A rally held Friday afternoon at City Hall supported Mayor Tyrone Garner.
At the rally, supporters chanted “Change is here,” “This is the people’s mayor” and “Seven more years.”
On Thursday night, the UG Commission voted to expand the commission’s power to set the UG standing committee agenda. Until now, the mayor had the power to set the agendas under the UG rules. A measure passed Thursday in Section 202 rules said items should not be added or removed from a standing committee agenda without approval of the standing committee chair.
A sentence in Section 203 rules was deleted Thursday: “The mayor ultimately determines the final agenda for the full commission meetings.”
Mayor Garner released a statement Friday: “Considering my recent call to action for unity and collaboration between myself, our commission, and the community, I view the political action taken by nine UG Commissioners as an underhanded act that curtails the longstanding discretion and authority of the UG Mayor/CEO. I believe that this is more than a blatant rejection of my community driven agenda, but rather clearly rejects the will of the people of Wyandotte County desperately seeking change. Their request for community driven change champions equity, facilitates unity, promotes opportunity, and calls for a political body that provides leadership that works equitably for all. It is an understatement to say that I am disappointed for those voters that elected me seeking an improved way forward. As such, I am even more resolved to stand firm with the people against an establishment that I believe has disenfranchised many, disinvested much, and has brought us to the brink of bankruptcy. I am confident that the resilient people of Wyandotte County are aware of what is occurring and will do what is legally necessary for us to rise above any challenge. I assure the residents of our great County that community driven change has indeed come, and I remain committed to standing with all those demanding change.”
On Thursday the mayor urged people who were concerned about the UG Commission’s actions to get out and vote at the next election.
The proposed change to the rules and procedures was not on the UG’s agenda for Thursday. It was introduced at the end of the meeting when adjournment was starting. The meeting was the last one before Christmas and around the time of Mayor Garner’s one-year anniversary in office.
Commissioner Andrew Davis, one of three people who were said at the meeting to have known about the UG Commission action in advance, posted on Facebook after the vote: “There’s quite a bit of disinformation going around explaining what happened last night at the Full Commission meeting. I humbly ask that you watch the meeting in its entirety to understand the full context of what’s taken place and what this means going forward.”
Louise Lynch, a community activist who has been instrumental in organizing utility customers who want the utility cutoffs to stop, said this meeting was not organized by her but tended to be a response to the Thursday UG meeting. She also said the UG was trying to stop her from ceding time to speak at the UG Commission meetings. She said she believed that was an unconstitutional attempt to stop her free speech.
To see an earlier story, visit https://wyandotteonline.com/christmas-power-grab-at-ug-commission/.