Mayor Barnes Has Damaged Her Legacy

By Mark Forsythe The Kansas City Post Leadership is a an elusive quality. Some are born with it. Some struggle to learn, but master its nuances. Others never attain it. The one common thread about the quality of leadership is how quickly it can be lost. I understand that the Mayor is very passionate about the downtown revival that her administration has overseen. If it works, if all the numbers add up, history may give her a place alongside H. Roe Bartle and Ilus Davis as one of the more noteworthy leaders of our city. If it doesn't work, if the Power & Light District fails to meet expectations, if the Sprint Center is plagued by vacant dates and unforeseen design problems, Kay's legacy may be that of the Pied Piper who led us all to our financial downfall. It's no secret that Mayor Kay Barnes has an intense dislike of Mark Funkhouser. She has clashed with him both publicly and not so privately over his audit recommendations for years. It's not uncommon for people to disagree. In fact, it's one of the strengths of a democracy in my opinion. It's the way people handle those disagreements that distinguish the leaders from the rest of the pack. In the last few weeks the mayor has shown herself to be vindictive, temperamental and at times outright hostile. Her latest As I See It column in The Kansas City Star is the final lashing out that leaves me perplexed. She takes issue with Mark Funkhouser's "Pigs at the trough" television commercial. She criticizes the ad for "not naming names" yet returns the favor by "not naming names" in her editorial. She uses vague pronouncements to imply anyone disagreeing with her views is anti-Kansas City. The local equivalent of the "if you don't agree with us the terrorists have won" tactic. The mayor could have been gracious in her support of Alvin Brooks. She could have expressed concern about the intentions and ideas of Mark Funkhouser, yet done so in a dignified manner. She could have endorsed Alvin Brooks, yet pledged to do everything in her power to help whomever the voters select transition into the office and remain an advocate for the projects which she cares so deeply for. She could have risen above all the petty sniping that happens in any campaign. Setting an example of grace under pressure, she might have held far more sway with those she wants to influence. Instead, Kay Barnes has chosen to hold not so secret meetings with wealthy and powerful individuals, not so much to rally support for Alvin Brooks, but to generate angst towards Mark Funkhouser and his supporters. She has held press conferences in which she has shown a side of her personality that few have seen. She has lashed out in print, insulting our intelligence by deigning to "take great offense" "on behalf of the citizens of Kansas City." I need no such spokesperson Madame Mayor. I know whom the "pigs at the trough" are. I'm not one of those pigs. The good people whom I've met going door to door aren't those pigs. I choose to remove myself from the group which you so pretentiously defend. In this case, I have to say Madame Mayor, speak for yourself.