Category: Opinions

Mayor needs to realize reality of governing

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Opinion column

by Murrel Bland

Several years ago, there was a story floating around Kansas City, Kansas, City Hall about a new mayor who wanted to make a substantial impact on the community with his administration. According to legend, a longtime city hall bureaucrat let the mayor know the political realities of city government.

“We don’t even buy paperclips without two votes,” the bureaucrat said. At that time, three commissioners directed city government,

Fast-forward to today. Mayor Tyrone Garner has come to city hall with what he describes as a substantial agenda for change. He needs to understand that he needs at least five votes, plus his, if substantial change is going to occur.

The mayor also needs to understand that many of the same voters who elected him also elected commissioners. People will support those things that they help create. Abruptly ending a recent commission meeting without letting commissioners further express their views sent the wrong message from the mayor.

Chuck Stites, a newcomer commissioner from Edwardsville, probably summed it up very well:

“We just want to know what is going on,” Stites said.

There is controversy surrounding the recent appointment of Cheryl Harrison-Lee as county administrator. The mayor, as chief executive officer, clearly had authority to nominate her; all commission members approved her appointment for one year.

Now commission members are favoring a national search for county administrator, but would have Harrison-Lee invited to apply. She is now auditing Unified Government departments, apparently trying to find ways of saving money. At the same time, a volunteer committee, including Chris Steineger, is focused on governmental efficiency. Steineger, a Democrat-turned- Republican, was an unsuccessful candidate for mayor.

Harrison-Lee was a controversial city administrator at Gardner. She resigned and received $350,000 in severance pay. She continues to be a consultant for Kansas City, Missouri; critics have raised concern about a possible conflict of interest.

The mayor needs to have better relations with fellow commission members. He also needs to remember that he was elected by only about 400 votes more than his opponent, which is not that much of a margin when considering more than 165,000 residents live in Wyandotte County.

Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is an independent columnist. Opinions expressed here are those of the writer and not necessarily those of this publication.

Churches focus on social issues

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Opinion column

by Murrel Bland

About 170 members of Wyandotte County churches showed up Tuesday night, May 3, at Oak Ridge Missionary Baptist Church to hear details of a new organization, Churches United for Justice (CUJ). The organization is focused on two main areas — affordable housing and violent crime.

One of the solutions that the organization has suggested to deal with the affordable housing issue is landlord risk mitigation. First, let’s look at the problem. There are about 3,800 housing units in Wyandotte County of public housing or those funded with federal money. from what is called Section 8 certificates. Many landlords shy away from Section 8 because they have trouble collecting rent from these tenants and often have to evict renters; many times, renters trash homes just before leaving.

The mitigation progress would establish a fund that could help subsidize lack of payments and material damage for aggrieved landlords. Such a program has been successful in Denver, Orlando, Portland and Orlando.

This housing issue brings up an important public policy matter — does Wyandotte County really need any more public housing that would make a bad situation worse? Are surrounding communities, including Johnson County, doing their part to provide affordable housing?

CUJ also has suggested that a land trust be established to shift vacant parcels from a land bank. Any such action should be sensitive to neighborhoods. There have been success stories of such efforts in Detroit as seen on HGTV. Wyandotte County has about 4,500 vacant properties.

The violence issue is a very difficult one to solve. In 1954, there were seven homicides in Wyandotte County; during 2020, there were 58. During the 1950s, homicides were often caused by domestic quarrels among middle-aged persons. Today, many of the murders are a result of illegal drugs; the victims are often those in their early 20s or teenagers. Many youths today often are attracted by gang leaders who drive big cars, flash cash and wear expensive clothes; often these gang leaders are drug dealers.

CUJ is focused on violence prevention and intervention. One of the successful preventions CUJ cited was the PIVOT program, used successfully in Cincinnati. PIVOT stands for Place-based Investigations of Violent Offender Territories, and it takes a comprehensive approach to dealing with high-crime areas; crime was reduced substantially at these locations.

CUJ should work closely with other crime prevention organizations including neighborhood watch groups and police advisory organizations along with Community Police officers.

CUJ is planning a rally at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 7, at Mt. Carmel Church of God in Christ, 2025 N. 12th St., with a goal of attracting more than 1,000 persons. For more information, telephone Amber Adams at 913-526-6831.

Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is an independent columnist. Opinions expressed here are those of the writer and not necessarily those of this publication.

Doctor tells human side of medicine

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Opinion column

Dr. Sanjay Gupta

by Murrel Bland

There are stories that need to be told to the public concerning medicine.

That was the message that Dr. Sanjay Gupta delivered Thursday, April 21. Dr. Gupta is the chief medical correspondent for Cable News Network. He received the William Allen White Foundation National Citation presented at the annual meeting of the William Allen White Foundation trustees at the University of Kansas at Lawrence. More than 300 persons, including students and faculty, packed into the ballroom of the Kansas Union to hear Dr. Gupta speak.

Dr. Gupta told of how he was embedded with a group of U.S. Navy medical doctors, called the “devil docs,” who operated on wounded soldiers who were in Baghdad, Iraq. Dr. Gupta, who is also a practicing neurosurgeon, was suddenly pressed into service. A young U.S. Marine officer had removed his helmet and was struck in the head with a bullet.

Dr. Gupta said he was hard-pressed for equipment. He had to use a Black and Decker drill to cut through the man’s bone. The drill, which was sterilized, was the same one used to erect the tent where the doctors operated. Sometime after the successful operation, Dr. Gupta received a telephone call that led to a reunion with the young officer in San Diego.

Dr. Gupta was also embedded with members of the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan; he told the story of life-saving missions. He also told of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. He was also on the shortlist as a candidate for U.S. Surgeon General during the Obama administration.

Dr. Gupta, who is the son of parents who immigrated to the United States from India, is married to Rebecca Olson, a family law attorney. They are the parents of three teenage daughters and live in Atlanta.

Although he said he is very committed to the practice of medicine and to quality journalism, he said his first commitment is to his family.

Right after Dr. Gupta completed his address of about 20 minutes, he received a T-shirt commemorating the KU basketball’s national championship. The audience acknowledged that gift with a rousing approval.

Dr. Gupta left Lawrence and was headed to Ukraine.

Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is a trustee of the William Allen White Foundation.