Platte Dems
Newsletter of the Platte County Democratic
 Central Committee
    Volume 11 No. 3                                                                                                                                      March  2019
 
 
In This Issue
Turn Platte Blue
News
Platte County Govt
Building Blue
PCDCC
NDC
Sales Tax ballot
PCFWDC
Quick Links
  
  
Calendar   
 
March 30 - 2019 Spring Meeting of the Federated Women's Democratic Clubs.- See Women's Club below. 
 
April 2 - Election Day for School Board and Municipal Election.  Primary for Kansas City MO Mayor and Council     
 
April 3 - Northland Progress - Chugga, Chugga to Jefferson City.  Info
 
April 6 - Immigration Court Watch Training - Platte County Resource Center, 11724 NW Plaza Circle, KCMO.  9:00 - 10:30 am.  RSVP to Lee Karbaumer karbaumerfarm@yahoo.com . 
 
April 8 - Platte County Federated Women's Democratic Club - Platte County Resource Center, 11724 NW Plaza Circle, KCMO. 5:30 pm.      
 
April 13 - TURN PLATTE BLUE -  Argosy Casino, 10:00 am.  See below. 
 
April 16 - Northland Democratic Club - 4120 NW Vivion Road, Kansas City, MO (SHEA office,across from Penguin Park). 7:00 pm.
 
April 18 - Platte County Democratic Central Committee - Platte County Resource Center, 11724 NW Plaza Circle, KCMO.  7:00 pm.   
 
April 20 - Missouri Democratic Party Building Blue Launch Party.  See below. 
 
 
 
 
Other Events:
 
Jackson County Democrats - click here.  
Indivisible Kansas City - click here.
Greater KC Women's Caucus - click here.
Heartland Alliance for Progress - click here.  
Northland Progress - click here.
ResistHate KC - click here.
Buchanan County Democrats - click here.         
 
TURN PLATTE BLUE   

To buy tickets click here.

To see the full size invitation click here.

News   
 
Spring has sprung - the weather is getting warmer, the days are getting longer, we are halfway through the 2019 Missouri Legislative Session, the Mueller Report has been filed with Barr, a 4 page Barr summary has been made public but the full report has not yet been released. Platte County Democrats are getting ready for our Spring Fundraiser, the Missouri Democratic Party is sponsoring the Blue Launch Party to connect with Missouri Democrats and build a party for the future (see details below).
 
School Board and Municipal Elections will be April 2nd- The primary for KCMO Mayor and City Council is also on April 2nd. The top two candidates in each race will face each other for the general election on June 27th. For information on the upcoming election go to www.VOTE411.org ,
Views on Platte County Government by David Park  
BUREAUCRACY VS POLITICAL PATRONAGE
 
During a recent Platte County Commission meeting, I was commenting on a county order approving a contract when the presiding commissioner referred to my experience in Kansas City's "bureaucracy". I am sure it was not an attempt to flatter me. It did, however, provide insight into how he views rules and procedures that ensure taxpayer-provided funds are spent appropriately.
Let's look at contracts as an example. Procedures could be in place to require contractors be selected using either a Request for Proposals (RFP) or Request for Qualifications (RFQ). The RFP or RFQ describes the services sought and interested parties respond. A committee comprised of staff and elected officials review the proposals and make a recommendation to the commission. This ensures taxpayer funds are used to hire qualified contractors with competition to encourage lower costs.
 
The current procedure is the commission picks a contractor they are "familiar with" and awards the contract to that contractor. This process is fine if you own a business and are spending your own money. Go ahead, hire your friend or give your nephew a job regardless of his qualifications. When you are spending taxpayer's money, however, you owe it to them to make sure contracts are awarded based on qualifications and merit, not political patronage.
 
It is concerning that the commission knowingly prefers a system where political patronage can flourish, leading to lower quality work, and higher costs.
Building Blue Launch Concert    
BUILDING BLUE LAUNCH CONCERT, a FUNdraiser in support of the new MDP BUILDING BLUE program.  
 
Saturday, April 20th, 2019, 5:30PM VIP Reception & 7:00PM Concert w/The Grisly Hand, Boulevard Brewery, 2501 Southwest Boulevard, Kansas City, MO 64108. Purchase Tickets Or Become a Host  
http://www.missouridemocrats.org/buildingblueboulevard  $35 tickets: general admission concert, open bar, & MDP membership card $500+ Host Sponsorships available: VIP Reception & Recognition packages

BUILDING BLUE is a new Missouri Democratic Party program that is investing in long-term training and bench-building by creating a candidate, activist, party member, fellowship, and staff pipeline. This program works in conjunction and partnership with progressive partners working toward similar goals for long term gains in Missouri.
 
Click here for the invitation. 
Platte County Democratic Central Committee     
The Platte County Democratic Central Committee met on March 21st at the Platte County Resource Center. Final plans for the upcoming Turn Platte Blue fundraiser were discussed.  
 
Paula Willmarth spoke about changes taking place at the Missouri Democratic Party. She spoke about the importance of recruiting candidates for every office for every race. It is not too early to start recruiting candidates for 2020 and to begin building a bench of future candidates. She urged all of us to reach out to people we know who might be interested in running for office. She noted that sometimes, all it takes to get someone to run is for someone to suggest that they might make a good candidate.  
 
Mary Bay spoke about the importance of keeping an eye on the current Missouri Legislative session. The legislature seems intent on overturning the will of the people as expressed at the polls last year. They are trying to reverse gains to the minimum wage, trying to pass Right-To-Work (for less) overwhelmingly rejected by voters, and modifying Clean Missouri by undermining transparency and accountability standards. To top it off, they are trying to change the initiative process to make it more difficult for voters to put legislation on the ballot that our regressive Republican representatives refuse to introduce.  
 
For an update on what's happening in Jefferson City now see Senator Lauren Arthur's Mid-Session Capital Report https://mailchi.mp/09d6c5514b59/capitol-report-january-18-473893?e=80427809fc     
Steve Miller, KCMO mayoral candidate, spoke about the city and his plans for improvement. 
Northland Democratic Club
The Northland Democratic Club met on Tuesday March 19th at SHEA office on Vivion Road. Guest speakers were Eric Woods and Ken Jamison, both candidates for Missouri House District 15 currently held by Jon Carpenter who will be termed out in 2020.
 
Also on the agenda were Melba Nicolaisen and Lee Karbaumer who spoke about the Immigrant Justice Advocacy Movement and the Immigration Court Watch Training Session scheduled for Saturday, April 6th at the Platte County Resource Center 9:00-10:30 a.m.
Sales Taxes on Platte County April 2 Ballot
Two sales tax increases on the upcoming April ballot have good intentions but are vague and have flaws that prevent them from working as intended.    For information as to why these proposals should be defeated, click here
Platte County Federated Democratic Women's Club  
The Platte County Women's Club met at the Platte County Resource Center on Monday March 11th. Lynn Hinkle spoke for City Council Candidate Teresa Loar running for the 2nd District at Large in the April 2nd Primary Election. Julie Stutterheim, candidate for the Park Hill School Board also spoke. David Park also spoke urging a NO vote on Jail the sales tax on the April 2 Ballot. Later Melba Nicolaisen circulated a statement about the two sales tax issues that will be on the ballot.
 
Kathy Bray, chair of the nominating committee announced the slate of officers for the next two years. They are: President - Melba Nicolaisen, 1st Vice President - Alice Wadsworth, 2nd Vice President - Lee Karbaumer, Treasurer - Helen Weigman and Secretary - Tracy Holthaus.