Memo From Councilwoman Beth Gottstein

TO: Ken Franklin
Executive Director, Missouri Democrats

CC: John Temporiti
Chair, Missouri Democratic State Party Chair

FR: Beth Gottstein
Councilwoman, 4th District at Large, City of KCMO

RE: Victory 2008

DATE: April 12, 2008

Ken, I am grateful to you for your dedication to the party, our principles and to raising participation. I believe that we Democrats are on the verge of a great victory, if we do not defeat ourselves with petty infighting. We must conduct ourselves with discipline. We must foster solidarity. Only then will we earn our victories at the polls.

The current passion, energy and engagement that I sense from the public for Democratic candidates and policies carry echoes of 1992. Voters had tired of failed promises and excuses from the Republican Party. Democrats, especially Young Democrats, found their voice and worked to send Mel Carnahan to the Governor’s Mansion and Bill Clinton to the White House. In those heady days, Democrats set aside our differences and focused on the priorities that united us: healthcare, education, jobs and a living wage, and safe communities. Our Party was rewarded on Election Day.

Yet there are other echoes in the air. In recent days and weeks, I have been reminded of times when our Party should have won, but was defeated because dissident personalities and factions put their agenda ahead of the Party’s interest. The forces of discord have already made themselves felt through ugly attacks.

I know you will agree when I state that it is imperative that we keep our primaries clean and civil. The Republicans, at all levels in the party, are banking that we will emerge from August, muddied, bloodied, and divided. It is vital that we do not permit our primaries to become so ugly that we damage our prevailing candidates and weaken his or her General Election viability. It is equally crucial that we do not tear each other apart so that we cannot unite for the General Election. Primary elections should be spirited competitions in which we elevate the best qualities of our chosen candidates. If a team must resort to nameless lies, what does it say about the merits of its candidate? It doesn’t bode well for anyone in our Party.

I am not unrealistic in my concerns when I call for solidarity, respect and discipline in our primary campaigns. As Democrats, we should hold ourselves to a higher standard. Candidates are fair game, but the game must be fair. When I decided to run for City Council, I recognized that seeking public office opens your life for attacks. As a candidate, I focused on a debate of policies and politics. I was realistic when I entered the race. I was surprised by how quickly the contest became ugly when my critics resorted to anti-Semitism, sexism, exaggeration and absolute lies to defeat me. I remain truly grateful to my supporters who buoyed and believed in me. I have moved on, but many continue to speak of the brutal nature of those who took the spineless, dark road against me.

The same could be said about the 2006 Jackson County Executive primary. Mike Sanders and the most vulnerable members of his family suffered painful attacks from nameless, faceless assailants. Voters rejected the attacks, but they left deep scars within our Jackson County Democratic Party.

You can imagine my disappointment on Friday, when I received several copies of an email that merely repeated the ugliness of the 2006 primaries. Again, anonymous assaults attempted to soil the reputation and question the integrity of our Democratic leaders using innuendo, exaggeration and false charges. Ashamed to show their faces in a public forum, they again chose to hide behind unsigned emails and blog comments. Employing the acid of doubt, fear and even hate, they tried to weaken the credibility of our Democratic institutions and leaders. The homophobic, angry nature of these outlaws’ statements does not merit recitation for correction, but we cannot just write off their actions, either. We have experienced this type of effort in the past. If we do not condemn it, we are sure to see it again.

I would ask that the leadership of the party send a strong message that the party condemns negative campaigning of any kind, and will censure anyone caught anonymously attacking our colleagues with lies or exaggerations. Primaries should be spirited, but we should practice ethical self-discipline. We need to save our energy for November.

Thank you very much.

KC Star Praises Mike Sanders

In the feel good political article of the year, the KC Star simply praises County Executive Mike Sanders.

While pointing out a few bumps with the firefighters union, the article notes that Mike has developed excellent working relationships with members of the Jackson County legislature. Balancing the budget, lots of communication and open government is what the county government has been about this last year.

After years of discord, the County Legislature and the county administration got along in 2007 — which may be the most notable achievement of County Executive Mike Sanders’ first year in office.
...
Sanders made some tough decisions in 2007, not all of them well-received. He is most proud of bringing spending in line with revenue, although he slashed 142 jobs and took heat for backing tax support for agencies outside county government. But Sanders has quietly ushered in a new era, said Legislator Dennis Waits.

Congrats to Mike on this great article

Jackson County = Fiscal Responsibility

Dan Tarwater and Henry Rizzo recently sent me this update on the fiscal health of County. They, along with Mike Sanders and the other fantastic legislators, are working hard to run our County in a responsible manner.

Dear Fellow Jackson County Democrats:

With the substantial help of last years CCP endorsements, 2007 marks reform and restructuring in the leadership of your Jackson County government. We are pleased to report to you on the progress made and the ongoing cooperation of the leaders of Jackson County.

County Executive Mike Sanders has teamed up with with the Legislature in the commitment to providing open transparent professional & efficient government. This commitment also provides fiscal responsibility and accountability to you the citizens and taxpayers of our great county. We have already taken major steps to balance the budget and become fiscally sound again. We will no longer accept spending more than we make. The County Charter empowers the Legislature to provide the checks and balances on the administration of the County. In the spirit of cooperation and teamwork with the County Executive, we have proposed and are implementing a 5 Point Plan of improved timely financial information and decision making processes for Jackson County Government. The financial health of any County is the universal litmus test for determining a county’s safety, livability, and ultimately the quality of living it offers our citizens. You have our commitment to this end.

The Truman Sports complex is the Crown Jewel of Jackson County, the voters of Jackson County in 2006 entrusted their vote in the passage of the $500 million dollar stadium renovation project. We are providing constant monitoring of the expenditures and monthly updates on the progress of this important Project. You can share in this exciting process by now viewing streaming video of the Legislative Committee meetings and the full details of the 5 point plan for Jackson County, from the County website http://www.co.jackson.mo.us/

Together we are making Jackson County great again!

Sincerely,
Dan Tarwater III, Chairman
Henry C. Rizzo, Vice Chairman
Jackson County Legislature

Time for KCMO Ethics Legislation?

Mayor Mark Funkhouser recently spent some uncomfortable time in the spotlight because of his decision to accept the use of a Hybrid Honda from a local dealership. After more than a week of media frenzy, he decided to decline the offer.

One of the things that struck me in the debate was the fact that it all took place in an ethical free-fire zone. The Star resorted to out-of-town "ethics experts" to opine that this was a bad thing, while supporters of the mayor pointed out that all mayors in recent memory have accepted gifts without criticism. Neither side could point to an on-point law, ordinance, or provision of an ethics code that addressed whether it's okay for the Mayor to accept Chiefs tickets but not something to park in the lot. The current Kansas City Municipal Ethics Code merely requires disclosure of such gifts within 30 days.

The Jackson County Ethics Commission is hard at work drafting an Ethics Code to guide County officials - perhaps it's time for Kansas City to take a fresh look at its own code. An attempt at putting some meat onto the bare-bones version we currently have could go a long way toward avoiding similar problems in the future. Perhaps they could even piggy-back on the work done by the Jackson County Ethics Commission . . .