Police corruption, taxes and immigration enforcement dominate Wyandotte/KCK mayoral race
Tyrone Garner’s voice grew louder as he spoke.
“I just want folks to know that it’s shameful the attacks that have been put on me by my opponent, trying to tie me to things that were totally egregious,” Garner said at last week’s mayoral debate at Memorial Hall.
Garner, a former deputy chief of the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department, was referring to Mayor David Alvey’s suggestion that he was aware, or should have been, of corruption in the department on his watch, including a criminal grand jury investigation into former Detective Roger Golubski that had been initiated by federal prosecutors.
It was one the few contentious points in the debate, the last before Tuesday’s general election. Garner, who narrowly defeated Alvey in the Aug. 3 primary, is challenging the incumbent’s bid for a second term.
Polls open Tuesday at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. Voters must bring photo ID. Masks are required for in-person voting.
Golubski, accused of using his badge to sexually exploit Black women over the 35 years he worked for the KCK police, has been a flashpoint in the campaign.
His name surfaced in an August debate, where Alvey said if Garner knew about Golubski’s alleged crimes, he should have revealed them to the public. Garner, who worked for the police department from 1987 to June 2019, has denied knowing anything about the case against Golubski. He repeated that denial last Wednesday, noting that he didn’t he didn’t join department management until 2015 — five years after Golubski retired.
Garner instead pointed at Alvey, asking why he didn’t reveal the investigation, which began on his mayoral watch in 2019.
Alvey said the Unified Government’s legal counsel advised officials to not speak publicly about the investigation.
“’You simply cannot enter into that conversation,’” Alvey said recalling what he was advised. “So, we did not.”
Garner said he wants a police department that is diverse and reflects the community it serves. More than 73% of its officers are white, according to the department’s 2020 report. About 12% are Black and 13% Hispanic. In Wyandotte County, 40% of the population is white, 30% is Hispanic and 23% is Black, according to census data.
Garner is trying to become the second straight challenger to unseat an incumbent after just one term — something Alvey did when he defeated Mark Holland in 2017.
Who are they?
Alvey, 61, was a Rockhurst High School administrator for almost 20 years. He also served two terms on the Board of Public Utilities. He is a fifth-generation Wyandotte County resident.
Garner, 52, is a 32-year veteran of the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department, joining as a cadet after graduating high school. He’s also served on the Kansas City, Kansas Community College Board and the Kansas City, Kansas Housing Authority Board.
Safe & Welcoming Wyandotte County
For the past few years, a broad coalition has advocated for passage of the Safe & Welcoming ordinance.
It has two provisions. One would create a municipal ID for the 30,000 residents of Wyandotte County who don’t have a photo identification, including homeless people, foster children and undocumented immigrants. It would enable them to get library cards, open bank accounts and enroll children in school.
Alvey said he supports a municipal ID, which is used in cities such as Detroit, Little Rock, Arkansas, and Philadelphia.
A second, more controversial provision would bar local authorities from helping Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Alvey opposes it.
He said the restriction isn’t necessary because while the police department cooperates with ICE and other federal agencies on various legal matters, it does not enforce immigration laws. He also said declining to work with ICE would violate federal law.
“The consultation our legal team has had, even outside of Kansas City, Kansas, is that there are federal laws that prohibit you from saying you will not cooperate with federal authorities,” Alvey said.
Garner said he supports both provisions of the Safe & Welcoming ordinance. But he wants a panel of stakeholders — lawyers, federal agencies and community representatives — to review the legality of the ICE provision.
“I’d like involve our federal partners to make sure there aren’t any conflicts or things that are going to be problematic to what the ordinance is proposing to do,” Garner said.
Taxes and the BPU
High taxes and utility charges have been a major issue. Garner said he wants an independent audit of the BPU and Unified Government to identify potential savings for taxpayers.
He pointed to the Unified Government’s 2017 budget of $347 million, compared to the proposed 2022 spending plan of $420 million.
“People are asking where is the money going and why do we have excesses when we know that we have needs,” Garner said.
For the BPU, Garner said that he would like to see payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) reduced by 2%. He said he’s spoken to economists who say the Unified Government’s budget can absorb the cost reductions to residential rate payers.
“I want to see how we can get with these smart economists and find out how we can bring some tax relief and some BPU relief to the people of Wyandotte County,” Garner said. “We are literally taxing people in Wyandotte County to death.”
Alvey counters that the increase in the proposed budget reflects payments from the American Rescue Plan to help with pandemic relief. Kansas City, Kansas received $55.4 million and Wyandotte County received $32.1 million over two years.
He said the BPU charges a lot less than other area utilities. He contends that BPU customers pay 13 cents per kilowatt hour while Evergy customers in Leawood, Kansas are paying around 16 cents per kilowatt hour.
Alvey has said any reduction in PILOT would harm the UG’s ability to provide services to residents. Even a 1% cut, he said, would drop 3.4 million from the budget.
Northeast development
Residents of northeast Wyandotte County frequently say they have been passed over as other parts of the county have seen economic growth.
Alvey said that in the last five years, 21% of the funds in the Capital Maintenance and Improvement Plan have gone to the Northeast. He pointed to plans to build a public crossing over the Rock Island bridge.
He also said apartments on the Kansas side of the bridge are going to be developed. The Merc grocery store was opened in his first term, Alvey pointed out, fulfilling a priority for downtown Kansas City, Kansas.
Alvey pointed to businesses along Central Avenue, many of them Latino-run, that were fully self-financed. Alvey’s plan is to bring more housing to the Northeast so that those small businesses could be sustained.
Garner, however, was critical of the Northeast’s treatment under Alvey, saying that residents don’t have to walk very far from Memorial Hall to see that the area has been ignored, disenfranchised and disinvested.
“The money has not flowed equitably East of 635 over the years,” Garner said.
This story was originally published October 29, 2021 at 3:47 PM.
