TKC EXCLUSIVE!!! TODAY'S KANSAS CITY COUNCIL REDISTRICTING HOT MESS!!!

Cutting up Kansas City is never easy and in between pleasantries at today's Council Redistricting Committee meeting everyone acknowledged as much.

However, in the end Rev Map-1 eared a victory for a lot of reasons . . .

First of all . . . This was the map that was endorsed by a slew of people and organizations from across Kansas City along with most African-American leaders in the 3rd & 5th Districts.

We've reported some of the complaining from the 6th District but it would be irresponsible to note that it's genuine grassroots concern. Instead it's a concerted political effort that was completely crushed today. To be fair, Eslun Tucker was the 6th District rep in this process and she said . . . "It's important to acknowledge all of the people who became involved in this process. Now a lot of their participation has simply been thrown away."

However . . .

The so-called "Community Map" didn't even get a "second" from the Committee in order to move to a vote.

Overall there was consensus across the City for Map 1 and the complaints against it were mostly some rather effective online spam. It was interesting that Committee Chair Jane Brown even advised against attacking people personally through this process . . . Sort of a weird comment considering this is stuff that most people sleep through . . .

1 Map Rev was officially drawn by Keith Nelson - 1st district and John Fairfield - 2nd district . . . However, it was Steve Glorioso who really seemed to sell it to the group today and the Committee.

Mr. Glorioso's presentation gave an overview of the 6th District since the 1980s and noted that it hadn't really changed in all this time. Mr. Glorioso argued that "it's time to bring the 6th District into the rest of the City."

Even better, Mr. Gloriso spoke to the concerns of the leaders in the 3rd District . . .



"I have to pay attention when the overwhelming majority of the African-American leaders in this community tell us that this is a map they can support and the other maps might disenfranchise their community."

For most part, the argument agaisnt the so-called "community map" and other efforts to keep the 6th District the same were simply a matter of practicality. Keeping the 6th untouched would come at the expense of the percentage of African-American voters in the 5th and 3rd Districts . . . That would not only be a violation of The Voting Rights Act but also lead to a circumstance where the maps would eventually have to be redrawn in just a few years because of ongoing population loss.

Mayor Sly's input in the meeting was simply to congratulate the panel. He noted that he had purposely avoided getting directly involved because he has "no dog in this fight."



Now as the process goes to the City Council and Mayor Sly James for approval, the Mayor said he would "Support the map that best complies with the law."

So, it's up to the Council and Mayor to vote on the recommendation of Map 1-Rev.

So, it's not quite over yet . . . Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to talk with Council Dude John Sharp and his SURPRISINGLY STRONG EFFORT to spin this process his way wasn't without some success in terms of creating the appearance of grassroots support. In other words, we're pretty sure he has some tricks up his sleeve and redistricting might not yet be a done deal.

DEVELOPING . . .