Platte Dems
Newsletter of the Platte County Democratic
 Central Committee
    Volume 11 No. 7                                                                                                                                          July  2019
 
 
In This Issue
Park's Kick-off
Special Event
Platte County Govt
PCFWDC
NDC
PCDCC
Tom Coleman
Socialists
Quick Links
  
  
Calendar   
 
July 30 and 31 - Democratic Debates Round 2Info.
 
August 1 - Inauguration of new Mayor and City Council - Kansas City, Missouri - Outdoors south side of City Hall, 414 E. 12th Street. 8:30 am  
 
August 3 - Inaugural Toast hosted by Mayor-Elect Quinton Lucas, Union Station.  Info.
   
August 8 - David Park's campaign kickoff for 2nd District Commissioner.  See below. 
 
August 10 - Clay County Democrats "A Night at the Elms"  Info
 
August 12 - Platte County Federated Women's Democratic Club - Platte County Resource Center, 11724 NW Plaza Circle, KCMO. 5:30 pm.  
 
August 17 - Missouri Democrats - 6th Annual Truman Dinner. Info.     
 
August 15 - Platte County Democratic Central Committee - Platte County Resource Center, 11724 NW Plaza Circle, KCMO.  7:00 pm. 
 
August 20 - Northland Democratic Club - 4120 NW Vivion Road, Kansas City, MO (SHEA office,across from Penguin Park). 7:00 pm. Topic: Healthcare   
 
August 20 - "What is Good Government?" with Judy Morgan.  See below.  
September 7 - NDTC Blue Bench Campaign Training - Kansas City. Info
 
 
   
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.         
 
 David Park's Campaign Kickoff Event 
David Park is running for Platte County Second District Commissioner in 2020.  Please join him in kicking off his campaign on August 8.
 
Date:     Thursday, August 8, 2019
Time:     6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Where:  Park Residence, 4116 NW 75th St., Kansas City, MO 64151
 
RSVP by email at: david.park@park4platte 
Special Event:  What is Good Government? 
On Tuesday, August 20, at 6:30 pm, House Representative Judy Morgan, will speak on what 'Good Government' means.
 
The event will be held at the North Patrol Police Station, Community Conference Room, 11000 NW Prairie View Rd, Kansas City, MO ( near I-29 & NW 112th St).
 
Judy Morgan, a former teacher, is a well-respected House Representative for the 24th District. Representative Morgan is currently serving in her eighth year representing her community.
 
Light refreshments and desserts (pies!!!) will be served at this free event.

Hosted by Platte County Democratic Central Committee. RSVP at 
pcspecialevents@gmail.com.
Views on Platte County Government by David Park  
ZONA ROSA LAWSUIT SAGA CONTINUES AND ANOTHER QUESTIONABLE CONTRACT DISCOVERED
 
Costs of the lawsuit regarding Zona Rosa bonds continue to burden Platte County taxpayers. As of the end of May, the total paid to Graves Garrett was $496,388. The judge issued his ruling on May 30, 2019. A motion to amend the ruling has since been filed by the bond trustee on July 1, 2019, however. This is an indication of a probable appeal of the judge's ruling, which means taxpayers will shoulder even more legal expenses.
 
Meanwhile, I am beginning to question the costs associated with a contract with UHY Advisors for "financial advising".
 
The contract, with no end date and no maximum dollar amount specified, was approved by the commission on February 19, 2019. Payment is to be at the rate of $125 to $300 per hour, depending on the UHY staff person handling the work and invoices are to be submitted weekly according to the contract.
 
Scott McRuer of UHY met with the commissioners and Kevin Robinson, County Auditor, on May 20, 2019. The discussion was on basic budgeting issues that Mr. Robinson has already explained to the commissioners. It appears the commissioners either didn't trust what Mr. Robinson has been telling them, or they didn't understand the basic concepts of government accounting and budgeting. In either case, did we really need this contract?
 
I wondered how much this contract is costing taxpayers, so I requested copies of invoices from UHY Advisors. None had been received. Remember the contract said they would be issued weekly. So, we have no idea about the size of the growing debt to UHY Advisors.
 
I told the commission about my concern over the growing unknown debt during the public commission meeting on July 1, 2019. The response was that UHY Advisors was just getting started and would be given projects to handle on a periodic basis. I mentioned the May 20, 2019 meeting and said there was obvious preparation work leading up to it. The commissioners in turn told me that the invoice was not received yet and simply thanked me for my comments.
 
As of July 12, 2019, no invoice has been submitted by UHY Advisors. I will continue to follow up on the cost to the taxpayers of this contract.
Platte County Federated Democratic Women's Club  
The Women's Club met on July 8 at the Platte County Resource Center, the first meeting of the 2019-2020 year with new officers in charge. David Park, candidate for the Platte County Commission 2nd District, provided an update on what the current County Commission is doing and not doing. Much of his campaign is about the need for transparency and expertise on the Commission. He will be hosting a campaign kick-off August 8th at his residence 4116 NW 75th St., Kansas City, MO 64151, 6:00- 8:00 p.m.
 
Ivan Foley Owner/Publisher of the Platte County Landmark newspaper was the guest speaker at the July 8th meeting. He started his presentation by saying the Landmark has been published weekly since 1865, one of the oldest publications in the state. He has worked at the Landmark since 1982 and became the owner in 2002.
 
The role of weekly papers is becoming more and more important in these challenging times for all newspapers. While big city daily papers face increasing competition for advertising dollars from the internet, weekly papers serving smaller cities and their surrounding regions are doing just fine. The Landmark includes human-interest stories and reports of local interest. They cover local politics, including small city and Platte County politics; news you don't get anywhere else. They also cover local festivals, happenings and fairs, school districts, sporting events, legal notices and of course Letters to the Editor.
 
Democracy cannot thrive without an informed citizenry, in this regard; the Platte County Landmark helps to keep us informed and promotes a spirit of community within Platte County. To subscribe to the Landmark Newspaper call 816.858.0363 or go to their website news@plattecountylandmark.com. You can also follow The Platte County Landmark on Facebook or Ivan Foley on Twitter; thank you Ivan Foley.
Northland Democratic Club  
Mayor elect Quinton Lucas was the guest speaker at the July 16th meeting of the Northland Democratic Club. The Mayor-elect gave an energetic presentation of his vision for the future to an enthusiastic audience. He emphasized that he wanted to be the Mayor of all of Kansas City not just part of the City. And he highlighted the importance of listening to what Kansas City neighborhoods have to say about what they want and need. He plans to give priority to basic services, good response times, infrastructure improvements and housing stock rather than to big projects downtown or well-established areas. He talked about including requirements for meeting clean energy standards for any project that receives City support. He hopes to emphasize walkability in new projects and expects to be working to resolve problems with trash services and recycling. He mentioned that his term will include redistricting after the 2020 census.
 
The new Mayor and City Council will be inaugurated on August 1st outside on the south side of City Hall, 414 E. 12th Street at 8:30 a.m. In case of rain, the ceremony will be moved inside to Council Chambers on the 26th Floor.
 
The new Mayor and City Council Members for Kansas City, Missouri will be: Mayor: Quinton Lucas. Council Members: 1st District At-Large Kevin O'Neill, 2nd District At-Large Teresa Loar, 3rd District At-Large Brandon Ellington, 4th District At-Large Katheryn Shields, 5th District At-Large Lee Barnes, Jr., 6th District At-Large Andrea Bough, 1st District In District Heather Hall, 2nd District In District Dan Fowler, 3rd District In District Melissa Robinson, 4th District In District Eric Bunch, 5th District In District Ryana Parks-Shaw and 6th District In District Kevin McManus.
 
The next meeting of the Club will be on August 20th. The subject will be Medicare for All.
Platte County Democratic Central Committee  
The Platte County Central Committee met on July 18th at the Platte County Resource Center. Discussions included the importance of working on finding candidates for every race in 2020 especially candidates for County office and State Representative. It looks like we will have candidates for our State Representative most of our districts with the exception of District 13. The search continues.
 
Wanda Park spoke about the Special Event planned for August 20th the subject "What is Good Government" is particularly important at this time of highly polarized politics. Judy Morgan, 24th District Missouri House of Representatives will lead what should be a lively discussion. If you cannot describe what good government is, what good government can do, you cannot have a constructive conversation about how to make that happen. RSVP: pcspecialevents@gmail.com
 
We also talked about the proposed Special Event in early planning stages tentatively set for October 21st. What we know to date is that we want this to be a family friendly event. We do not yet have a venue but there are several under consideration. Ideas are most welcome!
Former 6th District Congressman Tom Coleman  on Impeachment 
On June 27 th former State Representative and Democratic Clay County Commissioner Charlie Broomfield sponsored a meeting with Former Missouri 6 th District Congressman Republican Tom Coleman to discuss the conclusion he's reached that President Donald Trump should be impeached. He wrote a guest commentary piece in the Kansas City Star explaining his decision. Because he is a Republican, it received national attention.
 
To summarize the points he made in discussion: 1. People need to set aside feelings of political polarization to get this done. 2. Trump has lied more than 10,000 times in 2 years. 3. He has had five meetings with Russia's Vladimir Putin with NO records or recording. 4. He sold weapons to Saudi Arabia even though the sale was vetoed by congress - it happened anyway due to a $9 million loan/ gift from Saudi Arabia to son-in-law and political advisor Jared Kushner. This may also be the reason the United States took no action in response to the brutal murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in spite of the fact that the intelligence community placed responsibility squarely on Saudi Arabia. 5. Congressman Coleman believes that when Donald Trump's tax returns are released they will show many foreign connections. 6. Coleman cannot understand why Republicans are not standing up to Trump, at least for sake of their grandchildren - they need to develop a backbone. He questions their stonewalling subpoenas being ignored by Trump loyalists.
 
Congressman Coleman believes separation of powers is at an all-time low and that Congress is allowing this to occur out of fear that the President will run primary opponent against them with Presidential and financial support. He cited the recent Supreme Court ruling that allows political gerrymandering to stand as an example of inappropriate judicial oversight of the political process. On a more hopeful note, he said that he with others who are concerned have filed an amicus brief in case of Trump's violations of the emoluments clause. One of those cases was dismissed on July 10th but there is another one pending.
 
The Congressman noted that women were the key to Democratic victories in 2018 and he urged all of us to keep up the momentum.
No Democratic Socialists 
Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman says there are no socialists among the Democratic candidates - not even Bernie. Most of the candidates are what Europeans would call "social democrats" advocates of a private-sector-driven economy, but with a stronger social safety net, enhanced bargaining power for workers and tighter regulation of corporate malfeasance.