Why did Parson pick his latest KC police board nominee? Her resume doesn’t check out

The Missouri Senate must reach a full understanding of the resume of newly-appointed Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners member Dawn Cramer before it considers her nomination to the post.

That became clear Tuesday after KCUR published a report that claims Cramer made misleading statements about her charity work and educational background in August, when Gov. Mike Parson named her to the job.

Cramer’s biography, posted on her company’s website, once claimed she had finished “the highest-level Ph.D. program through Klemmer University.” In fact, Klemmer is not a university. It offers career “coaching” and various seminars. It does not offer accredited Ph.D. degrees, and Cramer does not have one.

There is also a dispute over Cramer’s service to two area charities. In the news release announcing her appointment, the governor’s office claimed she once served on the boards of the Heartland Foundation and the “Good Shepard Center.” KCUR said IRS documents did not show her name.

Cramer told KCUR she did serve on the Heartland Foundation board. A former Northland Shepherd’s Center board member told The Star via email Wednesday that Cramer also served on that organization’s board. Cramer did not respond to an emailed request for comment Tuesday.

These discrepancies aren’t necessarily fatal to her service on the police board, but they need a full examination by state senators tasked with considering the pick.

The Missouri Senate can’t consider Cramer’s nomination during the veto session, which starts Wednesday. If Parson calls a special session — which several lawmakers have requested — the Cramer pick could come up for a vote, or might have to be withdrawn.

The Senate simply should not vote on the nomination until it knows what happened here.

We’d like Parson to step forward with an explanation, too. Did Cramer apply for the police board job, or was her name put forward by someone else? If so, who suggested her and why?

These are important questions. The day Parson nominated Cramer, Mayor Quinton Lucas reacted with some dismay.

“Earlier this year, I recommended to the governor’s office a bipartisan set of candidates with long experience in Kansas City’s civic community for consideration for appointment to this important position,” he said in a news release.

“As is his right, he elected not to choose from that group,” Lucas continued. “I do not know Ms. Cramer, but look forward to meeting her and working with her.”

This is yet another example of the absurd governance structure for the Kansas City Police Department. The governor, who lives 130 miles away, picks someone the mayor does not know to help run a department that is now in court, claiming the right to spend $225 million in taxpayer funds without any city oversight.

If the Missouri Senate is able to wait until next year to consider Parson’s choice, it should use the time to examine Ms. Cramer’s record — but also the circumstances of her nomination. This is no time to whitewash the pick, or sweep inconvenient facts under the rug.

Gov. Parson has never had Kansas City’s interests in mind; in fact, on more than one occasion, he has actively worked against the city. The state must know if Cramer’s nomination is part of that disturbing pattern.

Then the Missouri Senate — including state Sens. John Rizzo, Lauren Arthur, Barbara Anne Washington and Greg Razer — must get to the bottom of this.

This story was originally published September 14, 2021 at 1:33 PM.