Clay Chastain Pledges Westport Shut Down If Elected Mayor Of Kansas City

Honestly, here at TKC we think more street lights might be a better solution or a good place to start. 

Behind the scenes . . .

I was going to save this one and talk about the SOTU but that's kinda boring and this story hits home and concerns violence on the local level.

Accordingly . . . 

Here's the plan from the alternative candidate and the only person on the ballot against current Mayor Q:

Candidate Clay Chastain's press release: Kansas City's liquoring hole - the Westport Entertainment District - has become a big negative that has run its sorry course. If elected Mayor, I will move to (effectively) close down this late night urban repository of drinking, drugging and violent crime. This crime-sink not only undermines the Midtown neighborhoods surrounding it, it also further reinforces KC's image as a dangerous party town one will visit-but not live in.

The crime-stigmatized Westport Entertainment District hurts KC far more than it helps it. My vision is to reinvigorate and repopulate Kansas City by bringing safety to its streets & creating an environment people want to live in. Yes, even families! The loud, seedy and crime-besieged Westport Entertainment District does not comport with that vision. Recently, another young woman lost her life in Westport at wee hours of the morning. I will ask the new Council (voters, if necessary) to enact a new closing time of midnight for Westport bars and restaurants. The City will offer business owners fair compensation. The City will then help transform this part of Westport into a Unique Shopping / Historic District, anchored by a new History Museum that showcases Westport's major role in opening the West & being a Civil War battle site. The City will also make the new Westport S&H District walkable, family-friendly & transit-oriented with a (proposed) Airport Monorail stop on the Broadway Greenway in Midtown.

We need some big changes to get KC going in the right direction. We can start by reconfiguring the heart of Westport into something we can take pride in.

Note: After the recent parking lot murder, our current Mayor tweeted that Westport bar owners merely need to put better lighting and security in the parking lots. Yep, that's the answer.

Clay Chastain: A New Kind of Mayor for a New Kind of City.

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You decide . . .