Wyco Mayoral Candidates on How They Differ from Reardon - Kansas city week in review

JOE REARDON HAS BEEN MAYOR OF   WYANDOTTE COUNTY FOR THE BETTER PART OF A DECADE. WHETHER YOU THINK HE'S DONE A GOOD JOB OR NOT, WE'VE BECOME VERY FAMILIAR WITH HIM, WHETHER IT'S FIST BUMPING SLY JAMES AT JOINT MEDIA EVENTS, HE'S BEEN VERY VISIBLE, A REASSURING FACE FOR MANY NOT JUST IN YOUR OWN COMMUNITY BUT ACROSS THE METRO. MEEKS MEEK, HOW WOULD YOU BE DIFFERENT AS MAYOR THAN JOE REARDON? I THINK I WOULD TRY TO INCREASE THAT TRANSPARENCY EVEN MORE. AS I'VE GONE AROUND THE CITY IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS AND TALKED TO HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE, THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE --. I THOUGHT HE WAS LEAVING OFFICE BECAUSE HE WAS EXHAUSTED FROM ALL OF THIS, NEEDED TO SPEND MORE TIME WITH HIS FAMILY. WELL, I'VE GOT THE ENERGY TO SPEND TIME WITH MY FAMILY AND HAVE THAT BALANCE TO SERVE MY COMMUNITY. IT'S SOMETHING THAT WAS INSTILLED IN ME AT A VERY EARLY AGE OF PUBLIC SERVICE. MY FAMILY HAS A LONG LEGACY OF THAT. I WANT TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE THOSE THINGS. BACK TO MY POINT, THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE THAT STILL FEEL LIKE WE LIVE IN A CITY WHERE ONLY THE WELL CONNECTED RECEIVE FAVOR, AND I BELIEVE THAT THAT'S NOT HOW MY ADMINISTRATION WOULD RUN. I WANT TO BE VERY OPEN, HAVE A AN OPEN DOOR POLICY, BE VERY TRANSPARENT AND LISTEN TO OUR CITIZENS IN TERMS OF WHEAS -- WHAT'S BEST FOR OUR COMMUNITY. HOW WOULD YOU BE DIFFERENT FROM MAYOR REARDON? WE HAVE A GOOD SENSE OF HIM. WOULD YOU BE DIFFERENT FROM HIM? ABSOLUTELY. I'VE HAD THE HONOR OF HAVING BOTH FORMER MAYOR CAROL MARINOVICH AND JOE REARDON COME OUT PUBLICLY AND ENDORSE ME. THEY DIDN'T ENDORSE ME TO CONTINUE THE WAY THINGS GOING. THEY SUPPORTED ME BECAUSE THEY SAW IN MY A VISION TO TAKE THINGS TO THE NEXT LEVEL. WE HAVE TO BE EXCITED ABOUT THE SUCCESS WE'VE HAD, BUT WE CAN'T REST ON OUR LAURELS. WE NEED A WORLD CLASS VISION TO TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL, AND I THINK ABSOLUTELY, THE THINGS THAT I'M GOING TO DO DIFFERENT IN TERMS OF JUST CASTING A BROADER VISION, BECAUSE WE'RE IN A NEW DAY. IT'S A NEW -- WE CAN'T SIMPLY CONTINUE WHAT WE'RE DOING. CASTING A BROADER VISION. WHAT IS THAT? THE BROADER VISION IS A VISION FOR THE WHOLE COUNTY THAT WE'VE DESCRIBED. WE'VE HAD SO MUCH SUCCESS IN ISOLATED PARTS OF OUR COMMUNITY, AND WE'VE GOT TO FEED THAT SUCCESS AROUND THE REST OF THE COMMUNITY SO THAT ALL OF WYANDOTTE COUNTY CAN ENJOY THE KIND OF PROSPERITY THAT WE'RE HAVING IN PARTICULAR AREAS. ANN MURGIA, HOW WOULD YOU BE DIFFERENT THAN THE MAYOR THAT MOST PEOPLE HAVE BECOME FAMILIAR WITH OVER THESE LAST 8 YEARS. I THINK JOE REARDON AND CAROL MARINOVICH, LIKE MARK SAID, HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB AT SEEING WESTERN WYANDOTTE COUNTY GROW AND DEVELOPMENT, -- DEVELOP, I AND AGREE WITH EVERYONE THAT THAT NEEDS TO CONTINUE. BUT ALSO OVER THE PAST DECADE AND AND A HALF, MAYORS HAVE MADE PROMISES TO THE URBAN CORE REPEATEDLY, WE'RE GOING TO DO URBAN REDEVELOPMENT, IT'S CRITICAL TO OUR ADMINISTRATION. YET AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE MAP I PROVIDED YOU, THE AMOUNT OF DECLINE IN PROPERTY TAX BASE THERE HAS GROWN BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS. AGAIN, I HAVE THE ABILITY TO HELP TURN THAT AROUND, AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT MAKES ME VERY DIFFERENT FROM PAST MAYORS AND OTHERS. NATHAN BARNES, COME ON. THERE HAS TO BE A DIFFERENCE. THERE IS A DEFINITE DIFFERENCE, AND THE UNFORTUNATE PART IS THAT YOU SAY SOME OF THESE PEOPLE UP HERE RUNNING FOR MAYOR ARE LITTLE KNOWN. WELL, WE CAN CHANGE THAT. WE HAVE A UNIFIED GOVERNMENT TELEVISION STATION, STATION, ANE WERE BROADCASTING OUR COMMISSION MEETINGS, THIS WOULDN'T BE A PROBLEM. SO ONE, I'LL GET THAT UP AND RUNNING. REGIONALISM BECOMES VERY IMPORTANT WHEN IT COMES TO WE HAVE TO BE A PART OF THE REGION AND NOT BE AN ISLAND TO OURSELVES. THAT'S THE OTHER ISSUE. BUT JUST BEING FAIR. TRANSPARENT AND FAIRNESS. THAT MEANS THAT WYANDOTTE COUNTY HAS A BIGGER PIE, AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO PUSH ANYBODY AWAY FROM THE TABLE. WE HAVE MORE ROOM AT THE TABLE, AND I WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING MORE ROOM AT THE TABLE FOR THOSE PEOPLE THAT ARE INTERESTED IN UNIFIED GOVERNMENT. JANICE WITT. ACCESS TO THE PEOPLE. HOW WILL I BE DIFFERENT FROM JOE? FIRST FRIDAYS ARE GREAT, BUT WHEN YOU HAVE TO GET A LOTTERY TICKET AND HOPE THAT THEY'RE GOING TO HAPPEN, THEN THAT CHANGES THE DYNAMIC OF ACCESSIBILITY. WE NEED OUR LEADERSHIP TO BE ACCESSIBLE. WE NEED OUR LEADERSHIP TO RETURN PHONE CALLS. I'M GOING TO ANSWER PHONE CALLS. I'M GOING TO DEMAND THAT CUSTOMER SERVICE BE JOB 1. IF WE SERVICE OUR COMMUNITY, OUR COMMUNITY WILL SERVICE US. THAT'S THE WAY I SEE IT. WE'VE GOT TO REMEMBER THE EVERYDAY CITIZEN IN THIS COMMUNITY.