The Kansas City Star’s endorsement in the WyCo District 1 race | Opinion
Jermaine “Jae” Howard is a political newcomer — his bid to become the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas District 1 commissioner is the first time he’s sought public office.
Meanwhile, his opponent in the Nov. 4 general election, Lisa Walker-Yeager, is vying not only for a spot on the Board of Commissioners but is also a candidate for the at-large District 1 seat on the Board of Public Utilities, the county-owned public utilities agency.
In District 1, rising property taxes and utility bills must be addressed. Other important priorities relate to affordable housing, accountability and transparency from elected officials and county leaders, and restoring trust to help mend a fractured relationship with the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department.
Other hot-button issues cannot be ignored, such as sustainability of resources, beautification of neighborhoods and finding new and creative ways to generate revenue and fostering economic development opportunities in an often-forgotten part of the metropolitan area.
We feel the strengths in these two candidates are hardly separable — Howard’s economic empowerment platform on the campaign trail stood out, as did Walker-Yeager’s focus on restoring trust in public safety, as well as accountability and transparency within local government.
But in this race for District 1 commissioner, we recommend Howard.
Lisa Walker-Yeager
Walker-Yeager is a seemingly popular candidate. In the August primary election for the Unified Government District 1 in August, she and Howard were the top two vote getters. She also topped all vote-getters in the BPU at-large District 1 race.
But could legal trouble lead to Walker-Yeager’s undoing in the general election? She is facing felony criminal charges related to the shooting of a contractor she hired. Wyandotte County prosecutors charged her with one count each of aggravated battery and unlawfully discharging a weapon in city limits for shooting contractor Noble Bey in the back.
In an earlier endorsement interview, Walker-Yeager claimed she shot Bey to protect her daughter.
“I was acting in self-defense of others,” Walker-Yeager said. “I was saving my child’s life.”
However, Wyandotte County District Court Judge Michael Russell recently rejected Walker-Yeager’s claims of self-defense. She’ll be arraigned Nov. 13.
It’s fair to question if Walker-Yeager could effectively govern while facing ongoing criminal proceedings that would not conclude until after the election. In Kansas, people convicted of a felony cannot hold public office, according to state statutes.
While Walker-Yeager maintains her innocence and is owed due process, there are too many unknown variables with the criminal case against her. Because of this important matter of fact, we cannot endorse her candidacy at this time.
Jermaine Howard
Howard owns a delivery service company in KCK called D&B Limited LLC. He is also founder of A Loving Space Foundation, a nonprofit youth mentoring program. A lifelong resident of District 1, Howard graduated from F.L. Schlagle High School in 2005.
During the endorsement process, Howard said he wanted to focus on supporting small, local businesses, address affordable housing and create different creative strategies to improve the tax base in a district that’s primed for reinvestment.
Howard said he would like to see more programs and events to engage young county residents, and he also spoke of environmental initiatives that focus on pollution, harmful chemicals and green sustainability.
One idea Howard mentioned is to provide more resources for small businesses to be successful, such as increasing foot traffic.
“How can we attract people to those unique shops?” he asked.
Although this is Howard’s first run for public office, major unions in KCK endorsed his primary candidacy — as did we.
In this race, we feel Jermaine Howard is the best candidate to represent District 1 as commissioner.