Sandifer's Personal Voting Precinct

Must be nice to have your own "precinct" of voters in your district..............  :-)  :-)

Looking at the voter list for Ward IV it appears that there are 6 voters registered at the Sandifer home address.  Wow, and all this time I thought Mickey and his wife were empty nesters.  Guess I thought wrong.  Looks like they might be adult children and their spouses........possibly?  Isn't one of these a KCMO cop who resides in KCMO?

Oh well, gotta help daddy anyway ya can.

Challenger Files in Ward III

James Ferris has filed to challenge Dawn Kuhn for city council in Ward III.

All incumbents now have challengers.

Primary 2/28/12 for Mayor

With the filing yesterday of a third candidate for mayor, Shawnee will have a primary for that office on Feb 28, 2012, with the top two moving on to the general election April 3, 2012.

The candidates are:

Eric Jenkins
Jeff Meyers
John Segale

It is very important for all of Shawnee to get out and vote in this primary as it is for the mayor's position.

If you are not registered to vote, please do so.  Information on registering is available at http://www.jocoelection.org/voters/VoterRegistration.htm

Also, you can participate in advance voting without going to your polling place on election day. Info is available at http://www.jocoelection.org/voters/AdvanceVoting.htm#2

Dealing with COWs

As the city elections approach I again get asked one question from folks that I meet. And that is: “What can I do about a council member who has voted for items that I don’t agree with or have hurt me but they are from another ward?”


OK, the answer is really very easy. Council members are elected by the voters in specific wards. When they sit on the council at meetings they are actually acting for the entire city and as such can be held accountable by ANY citizen. Let’s call these folks COWs (councilmembers from other wards).

Now if a COW votes for something that you don’t approve of or a variety of such items, what you can do is make contributions to their opponents the next time they run for office. You don’t have to live in that ward to contribute to the opponent of a councilmember. You can even live in Los Angeles. The only thing you need to do is to keep the contribution amounts within the limits set by law.

So if you are unhappy with how a COW voted, just look up who their opponent is and contribute to that person’s campaign.

Thingies

Sitting here, reviewing some of the blog posts and seeing what is happening for the upcoming city election it feels like folks may be getting a tad bit upset with what some of the current council members and mayor have been doing.


Maybe they’re fed up with the CID thingy……………the franchise fee thingy………………the way the resignation of Cheryl Scott was handled thingy……………..which included lying by omission…………..the excessive trip taking by some council members thingy.

Lots of other “thingies”

Maybe, just maybe, this blog has awakened some folks as to what is going on. Got a funny feeling it may have.

Mayoral Challenger Files

Eric Jenkins has filed to run for mayor.

Three Challengers Filed

Three individuals have filed to challenge incumbents in the upcoming city election:

Charles Macheers................Ward I
Mike Kemmling...................Ward II
Dylan McAfee.....................Ward IV

Info at http://www.cityofshawnee.org/WEB/ShawneeCMS.nsf/b62f116aa62dde94862575680053ac82/010c2571510ba7998625767f006761c9?OpenDocument

Good Ideas? Bad Ideas?

Last Tuesday 1/3/12 at the Council Committee meeting it was brought out that the city sometimes finds it difficult to fill openings/vacancies on various city boards and commissions.  Part of this is probably because of citizen apathy and part probably because folks may not know of the vacancies.

So, I sent an email on 1/4 to the entire city council with copies to the mayor and city manager.  Would you believe, only two councilmembers even responded?  They were Pflumm and Distler.  Oh well.  The contents of the email are listed below.
Listening to last night’s discussion I was tempted to ask to speak but decided against it for two reasons:

a. Was not feeling the greatest
b. Meeting was running late
Various comments were made about trouble filling vacancies on various boards and commissions. Let’s try these suggestions:
1. I do not ever remember seeing these vacancies posted on the FRONT page of the city’s website, along with other announcements
2. I do not ever remember receiving an email from the listserv system announcing these vacancies
3. I do not remember ever seeing a press release/news item in the Dispatch announcing these vacancies:
a. “Mayor Meyers has announced an opening for xxxxx board. For information on how to submit an application to serve on this board please contact “abc” or go to the city’s web site at yada yada yada
b. “Councilmember Neighbor has announced a vacancy on the yyyy board that has an opening allocated to his ward, Ward 1. For information on how to apply to serve (same as above)
Anyway, maybe these alternate avenues other than word of mouth have been used………………..but I do not remember seeing them.
Side note: There was a comment made that Ward 3 was under represented on the planning commission. That would actually be expected since Ward 3 has traditionally had the worst turn out for city elections of all the four wards. So why does it surprise anyone that they have the lowest representation (read that as lack of interest in serving the city on a volunteer basis) on the planning commission?

Happy Holidays

As we get closer to the holidays let me wish all of the folks who read this blog a Happy Hannukah, Merry Christmas and a Happy Healthy New Year.

Let's make the coming year the year that Shawnee citizens show true involvement in their city and show up to vote in the city elections.  Also, keep in mind, we have many voting options to include early voting and mail voting. 

Go here to find out about advance voting:   http://www.jocoelection.org/voters/AdvanceVoting.htm

Final Incumbent Files

Dawn Kuhn, Ward3 has finally filed for reelection.

Mayor Files for Reelection

Mayor Jeff Meyers has filed to run for reelection. 

Of the five incumbents, that brings to four those who have filed (besides the mayor, council members Sawyer, Sandifer and Neighbor have filed).

Council member Kuhn hasn't as yet filed for reelection, even though she has sent out letters seeking donations for her campaign.

So far, no challengers have filed.

Mayor's Christmas Tree

Went to city hall last night to  observe the lighting of the Mayor's Christmas Tree.

Wonderful time.............the groups that participated were lovely.  Listening to the Christmas Carols and other holiday songs was an enjoyable experience.

The monies collected for charity were uplifting.

The activities at Shawnee Town 1929 seemed to be well thought out.

Kudos to city staff and all who worked to make it an enjoyable evening.

Three Filed Today

OK, three of the council incumbents have filed to run for reelection:

Neighbor  Ward 1
Sawyer     Ward 2
Sandifer    Ward 4

It Starts Today

What starts today?  Today is the first day that a person can file to be a candidate in Shawnee's April 3rd municipal election.  Which could also involve a Feb 28th primary if more than two individuals file to run for the same office.

OK Shawnee, let's make this the year that folks in this town finally get involved in their local government.

Let's get some good candidates to run for local office.  I don't know how many, if any, of the five incumbents are going to run.

Those incumbents are:

Jeff Meyers, Mayor
Jim Neighbor, Ward 1 Councilperson
Neal Sawyer, Ward 2  Councilperson
Dawn Kuhn, Ward 3   Councilperson
Mickey Sandifer, Ward 4  Councilperson

Let's look for a minute at two of the above..............Kuhn and Sandifer.  IMHO, if these two choose to run for reelection we definitely need to see some fresh blood in their places.  These two definitely need to become "former councilpersons", and every attempt must be made to see that they are not reelected, should they choose to run again.  As a matter of fact neither of these two should, again IMHO, ever be elected to any governmental office whatsoever.

Jim Neighbor is also not high on my list for being returned to office.

More to come as the time draws closer.  Meanwhile, let's see who files to run for what.

Council & Planning Commission Workshop

Last Monday, 11/21/11 the City Council and the City Planning Commission held a workshop primarily focused on economic development.

It was a somewhat interesting evening.

One of the few intelligent comments of the evening came from Commissioner Tom Beckenbaugh when he said that Shawnee needed a magnet to draw people to it.  Hmmmmmm, I liked that, and as any reader of this blog would know, that is something I've been saying.

Much time was devoted to the proposed business/industrial park at 43d and K-7.  But, will a business/industrial park be a magnet?  It can bring tax paying businesses to Shawnee, but is it a magent that brings tourism and strong economic injections to the city?  Is it a magnet that will draw folks down from the Village West complex after their races, concerts and other mass public gatherings.

Granted, when those events occur the 200 or so hotel rooms fill up and some restaurants see a slight uptick in business.  But we don't get the heavy influx that a magnet attraction would bring...........from those events and year round.

Most of the discussions were monopolized by council reps Jeff  (I'm in commercial real estate) Vaught and Dawn (motormouth) Kuhn..  Vaught never misses the opportunity to tell us what he does for a living, and usually multiple times in the same evening.  Ironically, if one goes back they will see that for a commercial development real estate person his knowledge of the International Building Code was very limited (as to what it covers).  And Kuhn was sounding more like a candidate on the stump than a council person.

Curiously Vaught seemed to be pushing, among other things, redevelopment.  This was ironic since at a committee meeting I could swear I heard him tell another council rep that redevelopment was not economic development.

There was an exciting moment when council member Sandifer took offense (quite angrily too) at a comment by Vaught that seemed to be a nasty reference to how/where Sandifer was raised.  Funny also, because Vaught was critical in the past of former council member Straub's actions/comments at council meetings.

Pictures From Shawnee Veterans Day Ceremony

A few weeks ago I told a good friend of mine, Bill Nichols (a retired professional photographer) about the Shawnee Veterans Day ceremony.

He came by and took some pictures, created a slide show of them and that is available for viewing below.  He will also be posting individual still shots if anybody wants to download those.  Thanks Bill.

Veteran's Day 2011

In 2002 I wrote and placed the below poem (or at least I consider it a poem, many English teachers would probably disagree) on another web site.  I'd like to repost it here:

The GI in the foxhole
The sailor out to sea
The leatherneck standing guard
The pilot flying free

These are the brave men
And yes the women too
Standing guard to protect us
'Neath the old red, white and blue

They haven't asked for much
To them it's not a chore
Staying ready in peacetime
Just in case they go to war

Proudly they do serve
Like thousands gone before
Duty, honor and country
Be it peace or be it war

Our sons and our daughters
It is them that we do love
And proudly do they serve us
With guidance from above

At that time, I dedicated it as follows:

Dedicated to two special veterans......to me.....Abraham Erlichman, USAAF, WWII and the grandson he never knew Ashly Clayton Erlichman, 1/34 Armor, 1st Inf Div, SW Asia


If you can spare about 3-1/2 minutes, watch and listen to the video below.  Thank you.

Info for Veterans

With Veteran's Day coming up I'd like to post about a change in the law concerning rendering honors to the flag and during the playing of the National Anthem.

The Defense Authorization Acts of 2008 and 2009 had some interesting changes.

Veterans, and active duty military in civilian clothing now have the option of rendering the military style hand salute instead of the civilian hand over the chest salute.  This applies to the raising, lowering or passing of the colors as well as during the playing of the National Anthem.

Those individuals who are wearing cover (hats/caps for the uninformed civilians) may keep the cover on while rendering the hand salute.  If they choose to perform the civilian hand over the chest then they should remove their cover, and hold it over their chest.

Riding With the PD

Last April, and again last month I spent some time in a ride along with a member of the Shawnee PD.  The April ride was the evening shift, and the October ride was the midnight shift (and I made it all night until 6AM)

Both times I saw various things that both impressed me and made me feel good about our PD.

First, it is obvious that the police officer of today is better educated than in years past.  Even more important, I was able to witness various actions which showed that the officers also used alot of common sense.  That is a trait that is becoming scarce in many other professions.  And part of that probably has to do with their job related training.

One thing that became obvious on a couple of the calls is that we are definitely, IMHO, short handed.  There were calls that required two officers (primary and back up) for the safety of the officer and the public.  When this happens, based on the number of officers on duty there are holes in the coverage.  As an example, one of the calls was a complaint about a party at an apartment clubhouse, and we know liquor was involved.  There could have been problems if only one officer responded. Another call was a commercial burglar alarm at a restaurant.  It's after midnight, closer to 1AM........you don't know what you are walking into.  Again, two officers have to respond.  Fortunately, neither incident resulted in a negative situation.  But until the officers got there, and investigated, they didn't know what they could be getting themselves into.

Anyway, as stated above, I personally think we have some really good people on the PD.

I would like to see the number of officers on the street increased...........and that can only happen if the department is expanded.  And that requires action by the council and the city manager.

BTW, if anybody else is interested in doing a ride along, there are forms available at the PD that you have to fill out, submit and get approved.  It can be a learning experience.

Dan Pflumm Invests in Downtown Shawnee

After sitting vacant since Commerce Bank left, the building at the corner of Johnson Drive and Nieman is now owned by a Pflumm again. Dan Pflumm, owner and president of DanCo Systems, Inc., a company he established in Shawnee in 1995, recently purchased the building.


The building on Johnson Drive and Nieman once housed Shawnee State Bank, and more recently Commerce Bank. Shawnee State Savings Bank, which occupied that corner since 1908, was owned by the Pflumm family. The building’s ownership changed when they sold their interests in Shawnee State Bank to Commerce Bank in the mid 1990s.

Dan plans to renovate the hundred plus year old, 10,000 sq ft. building. The future layout will consist of a suite of offices for lease, as well as become the new headquarters for DanCo Systems.

Dan who is also a Shawnee councilman, has been involved in projects to revitalize the downtown area. The updating of this corner lot will bring more commerce to the area. Current renovation plans include exposing the original interior limestone walls of the historic building.

His company, DanCo Systems, specializes in instrumentation and control systems for the process control industry, as well as sales, support, engineering and consulting. In addition to their Shawnee location, DanCo also has an office in St Louis.