Snarking Kansas City Low Turnout Election Aftermath Returns

Or . . .

For insiders and people who actually know how local politics works . . . 

HERE'S HOW KCMO ATTORNEY CLINTON ADAMS WON MORE 2023 VOTES THAN ANY CANDIDATE ON THE BALLOT!!!

A few TKC takeaways . . .

Yes . . . Redistricting determined this election but not as much as NO REAL CHALLENGER AGAINST MAYOR Q. Without a main event, there was NOTHING to draw people to the polls.

The Northland is not a sleeping giant, they're a non-factor . . . Northland voters aren't interested in KCMO politics and they deserve all the slapping around they get UNTIL they come out to vote.

The Northern & Southern edges of the city are turning DEEPLY REPUBLICAN. Remember, not so long ago, in both the Northland & the South side there were old school union dudes who voted Democrat with a great deal of reliability. Those guys are moving to Florida or taking their great reward in the sky. That demographic no longer dominates suburban elections that are now strictly red state affairs. 

Here's one that we'll only share with our most loyal readers . . . 

A great deal of the opposition here was either direct sabotage or a representation of a terminal lack of interest in Kansas City Democracy. About 1/3rd of these candidates were not serious, had no real funding and did not represent a credible effort. 

Again . . . More than anything . . . It's hard to call this election a "victory" at less than 13% turnout of registered voters. 

For the cheap seats . . .

KANSAS CITY DEMOCRACY WON'T SURVIVE LONG WITH THIS KIND OF DISINTEREST!!!

The local electorate is fading and it turns out the prog blogs & rigged forums aren't inspiring people to get out and vote. 

Also . . . 

In most of these races, the campaign that spent the most cash triumphed. Money still rules local politics and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. A neat trick that some council contenders pulled . . . They loaned money to themselves in order to generate buzz but never spent it on their election efforts.  

Now . . .

We stole this info from a social media site but don't feel too guilty about it because it's a product of city hall hacks attempting to manufacture consent. 

However . . .

We think it's worth sharing if only because we wanted to put names with faces so that locals can visualize who they need to bother for the next 4 years. 

Check the damage . . .  And more quickie commentary . . .

Nathan Willett won the 1st District battle of mean tweets if only because his competition openly mocked the faith of local Christians in the Northland . . . Willet's decade old frat-boy tweets didn't seem to match up to that kind of sacrilege. 

1st District At-Large council dude Kevin O'Neil beat somebody's grandma with a HALF A MILLION BUCKS in cash connected to unions. 

Somebody should probably wake him when his term is complete . . .

Wes Rodgers was unopposed in the 2nd District because your grandpa moved to this part of town in order to get away from KCMO politics.

In the 2nd District At-Large Lindsay French earned a slim 3-point victory without ever saying a word in public. Basically, Kansas City voters decided that a skim vanilla latte would make a better council member than the activist from KC Tenants.

Melissa Patterson Hazley is the next mayor of Kansas City and not even an embarrassing DUI bust will stop her rise to glory.

Melissa Robinson dominated her district but her challenger didn't really have any money. Sadly, upon this win she's now "Melissa the lesser" in the 3rd.

Crispin Rea scored a decisive win over a far more progressive candidate, a member of the LGBT commish and a guy who was supported by a family with deep connections on the North side of the bridge. His term will be interesting if only because our progressive friends want to make an enemy out of him but don't yet know how . . . Ironically, he's much too liberal for conservative voters. 

Making matters better/worse, extremist activists might feel guilty about beating up a moderate Democrat person of color with a clean conscience . . . They even wanted to connect him to this dump of a blog despite the fact that our TKC blog community ran his old boss out of town. 

This was a North vs. South contest wherein turnout made the difference. The Northland FAILED the 4th District . . . But notice that Midtown & the Westside don't have much love for the current council dude.

Surprisingly unopposed . . . This result would have been different if the used car salesman would've taken a bit of time to get his paperwork in order.

The councilman-elect threw everything but the kitchen sink at local progressives at KC Tenants. A forest likely sacrificed for all his mailers sent in support of Darrell Curls and he even spent tons of cash to go up on TV in the final round. Freedom, Inc. put their full force behind Mr. Curls and used their connections on the nice side of the bridge to bring this victory home. 

Again . . .  

Money wins. Money always wins.

Not quiet as powerful as she used to be . . . Council lady Bough only had to beat a granny with no cash. We kinda think her opposition was a prank or a very cruel joke. 

The big question that only she can answer . . . 

On a very personal level, this council lady sacrificed A LOT to play local politics and we really want to know if it was worth it.

This was the most surprising upset victory of the election . . . But, more than any other . . . Redistricting secured this battle. We don't believe that Duncan is a "Mexican-American, Black, White Man" as the newspaper contends given that nobody in KC knew his name before this Spring . . . He is an activist and nearly half of his district strongly disagrees with his politics. We'll watch and see how he represents his constituents who span across partisan lines. 

Finally . . .

Mayor Q triumphed over Clay Chastian in a blowout that threatens to kill local Democracy.

The Kansas City Mayoral contest was a disservice to local voters and evokes a strong distrust of local leaders and the so-called civic elite.

This kind of election return would be embarrassing for even the most corrupt banana republic south of the border. 

Political donors, journalists and our local institutions FAILED KANSAS CITY by not supporting any real opposition and the lack of any election mandate will impact municipal life for years. 

Developing . . .