Sandifer Takes Primary, Faces Imgrund in General Election

The unofficial results on the JoCo election web site have Mickey Sandifer the winner with over 56% of the vote.

Frank Imgrund came in second, and these two will now face off in the general election April 1.

To see the unofficial results, go here,

http://www.jocoelection.org/unofficialfinal022608.htm

Mayor Spanks Straub

A late night at last night's council meeting.

I'm not going into all the details. Not enough time, not enough space.

The first item that involved lengthy discussion was an item concerning Widmer Rd. It is not going to be extended. Why can't the same logic that was used for this be used for other projects? Like Monticello Road? Basically, the residents on the road not wanting the changes.

Then we move on to the brouhaha.

Suffice it to say that Councilperson Straub had sent out volumes of email to other members of the council, the city staff and the media about what he perceived to be inappropriate activities in handling certain contracts.

Basically the mayor had to reiterate certain purchasing polices that are or were in effect, and that Straub was not following procedure for what is permissable at council meetings. Eventually he had to gavel him down. Apparently staff had attempted to sit down and review the policies with Mr Straub but he never had time to do so. Methinks he was trying to grandstand a non-issue, or to create an issue when none existed.

As for the media, apparently they found Straub's emails not worth considering. True, the Shawnee Dispatch and the Shawnee-Lenexa Sun reps were there, as usual. Didn't see the Shawnee/Lenexa rep for the KC Star. But, apparently Straub had contacted some of the major broadcast media. They didn't show up. Not one microphone or TV camera. Guess that just goes to show how much weight they give to Straub's rants. Did they not show because maybe, just maybe, they feel he lacks credibility?

Two Days to Go

Some folks have asked me about my previous posting.

Well, personally I am not in favor of Mr Imgrund. That leaves Paul Wohl & Mickey Sandifer.

This is a tough decision for me. I have found Mickey Sandifer to be conscientious about his position on the council. He participates in virtually all city sponsored events and has been actively involved in the community for many, many years.

Paul Wohl is new to community involvement. The one thing that stands out, is his military background. Individuals who attain "full bird" status are usually trained to make tough decisions. And, they are trained to accept responsibility should those decisions prove to be wrong. Since no councilperson can be right 100% of the time I find this to be an important trait.

As they say in horse races: "As they come down to the wire, it's Wohl by a nose"

Ward 4 Primary - Tues Feb 26

OK folks it's coming down to the wire.

Next Tuesday is the primary for Ward IV. The two candidates with the most votes will go on to the general election on April 1st, and the candidate with the lowest number of votes will go home to lick his wounds.

My recommendation: Vote for either Mickey Sandifer or Paul Wohl and send Frank Imgrund home to lick his wounds.

Besides voting next Tues from 7AM to 7PM at your polling place, folks can vote early, in person, at the JoCo Election Office, today, Thurs & Fri 9AM to 5PM, Sat 9AM to 3PM and Monday 9AM to 12 Noon.

Shawnee Mayor's Race

Well, the Shawnee Dispatch ran an article about the mayoral candidates. The article also included links to answers that the candidates gave to questions the Dispatch had asked.

The article is here: http://www.shawneedispatch.com/news/2008/feb/12/mayoral_candidates_discuss_property_taxes/

Mayor Meyers’ answers are here: http://media.lansingcurrent.com/news/documents/2008/02/12/JMeyers.doc

Councilman Pflumm’s answers are here: http://media.lansingcurrent.com/news/documents/2008/02/12/DPflumm.doc


Pflumm is in a pfantasy world. To the question “What sets you apart from your opponent?” Pflumm replied “What sets me apart from my opponent is that I have experience selling and managing multimillion-dollar projects and I have the experience to bring major economic development projects to the City of Shawnee”

Who is he kidding? What sets him apart is that he doesn’t show up to as many meetings as the current mayor and when he does show up he is usually ill prepared. Maybe he’ll start showing up more often now, and maybe he’ll be more prepared going forward. Also, his comment about his experience needs to be verified. Using one of his favorite expressions: “Show me” He may have experience selling and managing multi million dollar projects but how successful is he at it? The company he owns is a privately held company. No public reports. Would he be willing to provide 5 years of audited and certified financials to back up his statement?

He gave a very simplified, canned answer to the question “What do you think the city should do about its economic development and efforts to bring businesses to the city?” His answer: “The City of Shawnee should greatly increase our efforts in economic development” Golly gee, a fifth grader could have come up with that. Maybe Pflumm needs to go on that new TV show.
:-) :-)

In reply to another question he said: “………Commercial properties pay a higher tax rate and provide the possibility of added sales tax revenue; commercial properties also attract dining establishments, which are desperately needed in Shawnee.” Are you sure about that? If you are granting these properties abatements, TIFs and other incentives up the old wazoo you are not going to get that income. Tax incentives bring in reduced income but certain infratructure costs have a habit of increasing......that's normal. As for restaurants………c’mon Pflumm open your eyes. Restaurants are one of the most volatile businesses to bring in. Many locations have revolving door effects. The location at SMP & Quivira which houses Bandanas is an example. How many restaurants have been there? Also, the location of Café Song. How many other restaurants have been there. And there are others. Or Kite’s. How many different ones have been there?

Nobody is perfect, and Mr Meyers is no exception. But, between the two of them I’d rather have Jeff Meyers as our mayor than Dan Pflumm. Click on the links above.

Read Jeff Meyers’ answers to the same questions. Well thought out and specific.

Pflumm’s answers remind me of how he prepares for a council meeting……….very limited.
Dan Pflumm needs to get a good spanking at the polls on election day, April 1st. I’m voting for Jeff Meyers

The Odor Is Getting Worse

Which is worse? The odors from a spoiled brat's diapers or the odor of an attempt to stack a city council with puppets?

Double click the image to see it larger

Pflumm's Elitist Attitude Surfaces

In an article in the KC Star, which can be read at
http://www.kansascity.com/318/story/476899.html Dan Pflumm's elitist attitude really surfaced.

The article states: "Pflumm said he plans to attract new developments to Shawnee with tax incentives. He said one idea is to create a tax break that would encourage engineers and scientists to live in Shawnee, improving the city’s employment base."

Tax incentives for scientists and engineers to live here? Golly gee Dan, it takes more than scientists and engineers to make up a city. Oh wait a minute, aren't you an engineer by training? Yeah, you are. See his bio at http://www.cityofshawnee.org/citymanager/EO/pflumm.html

This elitist, arrogant attitude is exactly what Shawnee does NOT need in a mayor. Is Pflumm really concerned about the city? Or is this just a personal ego trip that he is on? If he cared, he'd show up to council meetings prepared. Probably he'll do that now, before the election. But why hasn't he done that all along?

Letter Made It

The Shawnee Dispatch did publish it, albeit with 3 slight word changes. :-) :-)

http://www.shawneedispatch.com/news/2008/feb/05/be_sure_vote/

Smokers Cost Government Less

That's right, smokers, and obese folks, cost the government less money in the long run, both in health costs and social programs.

See info in today's KC Star http://www.kansascity.com/439/story/475277.html

Ward 4 Primary Candidates

Last week I sent the three council candidates some questions. They were asked to return them by yesterday.

As things would go, only one, Paul Wohl returned his answers. One thing I like about him, is that his background would indicate a person trained to make decisions. The thing I find funny is that as a Ward IV resident one would think that the other candidates would have been responsive. Makes me wonder. Mickey Sandifer has never ignored any queries in the past.

What about Frank Imgrund? Rumor on the street is that he is being pushed by Dan Pflumm. Now that could be bad. Does Shawnee need more Pflumm puppets on the council?

Right now, my opinion would be to vote for either Wohl or Sandifer in the primary. Then those two can battle it out in the general election.

Candidate's Replies 4th Ward Primary 2008

	SANDIFER	WOHL	IMGRUND
Education background	No Response	Civilian Bachelors of Science, University of Nebraska, 1972 Masters, Science of Management, 1996 Military United States Army War College, 1998	No Response
Business background	No Response	I have been working in the energy industry, natural gas and electricity, for 21 years assisting utilities, municipalities, and power generators in optimizing their assets and managing price risk. The companies I have worked for are Aquila Energy, Shell Oil, and am currently a Vice President at XL Weather & Energy.	No Response
Civic background	No Response	Military Colonel (Retired) - 30 years of service active duty and Nebraska Army National Guard (primarily). Senior positions held - Deputy STARC Commander, Battalion Commander, Brigade Executive Officer	No Response
For incumbent: Why are you running for reelection?	No Response	N/A	N/A
For challenger: Why are you challenging?	N/A	The same issues continue to confront the city and I believe a fresh perspective can help resolve them.	No Response
Who do you support for mayor?	No Response	I think Jeff Meyers is doing a good job.	No Response
In the other 3 council districts who do you support?	No Response	In Ward 1 Cheryl Scott does a great job. She researches the issues and votes with integrity.	No Response
What is your vision for Shawnee in 2 years? 5 years? 10 years?	No Response	The vision I see for Shawnee is a beautiful, vibrant, fiscally sound, family oriented city that is the prime community in the area.	No Response
What will it take to make your vision(s) a reality?	No Response	WORK! First, we need to be fiscally sound (get revenues and expenses in alignment); second, target the businesses we want in Shawnee and get them; third, responsible development and infrastructure enhancement	No Response
Do you feel that tax incentives are being used effectively to attract new or expanding businesses to Shawnee?	No Response	Tax incentives can be an effective tool to attract quality business and residential development to Shawnee. However, the key to their effectiveness is to have clearly defined goals prior to their implementation, followed by detailed analysis to determine if they meet revenue objectives	No Response
Miscellaneous comments	No Response	As a member of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board I have seen first hand the dedication, work ethic, and quality of the people working for the City of Shawnee; in addition, I have also seen the character of our citizens through the volunteers and participants at several city functions. We have what it takes to reach our goals, with leadership we can do it!	No Response