue, but there are cultural issues around it, he said. If one developer doesn’t get the job done, open it up to another one, he said.

McClaine said the millions of dollars needed to bury power lines could be used to do a lot more in the community.

Isnard said, regarding Indian Springs, there isn’t truly a loss until there is a sale. The proposal to sell some of the Indian Springs property for pennies on the dollar was dumping an investment that could raise in value, he said.

“We’ve got to wait for the right deal at the right time,” he said. The land could be worth more in the future, he believes.

On the Leavenworth Road issue, Isnard said he lives nearby and the road is in sore need of improvement; he supports the improvements. Many residents experience power outages after every storm because the UG hasn’t made the investment to bury power lines, he said.

McClaine, who also ran for the 8th District Commission seat four years ago, said his campaign is focusing on three areas – financial health, physical health and social health. Financial health revolves around wasteful spending, he said.

“None of our firehouses are up to code in our district,” McClaine said. “I believe we should create a clear path for our business entrepreneurs.” He also talked about health risks from lead, and problems such as crime and blight.

“I don’t support reckless spending or bribing every business to come into the community,” Isnard said. “The Legends and Village West have amassed an economic gravity of their own and are expanding at a rapid pace still on their own. Our job is to continue to pave the way so that that growth can continue eastward. District Eight is next in line for that.” He added that he supports first responders.

“We still have a whole lot of work to do,” Philbrook said. It takes everyone working together, including community groups, to get things done, she added.

Candidates answered other questions, and more of their responses are on a video of the KCKCC forum July 19, posted online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmuIb347IfE.

The campaign forum videos also are showing on the KCKCC cable channel, Channel 17 on Spectrum, and Channel 146 on Google TV.

Three candidates vie for 5th District, UG Commission seat

Candidates for the 5th District, Unified Government Commission, answered questions at the candidate forum July 19 at Kansas City Kansas Community College. The candidates include, left to right, Sarah Kremer, incumbent Commissioner Mike Kane, and John Fotovich. (Staff photo)

Two challengers are running against incumbent Commissioner Mike Kane in the 5th District primary, which will be Tuesday, Aug. 1.

Challengers Sarah Kremer and John Fotovich appeared with Kane at a candidate forum on July 19 at Kansas City Kansas Community College.

Kane, who has the most years on the commission at 12 years, told the audience at the candidate forum that he was a family man who was raised in Kansas City, Kansas, in a two-bedroom home with nine brothers and sisters.

He retired from the General Motors plant after 35 years, where he served as a union representative, and now is the public affairs director for Laborers 1290. His current job sometimes takes him across the state and to Topeka. He has coached sports in the past as a volunteer in the Piper area.

Kane said the new fire station for the Piper area was the most important project to him in his district. It was approved at the last budget process.

He said meetings are ongoing about a new park for the Piper area, and he has been working with groups about this. He added that he has been talking a long time about adding a park to the Piper area. Some funding was allocated last week for a study for a Piper park. Also, there have been two inquiries about a grocery store in the area, he added.

“I have always thought that we got the least amount of services, and paid the most amount of taxes,” Kane said. He added that he has asked for more police patrols for the western area.

Sarah Kremer grew up in Iowa and moved to Kansas about 20 years ago to attend Johnson County Community College, and settled in the Piper area. She has a bachelor’s degree from Emporia State University with an accounting emphasis. She is a vice president of accounting for Belger Cartage Services, Kansas City, Mo. Kremer is a certified public accountant and a certified management accountant.

“I want to be part of the next generation of leadership in this county,” Kremer said. “I want to help continue the growth we’re having here.”

It is important to keep development going, so that property taxes can be reduced, she said.

As far as new projects are concerned, Kremer said public safety, the new fire station and an increased police force would be her top priority, followed by more places for children, such as a new library or community pool.

John Fotovich, who said his main issue was to lower property taxes, grew up in Kansas City, Kansas, attended Wyandotte High School, and moved to the Piper area in 1979. Fotovich previously ran for the Board of Public Utilities. He worked more than 25 years for Kansas Gas Service, and retired in December 2016. He worked about eight years for the Board of Public Utilites in the 1970s and 1980s.

Fotovich said public officials may say they will lower the mill levy, but they also have appraised a lot of the property higher.

“It’s kind of like a hoax, because they want you to think they’re really doing something good for you,” Fotovich said at the July 19 candidate forum. “All they continue to do is raise your taxes.”

All three candidates have said at some point in the campaign that they would like to reduce property taxes.

Fotovich said his priority, among the various projects suggested for the western area, was more police protection. He said property for a new fire station wasn’t needed in Piper, that the UG should look at the property it already has, and make use of the structures already there, perhaps combining a fire and police station.

The 5th District includes areas west of 72nd Street, on the north side.

Candidates also answered questions about their positions on how they would help small businesses, housing in Wyandotte County, and how they view issues in other districts. More of their responses are on a video of the KCKCC forum July 19, posted online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6uiWcrHYMQ.

The campaign forum videos also are showing on the KCKCC cable channel, Channel 17 on Spectrum, and Channel 146 on Google TV.

The primary election is Tuesday, Aug. 1.

Sheriff takes on crowded primary race after battling myeloma

Wyandotte County sheriff candidates, left to right, Charles W. Bunnell, Celisha Towers, Marvin L. Main, Victor Webb and Sheriff Don Ash appeared at a candidate forum on July 11 at the First Baptist Church at 5th and Nebraska. The forum on July 11 was sponsored by the Historic Northeast Midtown Association, NAACP, Heartland Black Chamber and other groups. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

by Mary Rupert

After fighting myeloma earlier this year, Sheriff Donald Ash faces four opponents in the primary contest Aug. 1.

Ash, 64, who has served eight years as sheriff, addressed his health in a statement at the July 18 candidate forum at Kansas City Kansas Community College.

“I am not dying of cancer, and reports of my impending death, I assure you, are greatly exaggerated,” Sheriff Ash said, echoing a well-known Mark Twain quote.

He began treatment for myeloma, a cancer, last June, with immunotherapy from Nov. 1 to Feb. 9. He said the treatments have been successful and he is now in a maintenance and monitoring phase.

Sheriff Donald Ash, running for re-election Aug. 1, recently dispelled rumors about his health. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

“I am running for a full, four-year term,” Ash said. He added that he is considering options for successors so when it is time to retire, there will be a plan. He added no one has been promised the sheriff’s position upon his departure.

The other candidates did not bring up the sheriff’s health during the July 11 and 18 candidate forums.

The four challengers all have experience within law enforcement, including some working currently in the Sheriff’s office.

Issues in the campaign

Candidate Marvin Main, at the July 11 forum, said the biggest issue in the campaign for sheriff was community involvement. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

When asked at the candidate forum July 11 at First Baptist Church, 5th and Nebraska, what was the biggest issue facing the Sheriff’s office, challenger Marvin L. Main said it was lack of community involvement.

“The Sheriff’s Department and the community are miles apart,” Main said. He said the community and the department need to face problems together. Main retired after 25 years with the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department, where he was an investigator, motorcycle police officer and crime scene technician. He has recently been working security for the Unified Government.

Ash said, in answer to the same question, that staffing is one of the biggest issues. Sometimes staff members move on to other jobs in the field.

He also said the budget is an issue, as it is important to find a proper balance to be fiscally accountable, responsible and efficient, so it doesn’t cost the taxpayers more money.

Ash has implemented double-bunking in the jail, which has eliminated additional expense in sending the county’s inmates to other jails. According to Ash, the money saved by eliminating farm-outs to other counties will be used toward building the new Juvenile Justice Center, without raising taxes.

Celisha Towers, a candidate for sheriff, said the biggest issue in the campaign was a lack of involvement with employees. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

Celisha Towers, a former employee in the Sheriff’s Department, until July 2016, said the biggest issue facing the Sheriff’s Department was a lack of involvement with the employees. She said leadership was stagnant with a hostile work environment.

In addition, she said there is a lack of practical training. She said the lack of engagement with the employees and community is a big issue. Towers has worked in the jail, has had SWAT training, and has served as a field training officer. She said she was the first African American woman on a tactical team in the state of Kansas.

Charles Bunnell, a candidate for sheriff, called for better pay for employees, and more employees in the Sheriff’s Department. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

Charles W. Bunnell, who has 14 years’ experience in the Sheriff’s Department, said expansion is an issue, as there are not enough employees, and employees are not paid the amount they should be paid, compared to other agencies such as the Police Department.

If there were more deputies, the Sheriff’s Department would have more time to build rapport with the community, he believes.

Victor Webb, who is running for sheriff, said morale is the biggest issue facing the Sheriff’s Department. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

Victor Webb, who retired as a captain from the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department’s operations division after 28 years’ service, said morale is the biggest issue facing the Sheriff’s Department. He said it’s possible that lack of staffing comes about from low morale, or low morale comes about because of lack of staffing.

He said his goal would be to get the entire command staff, including the sheriff’s deputies, involved in community events and activities. He would implement a community policing philosophy. His platform has an emphasis on community relations. He was a community policing commander for five years.

Wyandotte County Sheriff candidates appeared at a community forum July 18 at Kansas City Kansas Community College. This forum is on the KCKCC cable channel, and also is on YouTube. This forum was sponsored by Business West, KCKCC, the Historic Northeast Midtown Association, and the Central Area Betterment Association. The moderator of this forum was Murrel Bland, top right, and one of the panelists was Elnora Jefferson, foreground. Victor Webb was unable to be present and sent a representative. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

Sheriff and role concerning immigration

Will the local sheriff and deputies go door-to-door searching for persons who are not legally in the country? A question about the sheriff’s candidates’ stand on immigration policy and sanctuary cities was asked by Edgar Galicia, executive director of the Central Area Betterment Association, at the KCKCC forum.

Ash said there is not a policy in the Sheriff’s Department of stopping or engaging with people based on their immigration status. The only people they are interested in dealing with are those who are involved in crime, he said.

“I don’t think it behooves us to create communities where people can hide in plain sight, and sometimes engage in various criminal activities,” Ash said. “That being said, I’m not going to allow the federal government to come in and federalize the sheriff’s office, or deputize the sheriff’s deputies in order to be immigration officers. That is not our role.”

He said he had many meetings with the Latino community, as well as with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement leaders in the area.

“We are working very hard in developing policies in training that help us all understand this, and how to best deal with it,” Ash said.

Bunnell said he didn’t like the idea of a sanctuary city but he did like a safe city.

He said immigration is a federal agency’s responsibility, while the sheriff’s office’s responsibility is to make a safer environment for everyone.

“My concern is your safety,” he said. “That is something that the federal government will have to contend with, is your immigration status.”

Main said if he is elected sheriff, his deputies will not go knocking on doors looking for those who are in the country illegally – that is ICE’s responsibility.

But if someone not here legally is incarcerated in the county jail, he would notify ICE, he said.

“Immigration is federal unless it involves you as the community or somebody that is incarcerated in my jail,” Main said.

Towers said she doesn’t believe in sanctuary cities, or immigration coming door-to-door disturbing people in their homes.

“When you do commit a crime within this community, and you come into the Wyandotte County Detention Center, there should be accommodations for those that are out of this country,” she said. She suggested placing officers with specific training inside an ICE unit in the jail, and said she had experience with such a unit at the Cumberland County (North Carolina) Sheriff’s Office.

“You have to be able to address these individuals in a particular way to find out where they come from, the needs that they need, why they’re in your jail,” she said.

She doesn’t think the Sheriff’s Department should step into the federal role and knock on people’s doors if they haven’t committed a crime. However, there should be a task force within the jail to handle people who have committed crimes and are not in the country legally, she said. Officers should be trained to address the situation inside the detention center, which the jail currently lacks, she added.

Experience and education

Ash has an associate of arts degree in criminal justice from Kansas City Kansas Community College, a bachelor’s degree in management of human relations, and a master’s degree in management and organizational leadership from Mid-America Nazarene College. He served in the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department from 1972 through 2006, and was a past division commander for the central, south and west patrols of the Police Department. He also is an elected member of the Board of Trustees at KCKCC.

Bunnell, besides serving with the Sheriff’s Department for 14 years, served five years in the Navy and 12 years in the Navy Reserves, obtaining the rank of master at arms, and his last years in the service were in the Navy’s security and police force. He has an associate of science degree from Kansas City Kansas Community College. He was listed as a detention deputy at the jail in 2016.

“I believe this time working with the Sheriff’s office has given me a closer view of the day-to-day operations and many of the needs of the Sheriff’s office,” Bunnell said.

Main, a graduate of Turner High School, served in the U.S. Marine Corps, working with recruits, and also was assistant warden of a jail for Navy and Marine inmates.

Main has received the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Medal of Valor with three stars for rescuing a man from a burning building.

Towers, 33, is a graduate of Schlagle High School who received an associate degree in pre-law, and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. She said she is currently in the process of seeking a master’s of legal studies and is working on a law degree.

She previously worked as a sergeant with the Cumberland County (North Carolina) Sheriff’s Department before moving back to the area to be a deputy at the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Department. She was listed as a jail detention deputy in 2016. She is currently a student.

Webb, besides his 28 years’ experience with the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department, has a bachelor’s degree in management and human relations from Mid-America Nazarene College, where he graduated magna cum laude.

After graduating from high school, Webb served seven years with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. He has extensive experience working with community policing in Kansas City, Kansas. As a retired captain, he had the highest rank of all four challengers.

More information about the Sheriff’s campaign, and more about their positions on the issues, is on a video of the KCKCC forum July 18, posted online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXWfuRx33Ec.

The campaign forum videos also are showing on the KCKCC cable channel, Channel 17 on Spectrum, and Channel 146 on Google TV.

The primary election is Tuesday, Aug. 1.