KC Mayor election

Development, mayoral race

I read with amusement Mayor Barnes’ mass-mailed letter endorsing Alvin Brooks for mayor because he “gets” economic development and Mark Funkhouser does not.

The trouble is, Barnes’ version of economic development is outdated: Build a suburban mall downtown; open the city spigots (excessive TIFS and free rent); and woo chain stores that are in your own suburbs and/or in most other cities.

Funkhouser is not the doomsayer Barnes makes him out to be, but he is a realist. And he speaks truth to power and to the electorate.

After Barnes’ spending spree, we need Funkhouser. What’s more, Funkhouser could be a visionary mayor by focusing on entrepreneurs and organic, real bottom-up economic development.

Now that’s a vision that Mayor Barnes really doesn’t get.

David Hughes Jr.
Kansas City

Make him ‘Mayor Brooks’

Having moved back to Kansas, I regret that I’m not eligible to vote for Alvin Brooks in the mayoral race. I’ve worked with him in various capacities for over 20 years. His knowledge of issues confronting Kansas City — and his ability to discuss them intelligently and in depth — is boundless.

He almost always has a smile that comes from his heart, which is almost as big as Kansas City itself. The same is true of his energy.

I’m years younger than Alvin and run nearly four miles several times per week. But for the past several years, we’ve walked together in the “Walk as One,” covering about five miles. Despite my good physical condition and comparative youth, it’s nearly impossible to keep up with Alvin. He deserves to be Kansas City’s mayor and Kansas City deserves him.

Kansas City’s mayor sets the tone for the entire metropolitan area. Alvin has been Kansas City’s mayor pro-tem for eight years. Let’s remove “pro-tem” from his title.

Allan Abrams
Prairie Village

Fun with candidates

My hearty congratulations to Tim Engle for his insightful “snapshots” article on our next mayor (3/15, FYI, “Picture it: Mr. Mayor; Brooks and Funkhouser weren’t always candidates for KC’s top office. Once upon a time, they were little boys”).

In this day and age of contentious campaigning by so many politicians, it is very refreshing to see the human side of Mr. Brooks and Mr. Funkhouser presented in such a positive and pleasant manner.

Both of these gentlemen, and they are gentlemen, are real people, just like the rest of us, and Tim Engle’s article emphasizes that fact.

Again, congratulations to Mr. Engle and to The Star for their prominent placement of this story in the paper. Let’s have some more of this kind of writing in future issues.

Sandy Kauffman
Kansas City