Recalls, recounts, references to songs in Oklahoma — things are a mite bit interesting in Kansas City, wouldn’t you agree, Will Parker?
We have so far avoided commenting on the Kansas City mayoral recall; it’s just a bit too political for us. Speaking just for myself, if I lived in Kansas City I don’t think I would have signed the recall petition. I just don’t see how the Mayor’s actions and problems have risen to the point where he should be removed from office before his term is up. But I certainly support the constitutional/charter rights and use of referendum, recall, initiative, etc., so if the people of Kansas City want to engage in their right as citizens to have a recall election, then I admire their active participation in democracy — even though I don’t necessarily agree with the recall leaders on this exact issue. …
Who knows? A recall election could be a lot of fun. Maybe Paul Rudd could announce that he is running for mayor on the “Tonight Show”? Or Jason Whitlock could announce it on “SportsCenter”! There is no end to the potential fun!
Some of Kansas City’s quirks are coming to light as part of the recall. You might be aware that the recall petition has fallen a few signatures short of qualifying, and its organizers are fighting for a recount of the recall signatures. One of the tricks to the whole process is that they have to deal with four different election boards.
Did you know that Jackson County is one of 34 counties in the country, and the only one in Missouri, with multiple county seats? Independence and Kansas City both serve that role, and Kansas City is the only county seat in Missouri, and probably one of the few in the country, to be the county seat of one county while existing within several counties.
Because Kansas City has to deal with four election boards, and different election officials are giving different counts in the Star article, it is not crazy to wonder whether different standards are being applied by different boards to certify the petitions, and whether those different standards are having an effect on the process. It’s like Florida in 2000! Or maybe it’s not, because you would think the rules are pretty clear as to what the election boards are supposed to certify. And, although I keep referencing four election boards, KC’s population in Cass County is so small that it appears the petitioners didn’t collect any signatures there, so really only three counties are involved.
This whole post was really just an excuse to get into the comparative politics of Kansas City and Jackson County, which is interesting to me and hopefully a few other people. I will have a lot more coming out soon in a study of the many differences between how Kansas City and St. Louis operate their respective governments. The two areas are about as different as they can be for cities in the same state.
