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Kansas City mayoral and council candidates debate

January 31st, 2011 | Add a Comment

City coucil candidates from Kansas City’s 4th, 5th and 6th council districts are asked questions by moderaters Lewis Diuguid and Tony Botello on Jan. 27 in Pierson Auditorium.

The Mayoral and City Council Candidate Debate attracted students, faculty, staff and community members eager to learn about the candidates running in Kansas City’s Feb. 22 municipal primary election.

The event, held Thursday, Jan. 27 in Pierson Auditorium, was sponsored by the Student Government Association (SGA), Show Me Pride, LLC, and The Associated Students of the University of Missouri (ASUM), and included 26 of the 42 candidates who have filed to run.

The candidate debates were split into three different blocks, with questions asked by a panel of moderators.

The first two debate blocks represented candidates running for in-district and at-large seats in Kansas City’s six council districts and were moderated by Kansas City Star columnist Lewis Diuguid and local blogger Tony Botello, proprietor of www.tonyskansascity.com.

The third block consisted of the seven mayoral candidates: Mike Burke, current Mayor Mark Funkhouser, Deb Hermann, Sly James, Henry Klein, Jim Rowland and former 1971-79 mayor Charles Wheeler. The mayoral debate was moderated by KCUR’s Jabulani Leffall and NBC Action News’ Chris Hernandez.

Debate topics ranged from the possible repeal of Kansas City’s one percent earning’s tax, which will be voted on April 5, to crime, education, diversity, political civility and city services, such as snow removal and trash pickup.

Jim Rowland (left) and Mayor Mark Funkhouser (right) participate in the SGA-hosted UMKC Mayoral and City Council Debate. Funkhouser was criticized by other mayoral and city council candidates throughout the debate.

The mayoral debate quickly became heated when Funkhouser was asked what he would do to restore civility to the Mayor’s office.

“That’s a charge,” Funkhouser responded. “To answer that question implies that it’s somehow gone. Show me the evidence.”

Later in the mayoral debate, Wheeler accused Funkhouser of being “tactless” in his removal of former City Manager Wayne Cauthen.

Many candidates also touted their connections to UMKC, including Mona Lyne, a political science professor who is competing against Jan Marcason in the 4th District council race.

nzoschke@unews.com

Note: In-district races are only open to voters residing within each council district. At-large races are city-wide races, but candidates must still reside in the district in which they are running for office.

Maps of council districts and voter registration info can be found at www.kcmo.org.

1st District:

Richard “Dick” Davis:

www.dickdavis4kc.com

1st District at-large:

Daina Kennedy

www.facebook.com/pages/Daina-Kennedy-for-City-Council/102295486498340

Scott Wagner

www.wagner4kc.com

2nd District:

Russ Johnson

www.russjohnson.org