Election 2021 – Page 13 – Welcome to Wyandotte Daily!

Mayoral candidates spar on question of police department investigation

A proposed investigation of the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department was one of the issues at Tuesday night’s mayoral debate.

Mayor David Alvey directly addressed opponent Tyrone Garner about his days at the Police Department.

The debate, sponsored by the Kansas City, Kansas, Area Chamber of Commerce, was moderated by Micheal Mahoney of KMBC-TV.

Garner said he supported a Department of Justice investigation of the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department.

Mayor Alvey said he has asked Police Chief Karl Oakman to look into it and give an opinion on whether there should be an outside investigation, and he would support Oakman. Alvey also said a KBI investigation has now been turned over to the FBI. At the debate, Alvey echoed some of the statements that candidate Janice Witt had made about Garner in the primary election.

Garner, a former deputy chief at the Police Department, was on the police force at the time that there was alleged corruption there, Mayor Alvey said. If Garner knew about these things and did not come forward at the time, “we deserve an explanation of why not,” Alvey said. He said Garner had said earlier that he was afraid for his job.

“It’s shameful you would go there,” Garner responded. Although he worked there 31 years, he did not know anything about the alleged incidents, he said. He said he did not sit on anything. He worked to get corrupt officers out of uniform, he said.

“I served this community honorably and sacrificed for Wyandotte County, and I’m back here today because I care about this community,” Garner said. “It’s shameful you should go there. I’ve dealt with bad police officers, I’ve dealt with racism.” He wanted an outside investigation into the Police Department, he said.

“You don’t owe me an apology. You owe every police officer an apology for that statement,” Garner said.

“I apologize,” Alvey said. “Again, it seems from the outside that someone in that position would have seen what was going on.”

Alvey said if Chief Oakman wants a Department of Justice investigation, he would support it. He also added it is costly and it could take funds away from other areas of the budget.

Garner, who had the support of the firefighters’ union in the primary election, also supported some of their issues, along with the reopening of the Fairfax fire station.

The candidates also discussed their views on economic development, with both saying they support development east of I-635, along with different opinions on the Unified Government’s PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) fees on the Board of Public Utilities’ bills.

Garner won the Aug. 3 primary election by 48 votes, according to the election canvass. Turnout was around 14.36 percent.

The general election will be Tuesday, Nov. 2. The last day to register to vote before the election is Oct. 12.

The debate will be shown on the Kansas City, Kansas, Area Chamber of Commerce Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/KansasCityKansasChamberOfCommerce/.

BPU candidate brings up utility assistance topic

A candidate for a Board of Public Utilities office spoke during a public comment time at the Wednesday night, Aug. 18, BPU meeting to ask whether some housing funding, if it comes through, could also be used on utility bills.

Brian Matlock mentioned programs that provide federal funding for housing.

He also asked if the BPU was doing anything to transition away from coal to renewable energy.

Matlock is a candidate for BPU, District 2, a position currently held by Tom Groneman. There were not enough candidates in this contest for a primary, and the two will be on the ballot in the general election in November. Matlock formerly ran for the U.S. Senate as a Republican socialist.

BPU General Manager Bill Johnson said they are currently awaiting Congress to approve an infrastructure plan for the nation, with funds to be allocated through the states. He said the BPU was actively engaged and interested in pursuing funding. He said he would look into the issues mentioned and get back to Matlock with more information.

David Mehlhaff, chief communications officer for the BPU, said the BPU has been in contact with the Kansas Congressional delegation on a regular basis to request and give the delegation their thoughts on an infrastructure package pertaining to the BPU.

He said it remains to be seen what comes out of the final bill, but they have a better chance of getting funds for water infrastructure than electric.

“We are 48 percent renewable energy now, one of the greenest in the country,” Mehlhaff said, adding the BPU will continue down the path of renewable energy. They are waiting to see what comes out of Washington, he added.

BPU Board Member Groneman commented about Matlock’s question about ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funding on utility assistance.

“I suggested on a couple of occasions that we look into dedicated staff or contract with somebody, if staff is not available, to work with customers in assisting them or filling out applications for KERA (Kansas Emergency Rental Assistance),” Groneman said during the Wednesday night meeting.

There was some resistance to that idea, he noted, but he was happy to see that the Unified Government is proposing they hire somebody to assist citizens with filling out the KERA applications, which include some funding for utility assistance. The UG was proposing to use some federal ARPA funding to hire someone for the position.

“I would strongly urge the BPU to work with the city and any of these other groups that are interested in seeing that this money that is available gets to our people, the ones who are in need,” Groneman said. “It seems to be nothing but a win-win situation. We help our citizens and customers, and we get revenue.”

On Aug. 5, the BPU extended its moratorium on utility shutoffs until Oct. 6 to give residents more time to file for assistance with the KERA program.

An application and information about the KERA program, which is available to renters, is online at https://kera.kshousingcorp.org/kera12#/.

Election outcomes the same, as primary election becomes ‘official’

No election outcomes changed as votes were canvassed and official results were announced today for the Wyandotte County primary election.

Frances Sheppard, assistant election commissioner, said the final turnout was 14.36 percent, with a total of 12,758 votes cast.

The mayor’s contest official votes showed Tyrone Garner with 3,575 votes to incumbent Mayor David Alvey’s 3,527. Garner’s lead was about 60 votes on election night, and was trimmed to 48 votes in the official count today.

There were 176 provisional ballots, of which 124 were counted today and 52 did not qualify, Sheppard said.

Those that were not counted included some with errors, such as the voter didn’t sign the affidavit. Sheppard said the election office called these voters and gave them the opportunity to sign the ballot before today’s canvass, but some did not respond.

An election post-audit was held a couple of days after the election, with no changes found, she said. In the post-audit, one contest is chosen at random and results are hand-counted, then compared with the election night totals.

Sheppard said candidates have until 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 17, to request a recount. As of 3 p.m. Monday, no one had requested a recount, she added.

One candidate, Tscher “Cece” Manck, has been posting videos on her social media pages stating that there must have been some additional votes for her that were not counted. She ran for the Unified Government Commissioner, 8th District, position, and received 117 votes on Aug. 3, election night, then 122 votes in unofficial results Aug. 6, and 123 votes after today’s canvass. She had many questions, and her videos called for investigations into the election.

Unofficial results on Aug. 6 included some ballots that were sent in the mail on Tuesday, Aug. 3, and arrived by Friday, Aug. 6.

The election office did not find many additional votes for Manck, and Sheppard said that no agencies are investigating.

Receiving the most votes in the UG Commission, 8th District, contest was Andrew Davis with 550, followed by incumbent Jane Winkler Philbrook with 458.

The election office currently is getting ready for the Nov. 2 election, Sheppard said.

The election will include the mayor’s contest, as well as some UG Commission offices, Board of Public Utilities seats, sheriff, as well as elections for the four public school boards in Wyandotte County, the Kansas City Kansas Community College Board of Trustees, as well as city positions in Bonner Springs and Edwarsdville.

The last day to register to vote for the election is Oct. 12, she said.

The election office will start mailing out ballots on Oct. 13, which is 20 days before the election, she said.

Those who want to receive advance ballots by mail need to send in a separate application for the mail ballot. An application is on the election office’s website at https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56606b47e4b0b9403ad6ff96/t/5c703309e5e5f09473494200/1550856969456/AV1wc_Mail_2018.pdf.

The only advance voters who don’t have to fill out the separate application are those who are on a permanent sick and disabled list, she added.

The election office also is planning early voting in person at select locations, as well as voting in person at all polling places from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 2.

Election updates will be posted at wycovotes.org, Sheppard said.