Ex-Royal Frank White named Jackson County executive, for this year at least
As expected, former Kansas City Royals great Frank White was chosen Monday afternoon to serve as Jackson County executive for the remainder of 2016.
Should he decide to run for election and win this fall, White would then go on to finish the final two years of former county executive Mike Sanders’ term.
Sanders announced late last year that he was resigning for personal reasons only a year into his third, four-year term.
His resignation became effective last week when he appointed former legislator Fred Arbanas to serve until the county legislature could choose an interim replacement to serve until after the fall election. White was the legislature’s unanimous choice Monday at its weekly meeting in Independence.
Running as a Democrat in 2014, White was elected to the legislature in a countywide vote for the 1st District At Large seat. The legislature is expected to choose someone to fill White’s seat from among three nominees submitted by the Democratic Party’s county committee later this month.
That person will serve until after the 2018 election.
White will be sworn in later this afternoon at the historic Truman Courthouse in downtown Independence.
As county executive, White will earn $145,000 a year overseeing a $300 million operation that provides basic services to residents of the county’s unincorporated areas, as well as departments that assess real and personal property for tax purposes, record deeds and collect taxes countywide.
The county executive also oversees the jail and coordinates with the county sheriff, prosecutor and the circuit court system.
While the county owns the Truman Sports Complex, where White spent many years as a player and broadcaster, the county executive has no direct control over its management. That is the job of the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority, a state agency.
Mike Hendricks: 816-234-4738, @kcmikehendricks
This story was originally published January 11, 2016 at 3:07 PM with the headline "Ex-Royal Frank White named Jackson County executive, for this year at least."