Council Member Lindsey Constance Responds

Well here it is. Lindsey Constance replied to my question (see my two previous posts)concerning her lack of voting in local elections. I have highlighted certain comments of hers in bold red. i urge folks to read those comments at least twice. At the bottom of this post I will post my observations concerning those highlighted comments.  No part of her email has been edited (with the exception of my highlighting certain comments of hers)

Her Email:

Hi Ray,

Thanks for reaching out via email. That’s probably the best mode of contact.
In response to your question about my past voting history, I can say that thinking back to my 20s and early 30s I was starting out in my teaching career, often working late into the evening on lesson plans, working a second job much of the time, doing graduate work, and starting a family. Since turning 18, I have made it a point to vote every two years, however did not vote regularly in municipal elections during that stage of life.
 
 
Your email yesterday got me thinking about how we might better reach young people, and so I read a recent study conducted by Portland State University that looked at mayoral elections in the 30 largest cities. The results found that residents 65 years and older were a median of "seven times more likely to vote than those ages 18-34, who frequently registered turnout rates in the single digits." Thinking back to life as a young adult, I don’t recall a phone call, post card or visit from a candidate during a municipal election year. Knowing that voter turnout is typically very low, especially with young people, I worked hard this past summer and fall to reach as many residents as possible, both regular voters, and those who hadn’t previously been involved. When the Ward 4 election results came out this past November and showed an increase in voter turnout compared with previous years, I was thrilled to see more participation.
I agree with you about the importance of reaching constituents and getting them involved in our local governance. So far my approach has been social media posts, email newsletters, and attending as many city events as possible to connect with residents. I’m always open to new ideas to better reach out to people who haven’t previously been involved and would be happy to hear your ideas on this front.

Thank you,　
Lindsey Constance
Shawnee City Councilmember, Ward 4

　
My commentary:
 
OK, here is my commentary concerning the red highlighted comments. What a bunch of BS, and she contradicts herself.    First, JoCo has one of the best systems for people to vote if they can't make it to the polls on election day to include mail in ballots. You don't even have to be disabled to use a mail in ballot. Note that she admits to voting every two years but ".....did not vote regularly in municipal elections......." Huh?  The info I posted shows she never voted in municipals. Does that make sense? No explanation for not voting in municipals, but voting in the others? My guess is her attitude was that municipal elections didn't matter as long as she voted for state and federal offices. She did say she didn't remember getting a phone call, post card  or a visit from a candidate in a municipal election year.  Huh?  My mailbox was usually overflowing.  Regardless, she had to know there was an election happening.  More BS.  With answers like the ones she provided I am happy that Cabela's has a sale on hip waders.

Special Olympics - Heroes Pull

As in the past, there will be a "Heroes Pull" immediately following the St. Patrick's Day parade on Sunday 3/11/18.

Various teams will compete by pulling a piece of fire equipment and also an armored police vehicle for a specific distance.  The team with the shortest combined teams is the winner.

All funds pledged to either a team or an individual are donated to Kansas Special Olympics:

City hall staff/elected personnel are fielding a team.

Donations can be made to the team "City Hall Crusaders" https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/TeamFundraisingPage.aspx?teamID=792117#&panel1-1

Or an individual team member.......my choice......our mayor......
https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/FundraisingPage.aspx?registrationID=4046755&langPref=en-CA#&panel1-1

Watch the action behind Splash Cove starting around 2:30PM.

Will Lindsey Constance Respond to Email

This should be self explanatory.  Sent via email to Council Member Lindsey Constance this morning:

*******************************************************************************
Good morning,

I have posted two items on my blog concerning your failure to vote in local elections in the past.  These would be for mayor, council and school board.

On my blog I asked that you explain yourself.  To date, I have not received an answer.  It is possible that you have not read the blog post, so I will pose the question in a direct email.  As a matter of fact I will copy|paste the last two paragraphs of the most recent post.

Please treat this as a homework assignment with a due date of Wed 2/14/18.  Failure to respond will result in a similar penalty that one of your students would receive………..it will have a negative effect on your grade as a council member.

 

Come on Lindsey, tell us why you haven't voted in the past for mayor, council and school board?

Your public wants to know what kind of an example you are setting for your students by not participating in in an activity that is the basis for our freedoms.

I'm a Ward IV resident.  Email me with your response.  I'd be happy to publish it here.

Ray

Part 2: Does Lindsey Constance Really Care About Shawnee?

On 2/2/18 (two posts below) I posted the first item about this.

What did we learn at that time?  We learned that she doesn't vote in city elections (mayor/council).  Wow, that is really exercising a right that many have fought and died for.  Does she care?  There are folks in many countries that would love to have the ability to vote for their government officials.  At all levels.  She squanders that right.

Now let's take it a step further............by not voting in the local elections what other offices is she not voting for?  Are ya ready?  How about school district board?  That's right, by not voting in the local elections she is not voting for members of the local school board. 

Wow, and she is supposed to be an award winning teacher.  When I was in school, teachers used to make sure we knew in our social studies classes what voting was all about.  How can she teach that to students if she doesn't participate?  Now, as a teacher it probably would be wrong for her to publicly endorse specific candidates for the school board, but that doesn't mean she shouldn't vote.

Come on Lindsey, tell us why you haven't voted in the past for mayor, council and school board?
Your public wants to know what kind of an example you are setting for your students by not participating in in an activity that is the basis for our freedoms.

I'm a Ward IV resident.  Email me with your response.  I'd be happy to publish it here.

My Refusal to Watch Super Bowl LII

Tomorrow is Super Bowl LII and I will NOT be watching it. 

I have not watched one football game all season.  Why?  Because of the spoiled, hypocritical, over indulged pieces of trash that disrespect our flag, our anthem and the veterans that have allowed them to pursue their chosen vocation.

The biggest offender in this situation happens to be the commissioner of the NFL, Roger Goodell.  He has wimped out in taking a stand to put these miscreants in their place.  He is sorely lacking in the intestinal fortitude department.  His solution:  to have the league donate to these idiots' social justice causes.  By watching NFL games, whether on TV or in person folks are helping the NFL to have an income flow to make those donations.  So far, there has been a substantial reduction in TV viewership and personal attendance at these games this year.  I urge folks to keep on finding other things to do,

Goodell in his misguided approach has:

1.  Had players fined for displays of celebration after scoring because they were taunting the other team.  Aren't some of those players taunting those who have fought, and in some cases died, for their rights?
2.  A player was fined for wearing Christmas colored cleats during a game.  They were OK for the pregame warm ups but not the game.  Gee, but it's OK to take a knee during the National Anthem

3.  He refused to allow the Dallas Cowboys to place stickers on their helmets in memory of the Dallas PD officers who were ambushed and killed.  But it's OK for the spoiled trash to disrespect our flag.

The video below has been on this blog in the past.  Please watch it again.  It shows a football game, a Super Bowl, with the proper respect for our country. Previous posts of this here were just of the National Anthem portion. This one is just a couple of minutes longer and shows some of the pre Anthem introductions.

Does Lindsey Constance Really Care About Shawnee?

Good question, IMHO.  There have been some recent letters in the Shawnee Dispatch about how much Lindsey Constance (newly elected Ward IV council member) cares about Shawnee.

I say that is Liberal bovine scatology. Why do I say that?  Because she has never voted in a local election (mayor/council).  That's right, she is part of that 85% of the city that sits on their butts and doesn't even get out to vote in local elections.  Well, maybe she voted this time because she was running for office.  How do I know?  Easy.  JoCo election records.  It is public information on whether folks voted in an election.  Naturally how they voted is not a matter of record.

So, here we go........note the term "state general" also includes any federal offices that were on the ballot that year (congress, senate, president etc).

Her voting record:

State General 2006
State General 2008
State General 2010
State General 2012
State General 2014
State General 2016
Mail Ballot 0108 Mail Ballot 512
State Primary 2012
State Primary 2014
State Primary 2016

We don't see any "local primary" or "local general" with an odd numbered year.

So, let's hear some more liberal clap trap about how she cares about Shawnee.  Would love to have her explain why she didn't vote in any local elections for mayor/council.  Would it be one of those typical apathetic answers?  You know the one that would indicate that the person doesn't think the local elections are important.  Something like "I voted for president.......mayor/council that doesn't matter". 

Yeah, she really cares..................NOT.   Probably more interested in advancing a national Liberal agenda.

My Letter Today to the Shawnee Dispatch

Will it get published?  Who knows what that rag will do?

There have been some recent letters concerning partisanship in the recent city elections.

That all started with two letters published the Wednesday before the city elections. Ironically, in the :old days" when the dispatch was a real newspaper and not a bird cage liner, those two leters would not have been published when they were. Why? Because any rebuttal to them would have shown up the day after the election (Dispatch comes out on Wednesday). In the "old days" they would have had to have been published a week earlier than they were, to allow for a rebuttal.

Just goes to show how inept JoCo's favorite bird cage liner has become. Or maybe partisanship on its part?

BTW one of the original letters was written by a former Democratic candidate (failed) for the Kansas legislature.

CORRECTION - Council Member Meyer is on a National Committee

Reference my post below about the NLC conference coming up.  One of my readers just corrected me and informed me that Council Member Stephanie Meyer also sits on one of the committees for the NLC.

As such, it does make sense for her to go.  Mea culpa.........my apologies for the error

What does that mean:  Jim Neighbor and Lindsey Constance stay home and don't waste city (taxpayer) money.

Council Members & Staff to National League of Cities - Too Many Going

The National League of Cities (NLC) has two conferences a year.  One in March in DC and one in the fall in a rotating city.

For years we used to send 6 or more individuals (combination of elected and staff) to these conferences.  And, for years I ranted and raved about it.  Always thought that the maximum should be four people (Mayor, City Manager and two council members).  At one point, a former council member even suggested that with a reduced number going, that those who attended could submit a report/review of the conference for those not attending and for the public.  that was voted on and approved.  Only happened once, and by just one attendee.

Now we have the 2018 DC conference coming up.  We have six individuals, according to info from the City Clerk who are scheduled to go.  Outrageous............two need to stay home, IMHO.  The average cost is in the neighborhood of $2000 per person and a long time ago I overheard one of the council members (who is still on the council) suggest to another that they sign up for it since it's like a "paid vacation".

Who is going?  (With side comments from me. Those in blue probably should be going ):

Stephanie Meyer

Mickey Sandifer - Sits on one of the NLC's committees this go around, so guess he has to go.  Never misses one of these.  Also, to make sure he gets "full benefit" arrives the day before the conference starts, and stays through the last event and comes back the day after.  Two extra nights, two extra per diems (verified by various copies of expense reports)

Matt Zimmerman - As Council President he can substitute for the mayor, IMHO

Jim Neighbor

Lindsey Constance

Nolan Sunderman - As Assistant City Manager since we have an interim in that position he can fill that spot IMHO

 

So, IMHO two of the remaining three (red) need to stay home and the four going need to file reports of what took place and make them available to the remaining members of the governing body and the public.

 

BTW, anyone who wants can do a KORA request and find out how few go from the surrounding cities in JoCo.

 

I plan on obtaining copies of the expense reports (if more than 4 go) for this trip under KORA and publishing the info on this blog.

Council Member Responds

If you scroll down to my post of 1/14/18 you will see that I commented on the fact that one of the three new council members did not respond (negative or positive) to an email of mine.

I am happy to report that that council member has responded.  That is courtesy.  Maybe we do not have a new arrogant member on the council.  Hopefully not.

In all fairness I felt an update was appropriate.

Shawnee Searches For A New City Manager

Shawnee is in the process of looking for a new city manager.  This can be a real learning experience, for many reasons.

Our former city manager held that position for about thirteen years and prior to that her predecessor held it for about 28 years.  She had served as his deputy and then upon his retirement moved into the top spot.

This time Shawnee is doing things a little differently, and justifiably so.  One thing I have heard many times over at the Mayor's Third Thursdays is that folks like the fact that Shawnee is a city with a small town feel but with many of the advantages of a big city.  Guess that comes from being a major suburb in a large metro area.

Because of Shawnee's growth, and many changes and advancements over the years it is imperative that the city casts a wide net to find the best qualified person for that position.  The process has started with the city asking for proposals from executive search companies.  Many "small" cities used to select their leadership based on either the next one in line or a favorite of the good old boy network.

Shawnee has, IMHO grown past that.  If anybody falls into those two categories and is desirous of serving in that position they need to apply, just like anybody else.  Anybody who attempts to hijack the process by pushing for a "good old boy" needs to be resoundingly cut down.

Let the process play out.  The city and its citizens deserve that.  It will be very interesting to see the qualifications of those who do apply.

Does the Council Have a New "Arrogant One"? LOL

Are we starting the year off with a new "Arrogant One" on the city council?

This is really funny.

About a week before the new council came on board I emailed the three newbies and asked if they wanted to be put on the email list for notification of new postings to this blog.  Now, in fact nobody has to be on the mailing list.  This blog is not a "closed group".  Anybody can access it.  And they usually do.  Sometimes, they have relatives access it for them, LOL.  And then report back.

What happened?  Two of the newbies replied that yes, they wanted to be on the notification list.  The third one?  Well, that individual apparently thought it appropriate not to even respond,  No yes, no no.  Just a rude, arrogant failure to respond.

Even though councilmembers are elected by ward, when they sit on that dais they represent the entire city.  Ergo, everybody is their constituent.  My gut instinct tells me that this will not be the last display of arrogance by this newbie.

This is going to be fun. 

Some Unsolicited Advice For Our New Councilmembers

Well, they haven't been on the job a week yet, and already they're getting advice from me, albeit unsolicited.

First, at the swearing-in each of you took the oath of office and even signed a hard copy.  It is an oath required by K.S.A. 54-106, and it says:

"I do solemnly swear [or affirm, as the case may be] that I will support the constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of Kansas, and faithfully discharge the duties of ______. So help me God."

 

 Now, with regards to the US Constitution, most are familiar with that part of the First Amendment pertaining to free speech.  But  possibly they may not be as familiar with another part of it, the part that goes:

 

"the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances"

Now let's talk about Section 3 of the Bill of Rights of the Kansas Constitution (which by the way comes before the main body of the constitution):

§ 3. Right of peaceable assembly; petition. The people have the right to assemble, in a peaceable manner, to consult for their common good, to instruct their representatives, and to petition the government, or any department thereof, for the redress of grievances.

What does all that mean?  It means you need to listen to the people.  In the past, some, not all, members of the council thought they were above listening to the people.  Not good. 

And the final bit of advice is to go on line to the city's web site.  Click on the monthly reports link https://cityofshawnee.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/4242?expanded=4243&preview=4565 and then pick any monthly report.  Look at the organization chart.  Never forget who is listed at the top of the chart.

Are We Due for a New Knock Down Drag Out KOMA Investigation?

OK, I wasn't at the city council meeting 1/8/18 but am aware of some of the things that transpired.

Question: How does a brand new council member, Matt Zimmerman, with less than two hours of experience as a council member get elected as President of the Council? This is an important question that needs to be answered since that position has two responsibilities. One, it is as presiding officer for Council Committee meetings, but more importantly, that is the person who becomes mayor if for any reason the mayor is unable to complete their term.

There was a rumor going around that prior to last night's meeting one of the sitting council members (we'll call him "A") had entertained the three newbies over a meal and pushed to have his name placed into nomination for that position and for the newbies, and one other existing council member (call him "B") to vote for him.

Then today according to another council member (let's see, that would be "C", a ward mate of one of the newbies), informed me that council member "B" notified the mayor of "the plan" and according to "C" the mayor did the right thing and notified the city attorney. It appears that the city attorney may have told these people that they could be in deep trouble if after they were sworn in they went through with their plan. So, what happened? Somehow the plan didn't go through as had been supposedly previously discussed. What is the final outcome? A different one of the five becomes Council President. Was this also discussed or was this a "spontaneous change" in preference?

After the meeting, council member "C" contacted me and suggested I go ahead and file a KOMA complaint.

I am not a lawyer, but something stinks here, and it is not as far away as the landfill. The previous KOMA investigation started with a citizen complaint (not me). I will exercise my rights as a citizen and request that the JoCo DA look into this matter. Let's not pussyfoot around because it would make Shawnee look bad. If these shenanigans are proven, and nothing is done, that would be worse. If there is no basis for concern, let the appropriate authority make that decision. An official determination needs to be made, IMHO.

Would love to have the DA discuss this with the three newbies and Messrs. A & B.

Attacking Police K9s

A few weeks ago a police K9 on the Missouri side of the state line was stabbed by a criminal.  The local news outlets indicated that the maximum penalty for stabbing a police K9 is 15 days.  Fifteen days for stabbing an animal that works closely with LEOs to protect the people.

I thought the penalty upon conviction was ridiculously low, and was curious as to what the penalty would be here in Kansas.  So, I contacted the JoCo DA's office and this is the info I got back:

Kansas law can be found at K.S.A. 21-6416 .  It is a non-person felony.  Penalties require at least 30 days in jail and up to 1 year in jail.

So, here in Kansas a criminal who stabs a police K9 could get up to one year in jail and it would be classified as a felony.  IMHO, that is not enough.  Attacking, stabbing, shooting a police K9 is, IMHO the same as performing those heinous acts upon a sworn law enforcement officer.

OK, it's crusade time.  Which one of the four state reps, and one state senator who have portions of Shawnee in their districts is going to take the lead on doing something to change the law and increase the penalty?

State Reps:
Linda Gallagher
Tom Cox
Shelee Brim
Cindy Neighbor

State Senator:
Mary Pilcher-Cook

Please contact them and voice your opinions on this matter.

Thank you

Changing Faces

This coming Monday at the City Council meeting three new council members will be sworn in and one sitting council member will be taking the oath for his second term.

Matt Zimmerman (Ward I), Justin Adrian (Ward III) and Lindsey Constance (Ward IV) will be the new faces of the council and Dr. Mike Kemmling (Ward II) will be sworn back in for his second term.  Jim Neighbor (Ward I) Eric Jenkins (Ward II) Stephanie Meyer (Ward III) and Mickey Sandifer (Ward IV) will be returning to finish the second two years of their current term. 

When a legislative body changes personnel it is always interesting to see what happens as the newbies get their feet wet and learn their jobs.  There is a learning curve and I will have to watch and see what happens during that period of time.  They should have their feet wet within the first 72 hours or so.  Only kidding.  Wanted to see if my readers were paying attention.  :-)  :-)

One bit of advice for the newbies, and it really is not from me, but has been told to me over the years by many others who were in their position (new on some sort of legislative body).  Actually doing the job is almost 180º opposite of what they thought it would be like. 

This should be fun.  The elections are over, the campaigning has ended.  Let's see how it plays out.

Sidebar:  At the meeting Meyer and Neighbor will be sitting in different seats as the senior council member for their ward.

Going Going Gone

Five more days and Jeff "The Arrogant One" Vaught will be gone from the city council.

Halleleujah!!!!!!!!!!!!

On 12/20/17 I posted an item about the Westbrooke Green project.  During my comments I exceeded the time limit allowed for citizen input.  Procedure is that a council member may make a motion to extend the speaking time and if seconded it is voted on and if approved the speaker gets some more time.  This has happened to me (and others) in the past.  Usually it is close to a pro forma action.  On this particular night two of the councilmembers voted no........Vaught and Neighbor.  On 12/20 I said I would post some commentary in the future about that.  The future is here and now.

Over the years Vaught has pontificated that he was in favor of transparency in government, in meetings etc.  Ironically, any long time reader of this blog knows that his actions contradicted his verbalizations.  Hypocrite extraordinaire.  Fortunately the city will no longer have to put up with his arrogance, his bullying (of fellow council members and the public) and his long winded diatribes (akin to putting the listening public through the pain of over verbosity similar to former council member Dawn "Motormouth" Kuhn).

As for Neighbor's "no" vote on this matter, what can I say?  Now that his puppet master is no longer involved with the city he is probably at a loss at to what to do.

Merry Christmas 2017

Fifty years ago I spent Christmas Day (1967) in the amphitheater at Long Binh Vietnam where one of the greatest supporters of our troops came with his friends to entertain us.

This short clip brings back some of the more pleasant memories of that time in my life.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. 

Westbrooke Green - Shawnee Takes It In the Shorts

Well it happened Monday night.  The Westbrooke Green development is going forward.  The plan for a mixed use apartment complex, retail type of development seems like a good idea.

So, why do I say that Shawnee takes it in the shorts?  The financing plan stinks.  A 100% TIF for 20 years stinks.  The developer getting the 1% sales tax stinks.  The 1.5% CID stinks.  The odor coming off the finance plan is akin to one that emanates from a garbage dump.

The costs of city services will not stay stagnant for 20 years.  They are constantly going up.  A development like this needs to contribute to the costs of the city.  I am not in favor of TIFs, but feel that it might have been a necessary evil in this case, but not 100%.  I suggested at the council meeting that it be renegotiated to 75%.  I felt that we did not negotiate properly in this matter and just caved to whatever the developer wanted.  When councilmember Jenkins voiced the same thoughts Jeff "the Arrogant One" Vaught claimed it was negotiated.  Heck, when I see that a developer gets a 100% of this and that I question that.

My suggestion was that the plan goes back to renegotiate to bring the TIF down to 75% and not give up the 1% sales tax.  That would also allow the matter to come back to the council after Jan 8, 2018.  That is important because three of the current councilmembers will not be returning.  I felt that this matter was too important for a council with 37.5% of its members not coming back to be voted on at this time.  Every council person who voted on it would need to be able to be held accountable to the citizens of Shawnee.  This is not possible now.

Ironically at a previous meeting about this when councilmember Dr. Mike Kemmling suggested waiting for the new council he was told that that would delay the vote too many months down the road.  Too many months?  As of this past Monday the delay would have only been three weeks.  It had also been previously argued that the developer wanted to get started shortly after the first of the year.  That turned out to be BS.  The developer now plans to start in Oct 2018.  Also, what was supposed to be a three year project has now been changed to a six year plan.  Add to that what is going to be determined as "substantially completed" during the various phases appears to be overly favorable to the developer.  Those are the markers so that the developer is not penalized.

I specifically called out the five councilmembers who would be returning to do the right things.  Send the item back to renegotiate and insure that a full, accountable council would be acting on it.  The five were Eric Jenkins, Mike Kemmling, Jim Neighbor, Stephanie Meyer and Mickey Sandifer.  Of that group only Jenkins and Kemmling voted that way.  So, when a future council has to raise sales and/or property taxes to cover shortfalls because the city is not getting any part of the increased property taxes and giving up the sales tax I will cheerfully scream "I told you so".  And then I will be able to hold the feet of the three who went with it as it stood, to the fire.

Again, project idea good, finance terms bad.

Some sidebars: 

When my speaking time had expired I asked for a motion to allow for an extension (this has happened in the past, and not just for me).  Well 6 of the 8 voted to give me the extra time (in the past it was usually 8 of 8).  Who voted against the extra time?  Jim Neighbor and Jeff Vaught.  My thoughts on this will be in a future post.

Had to chuckle at the woman that got up and said that this project would bring in restaurants and shopping that would make it a destination place.........so, she thinks she is going to get class establishments in that development?  When the plans call for five (5) drive thru restaurants.  The establishments may be nice but destination?  And will there be a "major" sit down full service restaurant that will attract folks from all over JoCo?

Important for Public to Consider Citizen Interest Groups for Westbrooke Green

Westbrooke Green is a contentious project.  There are a bunch of competing viewpoints concerning this project, be it the actual type of project, the tax incentives, and a variety of other items.

In the past, when citizens spoke about projects like this at council meetings there would be many disjointed individual comments.  To make the process more easier, and to give the average citizen a chance to have their comments presented in a more fluid manner. Council Member Eric Jenkins (Ward II) championed a change to Policy Statement-7.  To read his comments about this click here for a link to his FB page

The change allows for 12 citizens to form a Citizens Interest Group and then have one person give a 30 minute presentation (with the possibility of a 30 minute extension).  This allows for a better, stronger, presentation of ideas as opposed to multiple 5 minute individual commentaries.  Also, the presenter does not have to be a member of the 12 person group.  They can be an outside individual or even a professional (lawyer, accountant, architect, engineer, etc)

Additionally, there is no limit as to how many of these groups can be formed or what side of the issue they have to be on.  They can be pro or con.  If 36 different folks want they can form 3 different groups.

For more information on this please visit the city's web site by clicking here.

The public hearing for this matter is scheduled for Monday 12/18/17.