I have been a resident of Lee’s Summit for 32 years and my wife has lived in the community since she was 5 years old. My three children have been educated in our schools and my grandson is the fourth generation to attend Lee’s Summit schools. As a candidate for Mayor, I am sharing with you my position on the issues I feel are important for the future of Lee’s Summit.

LEADERSHIP
As mayor, I will strive to bring a non-confrontational approach and stability to the Mayor’s office. I’ve served on the City Council for the last 12 years; additionally I have served the last 2 years as Mayor Pro Tem. This has given me the opportunity to assume a leadership role to preside at Council meetings in the Mayor’s absence and fulfill other mayoral obligations. I am not an “in-your-face” type of leader, rather I believe in thorough fact-finding and thought process before making a decision. I would work with council members and city staff to facilitate consensus.

CITY SERVICES
The current economic stress that this country is experiencing is also impacting our city. I will use my 30 years of career work experience in engineering and project management to help maintain our City’s infrastructure and to manage tax money efficiently. Citizens rightfully expect that essential city services such as maintenance of water, streets, sewers, solid waste and public safety be met. Where feasible, consideration should be given to regional solutions where various communities can leverage their revenues to solve common issues.

THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE
The economic stress has also impacted economic development efforts for our community and intensified competition among communities for prospective projects. I will work with the Economic Development Council, Chamber of Commerce, regional and state entities to strengthen economic development efforts. More development of a large office campus and industry will result in more tax money available to the city and school district. The loss of Pfizer, Calmar and Adesa has left those properties and adjacent areas available for redevelopment. I would aggressively strive to facilitate the redevelopment of that area in conjunction with highway improvements.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH EDUCATION
I will facilitate on-going communication with school districts within Lee’s Summit. The education system is too vital to our community to not maintain open and meaningful dialogue with the superintendents and the mayor on various education/city issues.

OUR CITIZENS HAVE SPOKEN
A cross section of Lee’s Summit citizens recently completed the LS360 Strategic Plan. This plan represents a comprehensive analysis of our city and identifies various actions that should be taken. I have supported the process and the individuals involved and look forward to working with the LS360 Implementation Committee to implement the plan in a timely manner.

I AM READY
I will use my city council and career experience to manage your tax dollars in an effective manner. I recently retired as a Senior Project Manager from a large engineering firm where I managed projects subject to budget and schedule constraints. In addition, for the last two years I was Chair of the Bi-State Cultural Commission where I worked with representatives from Missouri and Kansas, Jackson County, Johnson County, Clay and Platte Counties, Kansas City, Independence, Overland Park and Olathe. I have regularly attended MARC meetings which gives me a regional outlook.