The Kansas City Star endorses in WyCo BPU District 2 At-Large election | Opinion

The candidates running for the Unified Government’s Board of Public Utilities District 2 At-Large seat are both longtime public servants, and as such are well-versed in Wyandotte County politics.

Embattled incumbent David Haley, a Kansas state senator, faces an uphill battle for reelection. His campaign has been uprooted by serious allegations of health care insurance fraud that led to his removal as BPU president. Haley has denied wrongdoing. But he was unanimously stripped of his leadership role and censured by the BPU board for an ethics policy violation.

Haley’s opponent is former Kansas City, Kansas, Mayor David Alvey, who has previously served on the BPU board twice before. In some ways, Alvey represents the old guard in Wyandotte County political circles — his family is firmly entrenched in public service there. In our view, that is not necessarily a compliment nor is it disqualifying.

Alvey has — to the best of our knowledge — avoided the recent political traps that have befallen Haley.

And because of that grave mistake on Haley’s part, our recommendation in this race is for Alvey.

Haley’s ethics violation

Haley is the longest-serving member of the Kansas Senate. He has 30 years of service at the state level and has been a state senator since 2001. He’s been a BPU board at-large member since 2021.

There’s very little argument against Haley’s qualifications for office. But the violation of the BPU’s ethics policy is, for us, a red flag.

Haley is accused of using his office to get health insurance benefits since 2021 for his long-term partner — but he did so without first providing proof of a common-law marriage that would have allowed him to make such a declaration, a BPU ethics commission investigation found.

Haley allegedly wrote his partner’s name down as his spouse, a claim he doesn’t deny. But Haley told us he received verbal permission from two now-former BPU officials who denied they gave Haley the green light on the matter, according to the ethics investigation.

Haley questioned the timing of the investigation.

“Doesn’t the timing raise issues?” Haley asked. “Why didn’t we deal with this 3 1/2 years ago?”

He labeled the inquiry as an attempt to assassinate his character and vowed to fight to clear his name.

“This isn’t over,” Haley said. “Many people are circumspect of the timing. This was brought to the public a month-and-a-half before the election. It’s very disheartening. People are trying to discredit and defame my reputation to pull me down in the race.”

Former KCK Mayor David Alvey

Alvey is a fifth-generation resident of Wyandotte County. His family has strong ties there in public service as police officers, school board members, City Council members, judges and church leaders, to name just a few positions.

He said three previous stints in public office has helped him learn what most constituents want from elected officials in Wyandotte County.

“How do we provide the best services at the lowest cost?” Alvey asked.

When asked why he wants to serve another term on the BPU, Alvey replied: “Public service is built into my character. I enjoy public service and problem-solving and policy.”

If elected, Alvey said he wants to drive the narrative that BPU has to take care of its infrastructure. He added that his previous experience at the BPU and working on the national level as a member of the American Public Power Association separates him from his opponent.

As mayor in 2018, Alvey was appointed vice chair of the American Public Power Association’s policy maker committee, made up of 45 public officials on the governing bodies of public power communities nationwide.

That role was invaluable, Alvey said.

“No one on the BPU board is advocating on a national level,” he said.

According to Alvey, the BPU allocates $500,000 annually for economic development opportunities. He said he would like to see the fund utilized to bring in housing developers.

“That money could be used as an incentive to bring in new development,” he said. “That would also bring in a new tax base.”

We asked Alvey about Haley’s ethics probe. We wanted to know if he’d ever witnessed others’ longtime partners being listed as spouses on the BPU benefits package.

“No,” Alvey said. “I’ve never heard of that.”

He described Haley’s violation as a breach of trust with the public.

“Trust in elected leaders is at an all-time low,” he said. “Anytime we do something like this, it erodes trust. When you are in public office, you do it in an ethical and legal way.”

Because of Haley’s unfortunate — and in his words, untimely — ethics violation, we recommend Alvey for BPU District 2 At-Large.