Mayor Q Demands Kansas City Biz Cash Funding For Police Local Control Vote

Our TKC blog community warned this was one of many consequences of reelection . . . 

MAYOR Q & KANSAS CITY STAR ATTEMPT TO RALLY BIZ COMMUNITY FOR POLICE 'LOCAL CONTROL' BALLOT ISSUE!!!

Again . . . We talked about this LAST YEAR and then again during Winter . . .

Here's one of many punch lines . . .

DON'T BE SURPRISED WHEN MANY POLICE SUPPORTERS STAND DOWN ON THIS ISSUE!!!

Generally . . . We see much of the opposition remaining intact . . . However, we couldn't help but notice that police unions didn't really press local control during council elections and their position was described as "flexible" because they also knew this vote was coming. 

Moreover . . . Local biz looking to win favor at 12th & Oak will likely sign-on to this effort in order to secure tax breaks . . . Pushing this move is smart at the outset of his 2nd term is smart politics from Mayor Q. 

Now . . . 

Check the newspaper pushing the city council takeover of police . . .

(Mayor) Lucas hopes to get the business community to fund a ballot initiative that would finally give Kansas City local control over its police department: “I think everybody recognizes that a ballot initiative is the real way to get it done now,” he said. “Maybe this is an existential moment for our business community. I can wallpaper with the best of them, too: We’ve got the World Cup coming, the Chiefs keep winning Super Bowls, and it’s just a great, happy time. Or we can say we can be a truly great city” and do more about violent crime.

How? Lucas believes that the ability to, for example, fire those officers who’ve repeatedly used excessive force would build trust in the community, which would improve the KCPD’s clearance rate and make it easier to recruit new officers, too.

Meanwhile, we all keep paying for the infantilizing and historically racist state control of the KCPD.

Nevertheless . . . 

Here's just a bit of a fact check and/or helpful reminder for this newspaper scribe who earned an impressive Pulitzer nomination. 

THERE'S NO EVIDENCE 'LOCAL CONTROL' WILL FIX KANSAS CITY'S HOMICIDE CRISIS!!! IN FACT, KILLING IN STL WORSENED WITHOUT STATE GOVERNANCE!!!

Pure ushe . . . 

The idea that political gamesmanship will curb violence on KCMO streets is mostly a signal that politicos are so skeptical that they're willing to leverage historic rates of deadly violence in the community for their own gain. 

Translation: This debate is about NOTHING but money and power and won't have much impact on keeping the peace in Kansas City. 

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

To reduce gun deaths, mayor wants KC businesses to demand local control of police | Opinion

""Not five minutes after you left" City Hall, Quinton Lucas said in a text, "there was a shooting right across the street. It never ends." From Melinda Henneberger: