EPIC East Side Support For Kansas City Police Defund?!?!

A call to action by a coalition of Kansas City urban core community groups garnered a weekday turnout of less than two dozen people. 

Don't argue with TKC about this one . . . I drove by on my way to pick up some takeout and I'm being generous.

To be fair, there was an explanation of the dearth of attendance that merits examination: 

"The neighborhood leaders who are sitting at this table represent thousands of neighbors. They're not just here by themselves," said Marquita Taylor, president of the Santa Fe Area Council.

That's a clever excuse for the inability to draw a crowd and worth keeping on file inasmuch as it might be useful in getting out of other civic obligations. 

Also, I think that's how the Kansas City Star calculates their circulation nowadays. 

Nevertheless . . .

It's worth considering that East side support of police funding "accountability" pales in comparison to Northland outage over 'defund the police' legislation. 

In other words . . .

If it comes down to it, Mayor Q and the council might not have the votes to back up their unilateral action.

Remember this same phenomena was apparent in the MLK street sign debate when clergy talked a great game about their petition power but FAILED to live up to promises . . . Moreover, people care a lot more about the legacy of MLK and honoring the tradition of civil rights activism than boring policy wonk municipal accounting practices at 12th & Oak. 

Caveat . . . Insiders also remind TKC that cops are dragging their wives, extended family and retired grannies to their rallies so we might not be seeing a true representative voter sample in the Northland.

Again, because we're objective and nobody is offering TKC any of the highly coveted 42 MILLION BUCKS under discussion . . . This whole thing might be resolved in an anticlimactic bit of Missouri legislation which will offer even more evidence that the lawyers who occupy city hall aren't as fearsome or skilled as they might seem in their campaign literature.

And so . . . We link these hopeful reports which attempt to represent community perspectives by way of offering only a precious few wide shot glimpses of the mediocre turnout . . . Take a peek:

Kansas City neighborhood groups band together at town hall supporting police funding plan

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Leaders in some Kansas City neighborhoods showed their support for Mayor Quinton Lucas's police funding plan Wednesday night. It comes in response to a recent Northland meeting painting the move as defunding the police. Lucas's plan would move more than $40 million of the $250 million police budget to a Community Services and Prevention Fund.

'We need to come together': KCMO east side town hall discusses KCPD funding reallocation

With violent crime again in the spotlight in the Kansas City area after several homicides this week alone - along with a lawsuit tied up in court over $42 million being reallocated from KCPD's budget into a community services and prevention fund - neighborhood leaders created a town hall event.

You decide . . .