Why I Support Sen. David Haley for Mayor of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, KS.
Kansas City, Kansas is on the precipice of unchartered greatness and new beginnings. The city continues to survive while our state economy implodes at the hands of the purveyors of radical conservative austerity. Our city economy is doing relatively well, but unfortunately not as well as it could be. The stagnant growth we are experiencing is the result of strategic neglect and under investment, especially in the northeast end of our city. The true possibilities of Wyandotte County go unrealized as long as the “urban core” of Kansas City, Kansas goes ignored.
On August 1st, voters will have an opportunity to elect a new mayor, to invest in new leadership. Voters must make the right choice, and in my opinion the right choice for Mayor and Chief Executive Officer of our beloved Wyandotte Co./Kansas City, Kansas is State Sen. David Haley.
Criticizing his opponents, though they are worthy of criticism, cannot make the best case for Mr. Haley. It was widely reported that the Senator himself refused to criticize the incumbent, a noble gesture in a time when ignobility, incivility, and scandal is rife in our national political culture. The best case for Mr. Haley is his pragmatic, thoughtful, and diffuse legislative agenda while serving in the Kansas State Legislature, as a member of both the House and Senate.
It should be noted that Sen. Haley is no political ideologue. He is the son of a Republican, the late State Sen. George Haley, so there is no wonder why he is widely regarded for his bi-partisanship and collegiality. However, Sen. Haley has not capitulated to the conservative agenda pervading our state government. Instead, he has consistently been a courageous voice for progressive causes such as safe access to medical cannabis, tougher sentences for perpetrators of hate crimes, a concurrent resolution urging the U.S. Congress to get money out of politics by overturning Citizens United, and critical appropriations to fund our state’s public schools after a tax cut for wealthy Kansans left a substantial deficit in our state budget.
To deal with the state economy, Sen. Haley focused on reduction of the state debt and deficit; eradicating waste, fraud, and abuse; and responsibly balancing the state budget, while preserving vital services and programming. Far from a “tax-&-spend liberal,” he pursued this course, knowing that it would not always popular with his base, because he felt it was the right thing to do.
The Senator’s economic vision is summed up in his promise to #GrowWYCO. His policies for our city’s future include a focus on small business incubation and encouraging entrepreneurship; partnerships between private enterprise, small business, and local government on critical development opportunities; a comprehensive strategy for countywide economic growth; and the eradication of local food insecurity. These are issues of vital importance to the future of Wyandotte Co., and Kansas City, Kansas.
When Republican domination of both chambers of the state legislature silenced other Senators, Sen. Haley emerged as a voice of conscious, reliable, policy-wise resistance. He has taken the courageous stances and spoken the uncomfortable truths when other political leaders refused to. I believe Sen. Haley’s pragmatic approach and progressive ideas could mean great things for Kansas City, Kansas and Wyandotte County.
