With leaders like these, who’s shocked Jackson County lost the Chiefs? | Opinion
Jackson County is at a crossroads, and it isn’t just about stadiums. It’s about whether Kansas City and Jackson County can project stability and confidence at a moment when long-term decisions are being made about the future. Right now, they cannot — and the Chiefs, the Royals, industry leaders and county residents are paying attention.
The conversation about the teams moving to Kansas is often framed as a bidding war over taxes and incentives, Missouri versus Kansas. That framing misses a more uncomfortable reality: Instability in city and county leadership is pushing our teams away. Professional sports franchises don’t just want public funding — they want stability. They want governments that meet deadlines, control crime, follow state law, manage large projects competently and resolve conflicts without constant public dysfunction. Jackson County and Kansas City are not signaling that stability today.
When County Executive Phil Levota took office, he promised to fix the property tax crisis after the recall of the former executive. Despite limited government experience, his appointment was justified on one premise: He would clean up the mess. Instead, more than 115,000 Jackson County residents still haven’t received tax bills. Levota has publicly acknowledged the delays, leaving homeowners and small businesses guessing what they owe. That is not a minor administrative error — it is a fundamental failure of leadership, visible to everyone watching, including the Chiefs and Royals. If a county cannot issue timely tax bills, it’s hard to see why a franchise would trust it as a long-term partner.
At the same time, Kansas City shows signs of the hollowing out seen in too many American downtowns. Property crime continues to affect small businesses while city leadership downplays what residents experience daily. All-terrain vehicle riders and street racing disrupt neighborhoods and commercial corridors with little accountability. These are not abstract quality-of-life concerns. They signal whether a city can enforce its own rules, and people factor that into decisions.
Those decisions are already being made. This past week, Lockton — the nation’s largest privately held insurance brokerage — announced it is moving its Country Club Plaza-area headquarters to Kansas. The largest building on the Plaza did not move in isolation. It reflects a broader trend: Capital, talent and corporate confidence are flowing toward environments that appear more stable and serious about governing. All indicators point in the same direction, and that direction is sadly Kansas.
Meanwhile, Jackson County struggles with basic functions. State mandated assessment duties remain unmet. The assessor’s office is still vacant. Some $72 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds allocated in 2020 remain undistributed. Public infighting and legal brinkmanship are routine, eroding credibility with residents and partners alike.
This is not the fault of the 700,000 residents who make Jackson County great. Responsibility lies with politicians who collect salaries, large office budgets and car stipends, then spend more time arguing than governing. Residents deserve transparency — especially after decades of taxes tied to the Truman Sports Complex. If leaders want to ask for more, they must earn it. Right now, residents see a system that puts billionaires first and residents last.
Younger residents like myself are watching companies leave, downtown struggle and leadership fail to project competence when it matters most. We’re told to celebrate one-time spectacles while the foundations of our community erode. Who cares about the World Cup if we can’t take care of neighborhoods or keep our teams?
The Chiefs and Royals aren’t deciding for the next election cycle. They have chosen where to anchor themselves for the next 40 or 50 years. Right now, Jackson County is not projecting stability. We’re on track to become the county that lost its teams — not because Kansas offered more money, but because Jackson County offered less stability.
That’s why I’m running for the 1st District At-Large seat on the Jackson County Legislature. The current occupant has held this seat for nearly a decade while property tax increases piled up and dysfunction became normalized. What pushed me to step up wasn’t one incident, but a pattern: late budgets, millions in unspent federal relief funds, legislators out on bond and the recall of a county executive — all under the same leadership now asking the public to trust them with billion-dollar negotiations. This moment demands accountability and competence, not excuses.
Justice Horn is a candidate for Jackson County Legislature 1st District At-Large.