Gov. Jay Nixon kicked up a new round of border tension Thursday, naming Kansas Commerce Secretary David Kerr as Missouri&rsquo;s new economic development director.</p><p>The move comes at a critical moment in a showdown over which state gets an 18,500-seat pro soccer stadium and Cerner office complex that could involve 4,500 new jobs. Kerr was a key player in piecing together Kansas&rsquo; $229.5 million incentive offer.</p><p>That he is switching states just as Cerner is making its decision infuriated some top Kansas lawmakers.</p><p> &ldquo;This is the most unethical thing I have ever heard of,&rdquo; said state Rep. Ray Merrick, a Stilwell Republican and House majority leader.</p><p>State Rep. Kevin Yoder, an Overland Park Republican, called it the equivalent of switching teams in the middle of the World Series.</p><p> &ldquo;We thought (Kerr&rsquo;s) Number 1 goal was to bring jobs to Kansas, but find out now he was working to take his own job to Missouri,&rdquo; Yoder said.</p><p>Nixon, a Democrat, sought to ease tensions Thursday in a visit to Metropolitan Community College-Longview, saying Kerr would not be working on any of the deals he was working on while in Kansas.</p><p>Kerr said he&rsquo;s still Kansas&rsquo; commerce secretary for another week and his start date in Missouri is Nov. 9. </p><p>He pointed out that Gov. Mark Parkinson said Wednesday that the state had made its final offer on the Kansas development, which would be in western Wyandotte County.</p><p>&ldquo;So I&rsquo;m not too sure there&rsquo;s a whole lot left to do from my perspective on that,&rdquo; Kerr said, adding that it would be &ldquo;inappropriate&rdquo; for him to remain involved in the Cerner deal.</p><p>But that hardly satisfied Kansans, who had criticized Kerr for what they called &ldquo;foot dragging&rdquo; in developing an aggressive counteroffer.</p><p> &ldquo;I think we now know the answer,&rdquo; Yoder said. &ldquo;Switching teams at this stage of the game would even make Shoeless Joe Jackson blush.&rdquo; </p><p> House Republican leaders called on Parkinson to make the Cerner negotiations a personal priority and close the deal.</p><p> GOP leaders also called for a release of all information regarding the project to ensure that every available option was explored to attract the development to Kansas and that Kerr had no conflict of interest.</p><p>Joe Monaco, a spokesman for the Kansas Commerce Department, said Kerr&rsquo;s move was motivated largely by family. He has a son and grandson in St. Louis.