Thursday, February 17, 2011
Mayor Mark Funkhouser Talks Finances "In His Own Words"
| For Immediate Release: 17 February 2011 Mayor Mark Funkhouser Releases The Second In A Series Of "In His Own Words" Videos On Jobs and Finance “You've got to make it clean, you've got to make it safe, you've got to make the infrastructure work” ~ Mayor Mark FunkhouserSome problems simply require good old common sense. Over a period of eight years, the former Kansas City Council pledged hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to secure financing for private developments – bars, restaurants, retail shops, high-dollar condos and the like. The result: Kansas City residents for the next generation will find that some of their tax dollars collected to pay for basic city services will go to pay instead for booze and baubles. That's the scenario that led Mark Funkhouser to run for Mayor in 2007. “Four years ago we were hurtling toward financial disaster,” Mayor Funkhouser says. In a new video, Mayor Funkhouser talks candidly about jobs and Kansas City's finances, and his plan to build on Kansas City's urban vitality by bringing middle-class families back to central city neighborhoods. The short video is the second in a series by Kansas City photographer/filmmaker Stephen Locke. In His Own Words offers Kansas City residents an opportunity to hear the Mayor's thoughts on everything from making mistakes to his vision for the future of Kansas City.  Under Mayor Funkhouser's watch and using a common-sense approach advocated by the Mayor, the city has turned its finances around by curtailing the almost obsessive granting of tax breaks to dozens of real estate developers, by cutting costs and by being smart with the money. “We have done a remarkable transformation of the basic financial statements of the city, and we did it in the face of the greatest recession this nation's seen since the Great Depression,” the Mayor says in the video. “Cities (around the U.S.) are in tremendous financial trouble. Kansas City isn't.” The Mayor says the next step for Kansas City will be to continue its focus on revitalizing Kansas City neighborhoods. “If we bring middle-class people back, they bring with them their disposable income,” Mayor Funkhouser says. “They bring with them their community participation, their volunteering at the schools. And jobs are created, grocery stores are created, bowling alleys are created. Churches that are boarded up and abandoned will be reopened with vibrant congregations in them.” The Mayor says the same common-sense approach that turned the city's finances around will work in city neighborhoods. “Governments don't create jobs, markets create jobs. But the market is impacted by the things that government does. You've got to make it clean, you've got to make it safe, you've got to make the infrastructure work. If you do those things, middle-class people come back....and we're all a whole lot better off, and without raising taxes.” For More Information, Gloria Squitiro, Campaign Manager, 816-820-9751 |
 |
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Mayor Funkhouser Addresses the City's Successful Cleanup of the 2011 Blizzard
Baby It's Cold Outside... But Kansas City Survived
Mayor Mark Funkhouser addresses the blizzard of 2011
By Leslie Collins
Northeast News
Feb. 9, 2011
Feb. 9, 2011
Kansas City survived.
It didn’t barely escape the blizzard of 2011, but deftly adapted.
“Everybody said this was the storm of historical proportions,” Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser said of the Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 blizzard during a Feb. 2 press conference. “Considering the magnitude of the storm, we came through this remarkably well.”
In two days, city crews plowed 15 million cubic feet of snow, he said.
On Feb. 1, Funkhouser declared a state of emergency for Kansas City but lifted that status during the press conference.
Although at least a dozen Kansas City ambulances succumbed to the slick snow, the city worked together to minimize the problem, he said.
When an ambulance became stuck, the crew would contact Kansas City’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and EOC would immediately dispatch another ambulance, along with a four-wheel drive fire department truck and other vehicles.
Usually the first ambulance was able to maneuver out of the slick spot, but on four or five occasions the second dispatched ambulance was used.
However, all patients were transported to the hospital in a timely manner and patient care was not impacted, Funkhouser stressed.
During the blizzard, approximately 10 to 12 inches of snow fell in Kansas City, but other parts of the state received more than 20 inches of snow.
At times, the snow fell at two to three inches per hour and wind gusts of 35 to 40 miles per hour caused near zero visibility conditions.
For the first time in history, Interstate 70 was shut down statewide, due to the hazardous conditions. Officials also shut down Interstate 44 from the Oklahoma border through Springfield.
This is only the fourth time in Kansas City’s history since 1888, that the city has had three separate calendar days with six or more inches of snowfall during the winter season, according to the National Weather Service.
Mayor thanks city employees, residents
Funkhouser commended both city employees and Kansas City residents for pulling together during the storm.
Neighbors helped neighbors and residents heeded warnings to stay inside, he said.
Timely snow removal resulted from planning ahead, training, money and time, he said.
Although many called the blizzard a “non-event” for Kansas City, Funkhouser defended the city’s employees.
“It’s a non-event because of the work, because of the effort,” Funkhouser said.
Kansas City Fire Chief Richard “Smokey” Dyer added to Funkhouser’s statement.
“When you’re not prepared, that becomes a major event,” Dyer said. “When you activate, coordinate and plan ahead, that’s when it becomes a non-event.”
Interim Kansas City Manager Troy Schulte thanked Kansas City residents for staying off the roads and for parking on one side of the street to aid in better snow removal.
“The residents were partners with us,” Schulte said.
Asked how the storm impacted the city’s budget, Funkhouser said those figures are still being calculated. However, he said, there are “adequate” monies in the city’s contingency and reserves funds to cover the cost.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Latest "Truth Watch" video lampoons the idea of a downtown hotel as city savior
| For Immediate Release: 13 February 2011 Mayor Mark Funkhouser Releases "Truth Watch" Video “I offer my opponents a bargain: if they will stop telling lies about us, I will stop telling the truth about them” ~Adlai Stevenson In a new video, the Mayor Mark Funkhouser re-election campaign takes a lighthearted look at one of the more serious topics being debated in Kansas City. Entitled I Know What You Need, the video spoofs a plan pushed by the regional Chamber of Commerce, and endorsed by most of Funk's opponents, to use public money to build a $400 million convention hotel Downtown. Using an infomercial format, the video notes that Kansas City “insiders” guarantee that public safety will be assured by the addition of a new Downtown hotel. “Imagine the feeling of safety you'll get with your new hotel!” the infomercial host boasts. “The insiders are going to solve all of your safety concerns!” the host says. “How are they going to do that, you ask?” Check out the video for the answer. “Sometimes we just need to smile and have a good time,” Mayor Funkhouser said. “The idea for that stupid Downtown hotel is one of those times. I mean, with all the basic city services our residents need, how can they even think about spending tax dollars of any kind on a hotel.” So far – over Mayor Funkhouser's objections – the City Council has spent more than $600,000 to study a proposal for a new Downtown hotel. The Mayor has been the lone Council voice against the hotel, which has been trumpeted by opponents. Councilwoman Deb Hermann has twice voted to spend tax dollars for the hotel. “Don't get me wrong. I'm not against a Downtown hotel. I'm against spending the taxpayer dollars we've been entrusted to protect on yet another glitzy project that can't pay its own way,” Mayor Funkhouser said. “Don't you think if there actually was a market for a new hotel, private developers would already have built it??” The Mayor says, when re-elected, he will continue to provide Kansas Citians with a “city government they can count on.” For More Information Contact: Gloria Squitiro , Campaign Manager 816.820.9751 |
|
Monday, February 14, 2011
Bottomline.com: CAN YAEL AND TONY BRING DOWN FUNKHOUSER? STAY TUNED...
The following comes from Bottomline.com, a blog on media matters, written by John Landsberg...
It might be the strangest pairing in media history.
Yael Abouhalkah has been a major king-maker at the Kansas City Star for decades. Tony Botello operates the area's most-read blog "Tonyskansascity.com." He refers to Abouhalkah's employer as simply the "dead tree media."
Abouhalkah and his minions at the Star despise Botello and his blog. They feel he writes smarmy articles where he doesn't let facts get in the way of a good story.
On the other hand, Botello constantly makes fun of Star writers ("Douchebag Mike Hendricks") and feels it is simply a matter of time before the Star's presses grind to a halt. He delights in scooping the Star on political stories, which he does on a regular basis.
Ironically, both Yael and Tony have set their sights on kicking current KCMO Mayor Mark Funkhouser out of office. Neither have written a positive word about Funkhouser in more than a year.
With both of them it is personal. Their hatred of Funkhouser is palpable. Journalistic fairness and honesty has been tossed aside by both of them.
By all rights, when the leading newspaper and the leading blogger in a given area both have as their stated goal the overthrow of a Mayor you would think Funkhouser would be in big trouble.
However, according to political insiders and pollsters, that simply is not the case.
In fact, sources say that entering the February 22 primary Funkhouser is far and away the leader. The remaining candidates are desperately scrambling for second place.
How is that possible? Maybe it is an issue of credibility.
Abouhalkah and his newspaper have attacked the Mayor so often and so loudly that maybe readers and voters have come to the conclusion that the newspaper is not being honest with its readers. Maybe the paper's former reputation for credible journalism no longer exists.
At times the paper all-but-forced the Mayor to keep an incompetent City Manager even though it was clear to almost everyone the manager was hurting the city. The Star didn't seem to even care what was best for the city in its efforts to tar Funkhouser.
The Mayor eventually got a new city manager and things have dramatically turned around. One can only imagine how the recent snow removal would have been handled by the previous city manager.
People see Funkhouser on TV and he doesn't seem like such a bad guy. They hear him on the radio and he sounds like he genuinely cares about the city and is working his butt off to turn things around.
It seems as if the Star may hate him, but the average person on the street seems to think he is trying his best despite a hostile city council, horrendous economy and a newspaper that despises him.
Botello (a friend) has hated the mayor before he even took office. When Funkhouser appointed a woman who was against illegal immigration to an unpaid Park Board post then Tony really turned up the hatred even more.
Since he has a blog with no restrictions he has not only blasted Funkhouser, but even Funkhouser's wife and children have been held up for ridicule. He ran photos of the Mayor's daughter and her boyfriend as they shopped.
From a media standpoint the Mayoral race is fascinating. Two of the area's reportedly biggest influencers basically are telling voters to cast their ballot for anyone but the incumbent mayor. Anyone.
When the votes are cast in about a week we will see if the voters are influenced. Unless something dramatically happens, it doesn't look as if that will be the case.
Stay tuned...
Read full article here.
It might be the strangest pairing in media history.
Yael Abouhalkah has been a major king-maker at the Kansas City Star for decades. Tony Botello operates the area's most-read blog "Tonyskansascity.com." He refers to Abouhalkah's employer as simply the "dead tree media."
Abouhalkah and his minions at the Star despise Botello and his blog. They feel he writes smarmy articles where he doesn't let facts get in the way of a good story.
On the other hand, Botello constantly makes fun of Star writers ("Douchebag Mike Hendricks") and feels it is simply a matter of time before the Star's presses grind to a halt. He delights in scooping the Star on political stories, which he does on a regular basis.
Ironically, both Yael and Tony have set their sights on kicking current KCMO Mayor Mark Funkhouser out of office. Neither have written a positive word about Funkhouser in more than a year.
With both of them it is personal. Their hatred of Funkhouser is palpable. Journalistic fairness and honesty has been tossed aside by both of them.
By all rights, when the leading newspaper and the leading blogger in a given area both have as their stated goal the overthrow of a Mayor you would think Funkhouser would be in big trouble.
However, according to political insiders and pollsters, that simply is not the case.
In fact, sources say that entering the February 22 primary Funkhouser is far and away the leader. The remaining candidates are desperately scrambling for second place.
How is that possible? Maybe it is an issue of credibility.
Abouhalkah and his newspaper have attacked the Mayor so often and so loudly that maybe readers and voters have come to the conclusion that the newspaper is not being honest with its readers. Maybe the paper's former reputation for credible journalism no longer exists.
At times the paper all-but-forced the Mayor to keep an incompetent City Manager even though it was clear to almost everyone the manager was hurting the city. The Star didn't seem to even care what was best for the city in its efforts to tar Funkhouser.
The Mayor eventually got a new city manager and things have dramatically turned around. One can only imagine how the recent snow removal would have been handled by the previous city manager.
People see Funkhouser on TV and he doesn't seem like such a bad guy. They hear him on the radio and he sounds like he genuinely cares about the city and is working his butt off to turn things around.
It seems as if the Star may hate him, but the average person on the street seems to think he is trying his best despite a hostile city council, horrendous economy and a newspaper that despises him.
Botello (a friend) has hated the mayor before he even took office. When Funkhouser appointed a woman who was against illegal immigration to an unpaid Park Board post then Tony really turned up the hatred even more.
Since he has a blog with no restrictions he has not only blasted Funkhouser, but even Funkhouser's wife and children have been held up for ridicule. He ran photos of the Mayor's daughter and her boyfriend as they shopped.
From a media standpoint the Mayoral race is fascinating. Two of the area's reportedly biggest influencers basically are telling voters to cast their ballot for anyone but the incumbent mayor. Anyone.
When the votes are cast in about a week we will see if the voters are influenced. Unless something dramatically happens, it doesn't look as if that will be the case.
Stay tuned...
Read full article here.
Mayor Mark Funkhouser Releases "Truth Watch" Video “Hallelujah The Funk Stepped In”
| For Immediate Release: 14 February 2011 Mayor Mark Funkhouser Releases "Truth Watch" Video “Hallelujah The Funk Stepped In” “I offer my opponents a bargain: if they will stop telling lies about us, I will stop telling the truth about them” - Adlai Stevenson Mayor Mark Funkhouser today released a new video looking at opponent Jim Rowland's track record during his last stint on the City Council, and his recent claims about being a budget watchdog. In the video, “Hallelujah The Funk Stepped In,” Rowland, a former Council member who quit in 2006 during his second term, boasts about being a budget cutter while he was on the City Council. In the Truth Watch, the video notes that the city budget actually increased by more than 50 percent on candidate Rowland's watch.  In contrast, under Mayor Funkhouser, the city's former auditor, the city budget is in the best shape its been in through the last decade. Under Mayor Funkhouser's watch, the city has reduced spending by 5 percent, kept the city's debt stable, increased the size of the police department and reduced crime, and cut the city's tax rate. “When I ran for Mayor, I promised to be smart with Kansas City taxpayers' dollars, and that's exactly what I've done,” Mayor Funkhouser said. “You can't take care of the people if you don't take care of the money.” The Mayor plans to use his experience to continue the initiatives he's spent four years honing. “We've stabilized the budget, we've restored professionalism to City Hall. Now we're going to finish what we started, continuing to make Kansas City a better, safer place to raise a family and a better, safer place to do business.” |
|
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Mayor Funkhouser Calls for Our Own Kansas City Chamber of Commerce
Mayor Funkhouser Calls for Our Own Kansas City Chamber of Commerce
In yesterday's Kansas City Business Journal article by Steve Vockrodt, Mayor Funkhouser points out how one must rely on the business community to move the city forward yet Kansas City, Missouri does not have its own chamber of commerce:
Funkhouser Renews Call for Kansas City-Specific Chamber
Kansas City Business Journal - by Steve Vockrodt
Date: Wednesday, February 9, 2011With his history of butting heads with the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, perhaps it wasn’t surprising that Mayor Mark Funkhouser found a way to introduce fleeting awkwardness at Tuesday evening’s mayoral debate.
The chamber co-sponsored this latest in a series of mayoral forums, but that didn’t keep Funkhouser from blasting the organization with allegations of inadequately supporting Kansas City business and renewing his call for a Kansas City-only chamber of commerce.
In his usual West Virginia homespun drawl, the mayor recounted a story about running into Joe Reardon, mayor/CEO of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kan., soon after he successfully persuaded voters there to pass a sales tax increase to finance public safety and basic improvements to curbs and sidewalks.
See full article:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)