Wyandotte County needs you to stay in the room, Mayor Garner. It’s how leadership works

When the going gets tough, Kansas City, Kansas, Mayor Tyrone Garner pulls rank, takes his ball and goes home.

Garner, a first-time politician, has been on the job less than five months. A learning curve was expected.

But the newly elected leader of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County needs a lesson in cooperation. A familiar pattern is emerging: Garner has an issue with transparency and playing nice with the Wyandotte County Commission.

On Tuesday, the mayor’s go-at-it-alone style was on display yet again. He angrily stood up and walked out out of a special meeting when multiple county commissioners inquired about a nationwide search for a full-time county administrator, The Star reported.

The mic drop moment was preceded by a reminder from Garner that he and he alone gets to appoint the county administrator. And there’s not a darn thing the other 10 members of the Wyandotte County Board of Commissioners can do about it.

We would ask Garner to explain why he is reluctant to open up the search to other candidates, but attempts to reach him for comment were unsuccessful.

“I’ll give him your number and let him know you called,” a spokesperson for Garner said early Wednesday. The call never came.

Garner is set on keeping interim County Administrator Cheryl Harrison-Lee in the position, a right given to him by the county charter. He has pushed back on any attempts to expedite the hiring process, or allow for public input on what taxpayers seek in a permanent administrator.

Twice in the past month he resisted calls from the county commission to authorize a comprehensive search to replace former County Administrator Doug Bach, who retired.

Harrison-Lee has been on the job on an interim basis for only four months, Garner told the commission on Tuesday. Time is needed to assess her ability, he said.

We’re not opposed to Harrison-Lee’s appointment to the position. She is well-qualified to run the county: Her selection to the interim post was approved unanimously by the county commission.

It’s the consulting contract with Kansas City, Missouri, that’s worth paying attention to, though. Could a conflict arise? Wyandotte County commissioners have legitimate concerns about Harrsion-Lee’s ability to do both jobs.

In Garner, voters elected a political outsider — something he reiterated to the commission. “I’m not here to play politics, and I won’t,” he said before shutting down Tuesday’s meeting.

Wyandotte County residents deserve answers to tough but fair and reasonable questions. Garner needs to show them he’ll remain visible.

He once pulled the plug on a warming center for the homeless and walked out of meetings with advocates for houseless individuals. When talks heated up about keeping people warm, Garner disappeared.

His questionable purchase of a $85,000 Yukon Denali was rightfully scrutinized. After receiving backlash, he returned the luxury SUV and settled for something less flashy.

In March, we wrote that Garner had failed to fulfill a campaign promise to travel to Washington, D.C., to ask the U.S. Department of Justice to look into police corruption in Wyandotte County. We’re still waiting on him to book that flight.

Garner’s combustible style could prove detrimental to his political future. It takes collaboration to make a county government flourish. What occurred this week when the topic turned to charting the future of Wyandotte County is another example of a rookie politician trying to find his footing. It calls to mind some of the major contributing factors to Donald Trump’s shambolic White House failures: his I’m-always-right defiance and utter unwillingness to learn the fundamental norms of political leadership.

Garner is the first Black mayor of Kansas City, Kansas. Harrison-Lee is the first Black county administrator. These historic facts should not be ignored.

Voters in Wyandotte County elected a mayor to represent them, not one who ignores the will of the commissioners who are also elected to speak for the people.

This story was originally published May 4, 2022 at 5:06 PM.