TKC NOTE: Clay Chastain offers a look at the final stages of his ongoing Kansas City light rail fight. He also take a few shots @ Mayor and Council and the toy train plain in a few amusing asides. Take a look:
Final Court Filing On Behalf Of Kansas City Light Rail Initiative
Below is our final court filing (see attachment) in behalf of the light rail initiative 4,000 voters signed (Kansas City's City Council still refuses to place before the voters)instructing the trial court to order the light rail initiative on the August ballot and rein in this over bearing government in behalf of the public interest, and city charter law that says the City Council "shall" place a valid initiative on the ballot.
The light rail hearing date is May 19th at 10:30 before the honorable Judge Midkiff.
It is obvious by now that Mayor Sly James, and his phantom transit genius Councilman Russ Johnson are instructing the City's mealy mouthed attorneys (currently busy in another circuit court unabashedly arguing that the voters should be allowed to vote on the City's streetcar plan!!) to argue anything, even a bogus technicality, to stop a vote on the light rail initiative that was ruled constitutional by the Missouri Supreme Court.
These two elected officials are acting like devious pussy foots afraid the voters will prefer the vision of the light rail initiative over their unfair (to the poor), poorly designed streetcar plan that has been mishandled from the beginning.
We pray Judge Midkiff will see through their empty legal manipulations and uphold the democratic initiative process in behalf of we the people.
Oh yes, a few amusing asides:
City attorneys are now arguing that they should not be required to place the initiative before voters because if the voters approve the light rail-based transit system outlined in the ballot language, the City says...citing to a so-called technical wording glitch in the initiative's associated ordinance language...they are not legally mandated to build it.
First off, the City is not legally mandated to build anything the voters approve via the initiative process. We saw this weakness in the initiative process when the courts upheld the City Council's repeal (in 2007) of a light rail initiative supported by 75,000 Kansas City voters!!!
And here is the final absurdity in what Assistant City Attorney Sarah Baxter told the Missouri Supreme Court Judges during oral arguments when they asked her about that controversial wording in the ordinance language the city is now hiding behind........... "the City feels it cannot ignore the ballot language!!!"
See what I mean?
Finally, I leave this observation to the court:
A ruling in favor of the city would only serve to turn the weak initiative process Kansas City now has, into a meaningless one.
Kansas City, Missouri registered voter and Community Activist, Clay Chastain
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Summary Judgement Response From Clay Chastain
If he wins Sly and Russ will get drunk and jump off the Bond Bridge.
ReplyDeletenahh they;ll take the money and spend it on the streetcar. i can already imagine, million dollar pr contracts to spin how the streetcar is the better alternative to clays plan and why the money is being funneled to it.
ReplyDelete"the City feels it cannot ignore the ballot language!!!" more govt doublespeak, sounds alot like "the Affordable Care Act is not a tax" ---> "Ladies and Gentleman of the Supreme Court the Affordable Care Act is a tax and is therefore Constitutional." hmmmmmm Ladies and gentleman of the Supreme Court "the City feels it cannot ignore the ballot language" -----> "F' the ballot language take the money and spend on the streetcar."
ReplyDeleteThis is right up there with Immigration reform, its going to be shoved down our throats whether we want it or not, these people get into office and rather than bend to the will of the people that elected them .. they will fight tooth and nail in court to push their own personal agenda through ... like Immigration reform is I said:
ReplyDeleteDear Mr. Obama:
I'm planning to move my family and extended family into Mexico for my health, and I would like to ask you to assist me. We're planning to simply walk across the border from the U.S. into Mexico, and we'll need your help to make a few arrangements. We plan to skip all the legal stuff like visas, passports, immigration quotas and laws. I'm sure they handle those things the same way you do here So, would you mind telling your buddy, the President of Mexico , that I'm on my way over? Please let him know that I will be expecting the following:
1. Free medical care for my entire family.
2. English-speaking Government bureaucrats for all services I might need, whether I use them or not.
3. Please print all Mexican Government forms in English.
4. I want my grandkids to be taught Spanish by English-speaking (bi-lingual) teachers.
5. Tell their schools they need to include classes on American culture and history.
6. I want my grandkids to see the American flag on one of the flag poles at their school.
7. Please plan to feed my grandkids at school for both breakfast and lunch.
8. I will need a local Mexican driver's license so I can get easy access to government services.
9. I do plan to get a car and drive in Mexico, but I don't plan to purchase car insurance, and I probably won't make any special effort to learn local traffic laws.
10. In case one of the Mexican police officers does not get the memo from their president to leave me alone, please be sure that every patrol car has at least one English-speaking officer.
11. I plan to fly the U.S. flag from my house top, put US. flag decals on my car, and have a gigantic celebration on July 4th. I do not want any complaints or negative comments from the locals.
12. I would also like to have a nice job without paying any taxes, or have any labor or tax laws enforced on any business I may start.
13. Please have the president tell all the Mexican people to be extremely nice and never say critical things about me or my family, or about the strain we might place on their economy.
14. I want to receive free food stamps.
15. Naturally, I'll expect free rent subsidies.
16. I'll need income tax credits so that although I don't pay Mexican taxes, I'll receive money from the government.
17. Please arrange it so that the Mexican Government pays $4,500.00 to help me buy a new car.
18. Oh yes, I almost forgot, please enroll me free into the Mexican Social Security program so that I'll get a monthly income in retirement.
I know this is an easy request because you already do all these things for all of his people who walk over to the U.S. from Mexico.
I am sure that the President of Mexico won't mind returning the favor if you ask him nicely.
Do you see how stupid this looks when you put it in writing????
Logic is dead.
Excellence is punished.
Mediocrity is rewarded.
And dependency is to be revered.
This is present day America.
When people rob banks they go to prison.
When they rob the taxpayer they get re-elected.
3:42 PM
ReplyDeleteFTW
who cares if an initiative passes? not the city government. nothing to see here move along. 75,000 voters pass an initiative? nothing to see here move along, we don't care because you don't matter.
ReplyDeletetony's kansas city? more like CAVEman Kansas City
ReplyDeleteSly's got a pen and a phone, nuff said
ReplyDeleteClay is looking more and more like one of those cult members who believed that a spaceship was hiding behind a comet. You know, the ones who believed in recreational castration and suicide.
ReplyDeleteChastain complaining about mass transit.
ReplyDeleteTony sniveling about streetcars.
Both are beyond old.
Please Tony, tell us more about your feelings for the streetcar.
Yawn.
No idiot it's not about clay, but your right to vote. They won't put it on the ballot. Even HE got three thousands signatures from people who want to see it on the ballot.
ReplyDeleteThis is your right, not the politicians to tell you what to vote on.
REMEMBER, THIS IS AMERICA, NOT A SOUTH AMERICAN DICTATORSHIP.
4:46 PM - No, it's an AFRICAN AMERICAN DICTATORSHIP
ReplyDeleteI want to know how is it that all of the Kansas City cases end up in Midkiff's courtroom. This is getting ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteIf it's all about the voters, how come De=Janes and her show me $$$ backers are trying to prevent the election?
ReplyDeleteNewly minted transit experts PT and DC sez:
"eastside and midtown shouldn't be allowed to vote, because they don't agree with uncle Rexie. Toytrainboondogglebad. Buses GOOD."
No mention of how much $$$$ Show me just spent trying to kill the ATA's #1 funding source a few short years ago. Suddenly, the LORVE buses, Bryan Stadler does too. Never road one, but damn he know how they work....
More voter suppression from Show me and the shills