Window on the West
Opinion column
by Mary Rupert
State Sen. David Haley, D-4th Dist., said last week he is thinking again about running for mayor.
It’s not because he wants to, Sen. Haley said, it’s because he just doesn’t see anyone he would like to vote for among the four candidates who have filed. If there was someone else he could support, he would like to. His comments are reminiscent of a voter dissatisfaction held by many before last year’s presidential election.
The four candidates who have filed are incumbent Mayor Mark Holland, and challengers David Alvey, D. Keith Jordan and Janice Witt.
“I’d like to have a candidate to run, to encapsulate the true hopes and possibilities of a broader Wyandotte County,” Sen. Haley said.
Explaining his comment, he said in a very broad sense, the county is now the beneficiary of ancillary revenue being generated by the Kansas Speedway and Village West area. At the top of the agenda would be what the county could do with additional resources from Village West, and how could the community share in the bounty of it. That includes the reduction of taxes.
While he is aware of the healthy campus proposal, the northeast redevelopment plan and the SOAR initiative to address blight, he said he just didn’t have faith in any of the four candidates to follow through on them.
The UG’s charter also needs to be redone, he said, and there needs to be a provision in it that ensures that vacant positions will be filled in a timely manner. It also needs to be examined to make sure that commissioners from all UG districts can run for mayor without giving up their positions.
“I’m not alone, I need someone to vote for,” he said. So far, he has no announcement that he will run, but he is considering it, he added.
Sen. Haley has worked with colleagues in his party and across the aisle in the Kansas Senate in order to get several bills passed during his tenure.
Filing deadline for the city and school board offices is at noon June 1.
To contact Mary Rupert, editor, email [email protected].
Yes David run for mayor, why not?
The fund payments from Village West have been scheduled for years. That’s why the UG hosted public forums all over the county to gather feedback from citizens on how to spend the money.
https://www.wycokck.org/uploadedFiles/Media_Relations/2016-The%20Citizen%20Newsletter%20(Fall%20Edition).pdf
Not every city is so open about where new money is spent. As citizens we need to take advantage of opportunities like that. I won’t vote for someone who didn’t know about it or presumeably attend.
A note to Mr Haley. Before making the comments you did, why don’t you talk to me and take a good look at what I do in my community and what I stand for. Before you start telling people what they are doing wrong in KCK, you’re part of the state senate. Take a good look how Kansas is crashing. You guys are killing the state. Why should I believe you could do a better job than me for KCK.