How candidates to be KCK’s next mayor want to grow downtown business, development
Most candidates seeking Kansas City, Kansas’s, top political role know that residents want to see life brought back into their once-flourishing downtown and on the city’s east side. They also recognized it will take trust, community investment and strategic planning to get there.
Four of six candidates in the race for mayor/CEO of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and KCK shared their plans for addressing homelessness and economic disinvestment in the city’s downtown during a forum hosted by the Downtown Shareholders of KCK on Wednesday evening. Bill Hurrelbrink of KCTV5 moderated the event held in the city’s Memorial Hall.
KCK continues to see vacant store fronts down what was once an economic corridor, and the Merc Co-op grocery store that will close at the end of the year may likely join them.
Bringing business into Wyandotte County and introducing affordable housing are ways to improve residents’ qualities of life, lessen their property tax bills and prepare the area for the looming 2026 FIFA World Cup, which the city says it’s set on beautifying itself ahead of.
How to bring in economic drivers was among several questions that candidates fielded during the hour-long forum. They also discussed supporting public education, reducing crime, addressing residents’ property tax burdens and closing medical and mental health disparities.
Participating candidates included Rose Mulvany Henry, Gwendolyn S. Thomas, Christal Watson and Tom Burroughs. Candidates Janice Witt and Mark Gilstrap did not attend.
Early voting is underway as the Aug. 5 primary election, which will narrow the six-member pool of mayoral candidates, approaches in less than two weeks.
Voters participating in the primary will also cast ballots in four commission races, in a race among three candidates running for sheriff and a spot on the Board of Public Utilities’ board. The general election, which will decide these contests, as well as several area school board races, a few council seats in Edwardsville and more, will be held in November.
This is what each candidate had to say about economic growth and housing.
Mulvany Henry
To revitalize KCK’s downtown, Mulvany Henry, who has worked in telecommunications law for decades and has served on the Board of Public Utilities, said the Unified Government needs to better showcase its small businesses, put in mixed-use developments and offer incentives that would encourage businesses to move into vacant buildings and existing store fronts.
KCK can’t only expand its tax base with single family homes, Mulvany said, and experienced developers would be willing to lend a hand on how to diversify that portfolio.
One way to do this is by partnering with both private and public organizations, such as by meeting with developers that have extensive experience in fixing vacant areas and bringing in more accessible housing.
Mulvany Henry added it’s important that the government have affordable housing built in with other types of homes and businesses instead of sectioning them off. Another way to support people experiencing homelessness is by offering wraparound services by partnering with the University of Kansas’s medical center.
Thomas
Thomas, a longtime Unified Government employee that recently retired, suggested the Unified Government reach out to the owners of vacant buildings downtown to see whether they have plans for them or whether the government could partner with them to bring life back into those buildings.
Businesses coming into Wyandotte County don’t always know that the local government offers support, like programming and sometimes tax incentives, that they can tap into, Thomas said. Educating business owners on how the Unified Government can support them would be an important step in supporting downtown growth.
She said part of helping people experiencing homelessness is by looking at deficiencies in the area, partnering with local medical facilities to minimize health disparities and looking into bi-state partnerships. Thomas added that the board will have to review its affordable housing policies and evaluate how it can use the land bank to offer relief at a time when federal policies are affecting low-income families that rely on government assistance programs, like Medicaid and SNAP.
Watson
Watson, who works in the nonprofit sector to help support Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools, said the Unified Government needs to review its master plan for economic growth and that recent funding struggles have kept it from doing so.
Building local business starts with identifying what local businesses in the area need, whether that’s capital or not, and figuring out how the Unified Government can meet those needs, Watson said.
She, like Thomas and Mulvany Henry, said the government needs to partner with medical facilities to address public health issues and partner with experienced contractors to find and build housing in the area.
Watson also proposed holding regular, quarterly town hall meetings across KCK’s neighborhoods to understand what businesses and residents need from the Unified Government. She said she plans to work closely with government staff as a support system and advocate as they help her find solutions to economic challenges.
Burroughs
Burroughs, a former state representative and longtime commissioner on the Unified Government’s board, said, like Mulvany Henry, that the government needs to create small business incentives and mixed-use properties that would attract businesses downtown. He said he thinks residents deserve safer affordable housing and for the government to reinvest in existing infrastructure.
Part of having new, safer affordable housing is breaking down unsafe, unhealthy residences that have fallen into disrepair.
Burroughs said additional mental health programming is essential for people experiencing trauma, poverty and homelessness, and getting financial support from local organizations, like faith-based communities and medical facilities, as well as federal and state grants, can help supplement that programming.
He said he, if elected, would bring in a small business liaison to assist local businesses and offer support on behalf of the Unified Government.
