Latest news with #CountyExecutive
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kansas City will have more chances to vote early in Frank White recall election
Kansas City will have more chances to vote early in Frank White recall election Now that Jackson County courts have set a date for the election to potentially recall county executive Frank White Jr., the Kansas City Election Board has begun preparing residents for a streamlined voting process. Fewer polling places than usual will be open in Kansas City during the September 30 recall election, the board announced Monday, due to the shortened timeline leading up to the election. To compensate, the board will offer extra opportunities for early voting, also known as no-excuse absentee voting. Though the special election date was not finalized until last week, the recall ballot was written and finalized on June 8, according to the document's digital properties. The ballot language for the single-issue special election will be short and sweet, with the sample ballot released by KCEB reading 'Shall Frank White, Jr. be recalled from the office of County Executive in Jackson County, Missouri?' The board was unavailable Monday afternoon to share which polling locations will be closed, or whether the list of cuts has been finalized. How can I vote? The Kansas City Election Board's solution to a higher-pressure timeline is to limit the number of polling places open on Election Day. During the Sept. 30 recall, Kansas City residents will be eligible to vote by ballot machine at any open polling place, including KCEB headquarters, the board announced Monday. Voters who wish to use a paper ballot must do so at their assigned polling location, which they will receive notice of by mail about a week before the election. Absentee voting is typically only available to voters who have special circumstances, such as incarceration, illness or caretaking responsibilities, religious exemptions or lack of a permanent address. Standard absentee voting in the Sept. 30 recall will begin on August 19, either by mail or in person at KCEB headquarters, 4407 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Early voting will begin August 16 at KCEB headquarters. KCEB said it will announce additional locations for early voting, also called special absentee voting, in the coming votes. If the KCEB does not receive a ballot from registered absentee voters by 5 p.m. on September 17, a ballot will be mailed to the voter's home address. Voters who have previously self-described to KCEB as permanently disabled will automatically be mailed an absentee ballot. The Jackson County Election board has not announced similar plans for voters outside of Kansas City as of Monday. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on September 30 for regular voting. Missouri law requires voters to show a valid photo ID issued by either the state or federal government or the United States military. Planning a recall Jackson County voters submitted more than 43,000 valid signatures to the Jackson County and Kansas City election boards on June 27 in favor of recalling White, a Democrat who has served as County Executive since 2016. The signatures were collected over the course of two years by residents living mostly in eastern Jackson County, with substantial help from a 'dark money' political action group. Multiple parties within and beyond county government immediately disagreed on when a recall election should take lawsuits over the fate of the recall process moved through the county court system this summer, the Kansas City and Jackson County Election Boards had hoped that a Jackson County judge would set a Nov. 4 election. The Jackson County Legislature set an August 26 election date on July 18 based on directives about recall election timing in the Jackson County charter, shortly after the election boards filed one of two conflicting lawsuits. After a condensed hearing on August 1, a judge ruled last week that a September 30 election gave the election boards enough time to prepare. Judge Marty W. Seaton agreed with the election boards that an election on August 26th would not leave enough time to reach overseas voters and members of the military. However, he opined that the July 18 vote gave the election boards reasonable notice that a special election would eventually take place, allowing them to have started preparing 10 weeks before September 30. The Jackson County Election Board previously said that within the 10-week period that it generally takes the two election boards to prepare for an election, ballot language is finalized by week eight. During the Aug. 1 hearing about special election timing, Tammy Brown, Republican Director of the Jackson County Board of Elections, said that running a special election before November 4 could limit the number of available polling places, voting machines and election administrators. Poll workers and judges serve on a volunteer basis, she said, while polling places are often hosted in schools and may not be widely available for special use in late September. Meanwhile, voting machines must be left alone for programming and testing for several weeks before and after an election, she said. This means that ballot machines used during a September election may not be available by the long-scheduled November 4 general election. Solve the daily Crossword
Irish Examiner
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Colin Sheridan: Kevin McStay departure brings as many questions as answers
The treachery of Fredo Corleone in Godfather II. Lando Carissian's betrayal of Han Solo in the Empire Strikes Back. Hans, the Charming Prince, double-crossing Anna in Frozen. The older I get the wiser I am to the fact it's not Homer and Shakespeare movie-makers have been imitating off all this time, it's Mayo football politics. Even when the obvious happens - such as the departure of Kevin McStay from his managerial position - it somehow evokes whispers of 'Et tu, Brute?'. Such has been the back-catalogue of mishandled appointments, dismissals, and financial philanderings, everything - from the magical to the mundane - becomes bigger news than it ever needs to be. Let's begin at the end. On Wednesday night, the County Executive released a statement advising that a decision had been made to 'relieve Kevin McStay and his management team from their roles with the Mayo Senior Football Team with immediate effect.' The press release went on - with, some might argue, notable brevity - to thank Team McStay for their service. If a non-native English speaker reading this statement was immediately questioned as to whether it achieved its objective, I'm guessing they would say that it did. Somebody had a job. It didn't go great. They were let-go from said job. That information was communicated to all concerned. Alas, this is Mayo and this is the GAA, and still waters run friggin deep. The critical word in the executives farewell was the 'relieve' part. Nobody wants to be relieved of their command, so when you are, it's almost always under protest. In the GAA, where legacy bloodlines run like streams down Nephin, you are usually first offered the opportunity to honourably discharge yourself when your services are no longer required. This negates the possibility of any ugly power struggle. It should prevent, too, the airing of dirty laundry. We tried. It didn't work. We're all sorry it didn't work. Time to move on etc. This course of action pushes the postmortems to the high-stool over winter. At worst, an ill-advised biography rushed out in time for Christmas. At best, the circulation of unprovable scenarios on whatsapp groups. Bottom line, when something isn't working, and the Kevin McStay/Mayo combination was just not working, the end is sadly inevitable. What is telling at this early juncture is that McStay did not step down himself. Three years, three rather tepid championship exits, it would be difficult for him to make a case the fourth year he signed up for, especially as his own involvement this summer ended in him stepping back due to health concerns. It goes without saying that no pursuit of glory, especially one as emotionally charged as Mayo's - is worth risking one's health. Loss to Donegal in the All-Ireland was the final nail in the coffin for McStay, it would seem. File picture: Seb Daly/Sportsfile Everything, then, pointed to him ending his involvement under its current conditions. That he didn't do so himself poses three questions: was he afforded the opportunity to do so first? If not, why not? And, if he was, and he eschewed the chance to step away of his own volition, what alternative did the Mayo County Executive have other than to issue a statement announcing they were parting ways if they believed the partnership untenable? Yes, they could've been more effusive in their thanks, more hyperbolic in their praise, but if they had already broached the subject and still, no resignation was forthcoming, one could forgive them for ripping the bandaid off, especially since they are already behind in their hunt for a new manager. We all leave jobs. I left the army after 26 years during which I was nearly killed a couple of times and far from being clapped out the door, the only communication I received was an angry text from a disgruntled quartermaster looking for my kit back. I would imagine my experience is true for most of us. McStay has not sought any praise for his role, nor has he criticised the nature of his exit (yet), so - and I understand the hypocritical ice I tread on here - there is a chance this uncoupling is a polite and courteous one. It'd be an outlier if it was, but stranger things have happened, especially in Mayo. The facts are that he was a desirable and popular candidate with an excellent CV who was appointed to win an All-Ireland. Mayo won a National League in his first season, before a forgettable loss to Dublin later in the summer. Derry defeated them at home in a preliminary quarter final last year. The chaotic nature of their loss to Donegal two weeks ago served as an allegory of the inconsistency of his tenure. Undoubtedly, he was unlucky; trying to win an All Ireland with a squad so clearly in transition was an incredibly difficult thing to do, but those were the terms of his employment. Cillian O' Connor's curious sabbatical, and a stacked backroom team that included another recent Mayo manager in Stephen Rochford, added layers of intrigue to a story that never needed them. So much has happened it's easy to forget the departure of Liam MacHale from his staff after just one season, an exit made all the more unexpected by the closeness of their relationship. The County Executive's reputation for ineptitude may be well earned, but it is hard to see any other way this scenario played out, especially if Kevin McStay was offered the chance to leave on his terms, but chose not to. Whatever happened, he is gone, and his departure brings as many questions as answers. And so, Mayo start again, again. Experience, Julius Caesar said, is the teacher of all things. Let us see if the battered bastards of Gaelic Football have finally learned something.
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Jackson County legislators could finally end 6-month budget freeze. What to know
After nearly six months without an active budget, Jackson County legislators are seeking community feedback on Monday as they may finally be reaching a compromise to get something passed. The half billion-dollar budget has been held in flux since the beginning of the year throughout months of infighting between members of the legislature and County Executive Frank White, who vetoed the proposed budget in its entirety on January 9. Now, the legislature will be voting on its latest round of edits to the plan on Monday. Monday's meeting will kick off with a public hearing regarding the budget before legislators vote on the proposal. However, a double final vote — on whether to approve the proposed amendments, then whether to pass the budget — will not take place until the legislature's next meeting, at the earliest. The legislature typically meets weekly on Mondays. All meetings of the Jackson County Legislature, including Monday's hearing, are open to the public. Legislators initially voted 5-4 to approve this year's budget for the first time at the very end of last year, on Dec. 31, before White vetoed it. In a letter to the legislature sent the same day of his veto, White called the proposed budget legally and fiscally irresponsible. He criticized its proposed increases to the legislature's own operating budget and its proposed cuts to public safety, arts and corrections staff. 'This budget, as amended, does not reflect the values of Jackson County,' White wrote. 'It prioritizes political gamesmanship over public safety, economic stability, and the well-being of our residents.' Months later, county legislator Charlie Franklin introduced a further amended version of the budget, with over $11 million in additional appropriations included to be allocated to various county agencies. That's what legislators will be voting on on Monday. The proposed amended budget would put additional money toward the public safety and parks departments, as well as toward county administrative offices and the legislature itself. While some of the extra money would be allocated from the county's 2025 general fund and other budget categories, more than $10 million would come from taxes collected from marijuana sales. In the months that legislators and White have remained at an impasse over the budget, multiple county agencies and services — including the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office, the Parks and Recreation Department and dozens of tax-funded programs — have been unable to access the majority of their funding. Some 'emergency' funding has been released on a case-by-case basis to maintain the day-to-day operations of municipal organizations or satisfy specific grants and contracts. For example, before Monday's meeting, the budget and finance committee will vote to advance an ordinance releasing funding for renovations at Jackson County's family court, and to fill a two-year contract for food services at the Jackson County Detention Center. In the months the budget has remained frozen, tension between the county executive and the legislature has continued to build. Four members of the legislature sued White in February over his budget veto, and three legislators wrote to Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey in May, asking for an investigation into White's conduct. Meanwhile, an effort to recall White is in full swing, with organizers gathering more than half of the signatures needed to put a recall vote on the ballot. The recall effort primarily stems from voters' frustration with how White, along with county assessment director Gail McCann Beatty, set property tax values on real estate during the 2023 assessment cycle. Whenever it is passed, the budget will remain in effect through December 31, 2025.
Washington Post
02-06-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
Maryland county may spend $57 million on incinerator it wants to close
Montgomery County may need to spend more than $57 million over four years on maintenance for the county's trash incinerator in Dickerson despite County Executive Marc Elrich promising years ago to close it. The incinerator, which started operating in 1995, burns about 565,000 tons of the county's waste each year, according to the county's Department of Environmental Protection. It's also authorized to emit numerous toxic pollutants. That's why Elrich campaigned on closing the facility and finding alternatives to it during his run for office in 2018 and again when he began his second term in 2022.
