I feel filled with a sense of duty to restore faith in our community with its elected officials and public institutions. I know this government can work for everyone. And I will see that it does. A community cannot thrive without justice for its members.

Many of our friends, family, and neighbors have felt unheard, or worse, mistreated by our government. Justice comes down to a very intense kind of fairness where the community’s assets are available to all of the community and the penalties we agree on through law are equally applied and only when necessary.

Equity requires a seat at the table for everyone in our County: man, woman, or child; homeowner, renter, or homeless. That seat provides a voice and access to all the County has to offer and prevents any one group shouldering too much of the cost.

Equity is a necessary part of justice in a community. Jackson County’s resources need to be focused on our weak spots so we may begin to thrive in the most underserved areas as we have thrived in our most successful.

We have all seen the news stories and social media posts of unnecessary confrontation with the law; a fire under a bridge that took the life of Elizabeth Lindsey who was housing insecure. And we have all driven across a block or two and seen which houses have perfect streets and sidewalks and which have potholes and sidewalks that children can’t bicycle along.

Strong, vocal leadership can manifest the political will for us to arrive at a future Jackson County where these discrepancies are fewer and fewer.

Green government is an area where the principles of justice and equity comingle with a healthier community for all. Too often our marginalized communities suffer the worst effects of pollution and climate change. I am committed to programs that offer weatherization and energy efficiency progress across Jackson County. The County has already taken some early steps such as the Green Build Program, but that program is limited in scope to unincorporated areas. We must expand that program across the County, and I commit whole-heartedly to making the Jackson County Government itself carbon neutral.

Justice, equity and green government are extremely important components of a just and properly distributed growth strategy. We must continue to press for growth. And that growth must happen broadly across the entire County and contribute to a stronger community overall through shared prosperity.

The property tax system in Jackson County is shattered. This did not begin in 2019. It was decades in the making. The simplest way to prevent the property tax nightmares we have faced in the past is simple oversight by the Legislature to make sure the department is doing its work properly. There is an array of ways the County could change its assessment procedures as well. The decision to make the assessor an elected position answerable to the people is a move in the right direction but not a final step.

The Jackson County Health Department must be fully funded and undergo a streamlining of its programs in consultation with similar municipal programs across the County.

Far too often we rely on the fire department or police to do jobs that are better suited for other professionals simply because we have not prioritized this work. Adding insult to injury, we do not properly prepare them for how to approach certain unpredictable situations like mental health crises.

Many leaders fail to take seriously enough the effects our public safety personnel experience just from doing their jobs keeping our community safe. They take care of us, and we must take care of them.

A holistic and cohesive collection of programs that work in tandem would also provide enormous dividends addressing the endemic homelessness and violent crime our region has been experiencing for far too long.

The new Jackson County Detention Center is a major investment by the government and a critical part of the region’s overall law enforcement and public safety infrastructure. It is necessary to provide for humane and dignified detention of defendants and inmates as well as safety for the employees, visitors, and inmates alike.

The project has taken years to reach completion and cost the taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. It is imperative we have leaders who will ensure jobs are staffed by local union labor representing underserved communities as well as minority and woman owned businesses.

Kauffman and Arrowhead have been near and dear to most of our hearts. I often refer to Arrowhead as “The Cathedral.“ I am committed to keeping the Royals in Jackson County and preventing another debacle similar to the loss of the Chiefs to Kansas. It seems very possible that current leaders will approve a move of the Royals to a location downtown. I commit to defending the best possible deal for the taxpayers of Jackson County.

There must be a plan in place prior to any agreement to redevelop and reinvigorate the Truman Sports Complex. Additionally, the construction must be done by local union labor that is properly represented by the people that live in the affected neighborhoods. And like the detention center project, minority and women owned businesses must have a seat at the table.