Category: Unified Government Commission

Mayor Tyrone A. Garner, sworn in Monday night at a ceremony at Memorial Hall, outlined goals of his new administration.

Garner, elected in November, became the first black mayor of the Unified Government and of Kansas City, Kansas. He was sworn in by Judge Robert Martinez.

To applause, Mayor Garner pledged a top-to-bottom audit of the Unified Government and Board of Public Utilities, by an unaffiliated agency.

He said it would be designed to identify ways to streamline government, cut costs, consolidate and transfer cost savings to the people.

He said he was determined to offer a message of unity, opportunity and hope, “rooted in my confidence that we can change the hopes and dreams of today into becoming the reality of tomorrow.”

It would be a reality of a Wyandotte County where no one who is willing to work hard and positively contribute would ever be left behind, he said.

It would be a reality where people of all races, religions, all persuasions and ages hold value over politics, privilege and profit, and people are put first, he said.

A former deputy police chief of Kansas City, Kansas, who spent his career with the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department, Garner also said he would support men and women in public safety.

“We cannot have a great Wyandotte County without public safety,” he said.

The new mayor also called for a review of the UG charter. The Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, governments were consolidated after a vote in 1997, and the charter has not had an extensive review since then.

He also received applause when he said that children should never have to look at a public swimming pool in Wyandotte County that says they are closed for business.

The audience also applauded his statement that they should collaborate with all entities, and make BPU bills feel like a real utility bill.

He would seek to curtail the burdens of user fees imposed on residents, he said.

Also, Garner focused on areas east of I-635, among them the northeast, downtown, Central Avenue, Armourdale and Rosedale areas, to be given the attention they need. He said he was in favor of equitable development.

He also was applauded when he said the Wyandotte County district attorney should be supported in his efforts to bring fairness to the judicial system and include a public defender’s office.

He also said he would like the UG administration to be more accountable to the UG Commission, the elected body, and he also mentioned working together with Bonner Springs, Edwardsville and other areas of Wyandotte County.

Mayor Garner asked residents to get involved in community organizations and activities, and work together to bring about positive change that so many want to see in Wyandotte County.

Besides Mayor Garner, sworn in at Monday night’s ceremony were Wyandotte County Sheriff Daniel Soptic, and UG Commissioners Chuck Stites, 7th District; Andrew Davis, 8th District; Tom Burroughs, commissioner at large, 2nd District; and Mike Kane, 5th District.

For more of Mayor Garner’s speech, and to see the speeches of other elected officials, the inauguration ceremony is on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZldtsQFy_Sw.