LEGISLATIVE SESSION CONSENSUS: JACKSON COUNTY EXEC FRANK WHITE AND CHIEF OF STAFF CALEB CLIFFORD CONFRONT UNIVERSAL DEMAND FOR IMMEDIATE CHANGE AMID JAIL CRISIS!!!



Another Courthouse legislative session was dominated by disagreement over the Jackson County Jail betwixt the Legislature And The County Exec.

Here's the best comprehensive write-up of today's drama:

KCTV5: Debate over direction of Jackson County Jail divides legislature

Even more info from Fox4:

Fox4: Legislators complained that the most recent attack on a jail guard shows White is not making the detention center safer and more secure.

Round-up:

KMBC: Jackson County Executive Frank White grilled in meeting regarding the Jackson County Jail

The basics . . .

The Legislature wants immediate action on the jail and would like to enact recommendations already put forward by consultants whereas there's still not much urgency from Exec White.

Even worse . . .

Not even the Pitch seems to be siding with team white with this lukewarm glam profile write-up from Barb Shelly: Frank White’s chief of staff is helping his boss — but what about Jackson County?

The missive is mostly a recap of stuff that's already been covered along with an interview wherein Babs is mostly unconvinced.

Reminder about a topic our blog community has been talking since last year . . .

THERE'S OVERWHELMING JACKSON COUNTY OPPOSITION TO EXEC WHITE AND CHIEF OF STAFF CLIFFORD OVER MANAGEMENT STYLE AND RELIANCE ON FRANK WHITE'S BASEBALL LEGACY!!!

Translation . . . Exec White's Golden Glove prizes aren't going to help in the courtroom where JaxCo confronts a litany of inmate lawsuit over horrific jail conditions.

More importantly, two guards assaulted over the past two months raises the stakes beyond mere political posturing.

Here's what's quizzical . . .

EXEC FRANK WHITE STILL ISN'T MAKING MANAGEMENT CHANGES AT THE JAIL!!! INSIDER CONTEND THAT HIS EGO IS HOLDING HIM BACK FROM CHANGING COURSE!!!

This passage offers a stunning juxtaposition:

There was a call to shake up management at the jail.

"In any other universe you would have a new management team,' Legislator Crystal Williams of Kansas City pointedly told Exec Frank White.

"I have complete confidence in the team over there," White replied.

"I don't," Williams shot back.

While not calling him out by name, Williams was almost certainly referring to corrections department director Joe Piccinini.

Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Baker agreed that new leadership is needed.

Nevertheless, there's still very little action or move for change at the jail from Exec White's office at the end of another session.

Developing . . .

Comments

  1. it's not Caleb, it's white. The chief of staff shouldn't be making big decisions and doing Frank's job. Also $145,000 for the county executive job is far too much. That salary needs to be cut.

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  2. Here's the weird part, a lot of people are actually agreeing with Crystal. Hell has frozen over.

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  3. You know, I don't remember seeing Caleb Clifford's name on any ballot last year, but he seems to berunning Jackson County, right into the ground, as de facto County Executive. Frank White should be booted out of office for turning over so much authority to some unelected prick we're paying $140K to.

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  4. I have zero confidence in Frank White.

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  5. As unfortunate as this assault on the officer is there is nothing about this event that is uncommon to jails across the nation. 1000 mostly violent inmates in one square city block. It’s not the staff, it’s not the administration, it’s the inmates. Frank isn’t opposed to a new jail. He’s just asking that an informed decision be made about the size of the jail. More beds equals more people incarcerated for non-violent felonies and those additional inmates will most certainly be disproportionately people from communities of color. Is that what we want in Kansas City?

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  6. Okay Caleb, then why did one of the three or four consultants taxpayers have already paid for say that the situation is an emergency and they had never seen a jail as poorly run?. Spin all you want, but if a guard or inmate is killed, the blood will be on your hands.

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  7. It is clear we need more bureaucrats involved in this process. Uh huh!

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  8. @8:24 No consultant said the jail was poorly run. They said the 30 years of deferred maintenance has resulted in a terrible physical plant condition. Frank and Co. took immediate action to address the capital improvements needed to make the plumbing and facility systems functional to manage into a new facility can be built. He also sought a critical pay raise for officers that the Legislature postponed until January. Frank White didn’t create any of this situation. He’s steadily digging out from someone else’s pile.

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  9. @8:39 Which member of Frank White's taxpayer-supported PR staff are you? You bold-faced liar. The consultant, whose report the county executive staff has buried, described a jail that is a hell hole and that this expert most definitely described as being one of the worst run jails in the country.

    Ever since, Frank White has been in denial, while the problems have only piled up. Also, the problem just isn't a matter of making a few repairs to the building. The problem is how piss-poor managed the jail is by the the fucking team Frank White still somehow has "complete confidence in." HOW THE FUCK DID IT TAKE 8 FUCKING MINUTES TO GET THE GUARD ATTACKED LAST WEEK HELP?

    And this happened after Legislators, the Sheriff and Prosecutor had been warning Frank for weeks and months now that somebody was going to get critically hurt or killed in that jail.

    I hope you all rot in hell! Or maybe it be worse to make you spend a little time in your own jail.

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  10. 8:39 Frank and Co. need to be put out of business.

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  11. Frank White spent nearly his whole life playing baseball, coaching baseball or talking baseball, and even his baseball career didn't end well. The Royals look so smart not to ever let him run their team.

    Now Jackson County looks like complete idiots for putting him in charge.

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  12. I keep hearing Frank White is such a nice guy. He's coming across as an arrogant asshole in the way he's mismanaging this whole situation.

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  13. 8:08 What is uncommon is for a jail to continue having incident after incident after incident and not one person managing the place getting canned! You say Frank supports a new jail. As a voter I can't support one, even though it's painfully obvious one is needed, because Frank White seems intent on keeping the same damn administrators in charge. A new jail with the same old people in charge is just going to lead to the same old problems, just in a brand new setting.

    How can Frank White possibly have complete confidence in these jail managers? I think Crystal Williams is kind of nuts, but in this case she's the sane one, and Frank is completely crazy.

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  14. How can anyone say the jail is not poorly run? Women raped, guards indicted for abuse, guards assualted, lost keys, inmates living in filth ... all of that is independent of physical deficiencies of the place

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  15. I'm with you 9:57 and 9:13. The problems in the jail go way beyond the physical place. Ultimately Frank White is atop the org chart, the one most responsible for running this jail or a new one. He seems to be evading that responsibility by not holding the jail managers accountable. If he won't change the people, building a new place isn't going to solve anything.

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  16. Frank White might have Gold Gloves, but as county executive he's shown he's got shit for brains.

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  17. Every County in the State has the Sheriff in charge of the jail. Why is the County Executive responsible for the jail in Jackson County? Better question, why would he want to be in charge?

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  18. Piccinini is former Chief of Police out in Lee's Summit, a clean professional record of achievement.

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  19. How ya FIRE FRANK WHITE and the Idiot who hired him ,,,,

    Ya walk into Franks Office and knock the dog shit out of Frank White and put him in a fuckin Coma,,,,

    there the fuckers Fired !!!

    now hire somebody more competent with experience !!!

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  20. Byron Funkhouser11/29/17, 1:31 AM

    ^^If we beat you, will you stop saying stupid shit?

    Eventually the courts will force their hand.

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  21. Byron/ We. Who is we Byron? You are a blind disability scam man. Ruth should have left you in the outhouse.

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  22. The Jail is in Chaos people need to go the director might have been good as a policeman but sucks as. Jail director.

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  23. Putting a guy who never did anything but play baseball in charge of county government is the height of stupidity. Pendergast and the Mob did a better job of running this place.

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  24. Why did Jean hire Caleb in the first place?

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