On June 20, Kansas City voters will elect a new City Council, which will get to work in August making important decisions about massive downtown development proposals, preparations for the 2026 World Cup, affordable housing and the city’s budget.

And with several of the more conservative City Council members ineligible for reelection, Mayor Quinton Lucas has speculated that the new council may be the most progressive in the city’s history.

When the new Kansas City Council is sworn in in August, at least half of the council will be filled with new members. 

This is also the first election since Kansas City Council approved a new district map following the 2020 census. Both the former district map and the new map can be found on the Kansas City Council website.

In advance of the election, The Beacon is publishing stories introducing the candidates and printing their responses to a three-part questionnaire. The questionnaire includes biographical questions, four lightning-round yes-or-no questions and five short-answer policy questions. Some responses have been lightly edited for length or clarity.

This story includes the candidates running for in-district races south of the Missouri River, in the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Districts. At-large candidates for these races can be found here, and Northland candidates from the 1st and 2nd Districts can be found here. (A portion of the 4th District is also north of the river.)

In the 3rd District, incumbent Melissa Robinson did not submit responses prior to publication. Incumbent 5th District Councilmember Ryana Parks-Shaw, who is running unopposed, also did not submit responses.

Click on a link to jump to a question:

• Meet the candidates
• Lightning-round questions
• How would you increase affordable housing in Kansas City?
• How should the city collaborate with a police department that cannot be held accountable to city regulation?
• What deciding factors would convince you to ask city taxpayers to subsidize a downtown stadium for the Royals?
• Is Kansas City taking the issue of missing Black women seriously enough? What can city government do to address this?
• If elected, what issues will you make your own?

Meet the candidates

3rd District

Incumbent Melissa Robinson is defending her seat from challenger Sheri Hall in the 3rd District. Robinson did not respond to several requests to participate in The Beacon’s questionnaire.

Sheri Hall

Hall is the CEO of Poetry for Personal Power, a nonprofit addressing mental health needs through the arts. 

Favorite Kansas City fountain: I love them all because water is how I decompress. However, my favorite is Freedom Fountain. I love the look and design, as well as the location.

4th District

Henry Rizzo is running to unseat incumbent Eric Bunch in the 4th District, after a failed attempt to recall Bunch in 2021 by a pro-police political action committee. The two finalists emerged from a three-candidate primary — which included Bunch’s former council aide.

Eric Bunch

Bunch is an incumbent City Council member and a co-founder of BikeWalkKC.

Favorite Kansas City fountain: This might be controversial, but my current favorite is Fountain by Leo Villareal that was recently installed in the new KCI terminal. Ask me again in two weeks and I will have a different answer!

Henry Rizzo

Rizzo is a former Missouri state representative and former chair of the Jackson County Legislature.

Favorite Kansas City fountain: The Children’s Fountain on North Oak always makes me smile. It evokes the joy of childhood innocence we would all benefit from remembering.

6th District

In this contested election, KC Tenants-backed Johnathan Duncan will face off against Dan Tarwater, a former Jackson County legislator endorsed by Freedom Inc. and the Fraternal Order of Police. The winner will replace Kevin McManus, who cannot run again because of term limits.

Johnathan Duncan

Duncan is director of administrative operations at the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Headquarters. 

Favorite Kansas City fountain: The Ewing and Muriel Kauffman Memorial Garden fountain. RIP to the garden cat, Krazy. 

Dan Tarwater

Tarwater retired from the Jackson County Legislature after 28 years. He now works in the insurance industry. 

Favorite Kansas City fountain: The fountain in Mill Creek Park; my wife and I got engaged there 32 years ago.

Lightning round questions

Candidates were asked for a yes-or-no position in response to these four questions:

1. Should Kansas City be granted local control of its police department?
2. Should third-party “but-for” financial analysis be required to receive tax incentives in KC?
3. Should access to information for the news media be restricted by the city manager’s office? 
4. Do you believe that $1,200 per month for rent is affordable?

How would you increase affordable housing in Kansas City?

Hall (3rd District): I would first increase the budget that we have going towards small business. Many of our rehabilitation professionals and people who are looking to rehab homes and resell are small local businesses, startups and people looking for an extra stream of income. I would create a local program using some of the funding within the housing fund along with other funds to work with these small businesses to rehabilitate Kansas City Land Bank homes. I would also work to reform the permitting process for a person to develop new homes.

Bunch (4th District): We must work to exhaust all revenue sources to provide sustainable funding to the housing trust fund and clearly define the housing types and programs we need to support with it. We need to invest in and develop community development corporations, community land trusts and neighborhood trusts. KCMO should strategically utilize its land portfolio to develop mixed-income housing. This shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all approach, but we should at least begin developing municipally owned mixed-income housing in high-frequency transit corridors. This could involve a lease-leaseback development model. We must develop supportive and transitional housing for people who need extra help to get out of homelessness.

Rizzo (4th District): We need to work with local developers and social service agencies to create better incentives for developers to want to build more affordable housing. Our current system needs to be streamlined and made more responsive so projects don’t get bogged down in red tape.

Duncan (6th District): Housing is a human right and we need to treat it like one. Right now, developers often say it is “too expensive” to build truly affordable housing. As long as profit is a part of the equation, housing will never be truly affordable. That’s why I will support municipal social housing. Municipal social housing is housing that is democratically controlled, permanently affordable and off the private market. It can be achieved by investing in our housing trust fund to build things like cooperative housing, community land trusts and municipally owned housing.

Tarwater (6th District): I would do this by working with developers. We need them involved. When they build luxury places, they need to also build affordable units. I would also bring back the Building Bright Futures program. This would take some of the run-down properties and rehab them. We would work with the unions to provide skilled job training for residents so that they could rehab these blighted homes. You then move in a family with little rent until they are able to get back on their feet. If they pay the utilities, taxes and insurance for five years they keep the home. 

How should the city collaborate with a police department that cannot be held accountable to city regulation?

Hall (3rd District): The city needs to have a serious conversation regarding policing and what jobs the police should be doing, and what really should not be on their plates. With the current shortage of officers, we have an opportunity to figure out how to get the police force to collaborate with other agencies to dispatch the right type of worker for the call. Police officers are not therapists, social services, etc. Other professionals are equipped to de-escalate and handle many different types of situations.

Bunch (4th District): I am optimistic that under the new leadership there will be greater collaboration between City Hall and KCPD. I have seen progress in the few months that Chief (Stacey) Graves has been on the job. And despite the recent Missouri constitutional amendment dictating that Kansas City spend 25% of its general fund on KCPD, we still have the power of the budget. I will continue to challenge the state’s definition of “general revenue” used to determine the minimum budget allocation to KCPD.

Rizzo (4th District): Kansas City should have local control, and the City Council should work transparently and collaboratively with KCPD and the police board. I have confidence in the new chief. We need to give her the opportunity to implement changes in the department. I am fortunate to be endorsed by former Police Chief James Corwin and the Fraternal Order of Police.

Duncan (6th District): Accountability is key to any successful collaboration. As a City Council member, I will be accountable to the residents of Kansas City, the 6th District and my community; however, the KCPD isn’t required to be accountable to anyone in Kansas City. They aren’t required to live here, and they aren’t required to disclose how they spend $243 million of the city’s taxpayer dollars, which is above the state’s mandate. We must reallocate funds to programs that address the root causes of crime. Having local control would allow for real collaboration, and until we do so, we cannot effectively collaborate. 

Tarwater (6th District): By working together we all have a better outcome. We need the police so that we can all be safe. Without safe neighborhoods we do not have community. There should always be an open dialogue and I know that we would have that with the police department.

What deciding factors would convince you to ask city taxpayers to subsidize a downtown stadium for the Royals?

Hall (3rd District): I think the better question is why the stadium needs a subsidy. After that, what is in the community benefits agreement? And if given subsidies, what kind of teeth are those that will make them enforceable? We need more than some baseball clinics and donations to the Negro Leagues museum. We need money towards some of the housing, small-business and health care access efforts that help to make the city more liveable.

Bunch (4th District): First, we need an ironclad community benefit agreement that ensures the development of affordable housing in the proposed stadium district and that the workers in the new stadium and district are able to unionize. Second, any redirection or abatement of new taxes must be focused primarily on improving public infrastructure in and around the new stadium district. Third, the location of the stadium must be thoughtfully vetted to minimize disruption to neighborhood walkability and should be well-served by public transportation.

Rizzo (4th District): The current lease runs through 2030, which needs to be addressed. Only if it was put on the ballot and the people chose it.

Duncan (6th District): I don’t think taxpayers should subsidize a downtown stadium for the Royals. The people of Kansas City shouldn’t have to foot the bill for billionaires. Any development that receives taxpayer money should provide tangible benefits to our community. When I say tangible, I don’t mean a promise of future economic growth. I mean things like affordable housing, decent transportation systems and infrastructure. If the Royals want city funds for a stadium, they should contribute part of their revenues into things that benefit our communities and sign community benefits agreements to protect our workers and residents, especially residents surrounding the project.

Tarwater (6th District): This is a complex issue. Firstly, they can’t move until the Chiefs and Royals work together to separate the leases. They have a “most favored nations clause” that would need to go away. If it does go downtown, then it would need to go by the Power & Light District, since the city subsidizes this for about $20 million a year. If you build an entertainment district seven blocks away then you would kill Power & Light. The city should be involved, and once elected, I plan on working on this issue. It needs to make financial sense for the taxpayers of the region. 

Is Kansas City taking the issue of missing Black women seriously enough? What can city government do to address this?

Hall (3rd District): No. We need to create a task force, database and mechanism for the reporting of and search for missing persons — namely women. Kansas City has a history of women going missing. It’s time we make a stand with connected efforts between police, local agencies and grassroots citizens groups to protect our residents. I have experience partnering with other agencies to create programs for the benefit of the people we serve. I have also listened to the reports from citizens and worked in enough grassroots efforts to understand that collaboration is necessary to make a dent in this issue.

Bunch (4th District): We should be taking all reports of missing and exploited Black women very seriously. I have requested and received updates from KCPD on their ongoing investigation into all of these reports. We should continue to demand more of our investigators to exhaust every lead in every potential case.

Rizzo (4th District): The number one responsibility of local government is public safety, I support making sure first responders have the resources they need to fully investigate cases.

Duncan (6th District): No. To take something seriously means to address the problem and make changes. The bigger issue is that Kansas City isn’t taking care of our most vulnerable people. We have to listen to Black and brown communities and believe them when they talk about a problem, especially one as serious as this. We need to build communities that will keep our people safe. Safety looks like communities with their needs met, providing food, shelter and education. 

Tarwater (6th District): I am not sure on this question. I will look into what they are doing and see how this can be made better.

If elected, what issues will you make your own?

Hall (3rd District): Greater access to mental health care, with nonclinical wellness alternatives that will aid underserved, low-income and under-resourced populations. Mental health is a public safety issue (this includes exposure to trauma). With the number of people in the 3rd District who have had a family member murdered, been exposed to domestic violence and live in low-income conditions, we need to care for the mental health of our residents. The sad fact is that many people from underserved populations do not get regular health care for many reasons — mostly access. Access to care includes office hours, types of care offered, affordability and cultural competency. 

Bunch (4th District): I have already made big strides on the expansion of public transportation, increasing the investment in streets and sidewalks, construction of truly affordable housing and implementing meaningful climate policy. In my second term, I intend to focus on the progress on these four major issues and any efforts that help support these.

Rizzo (4th District): Oftentimes the Old Northeast, the Westside and the Northland are left out of funding opportunities because the City Council is chasing after the newest bright shiny object (bike lanes, for instance). I believe we need to make sure we are getting basic city services completed before we are tempted to follow what is trendy.

Duncan (6th District): We are experiencing an affordable housing crisis. To address this, I will work to invest in our housing trust fund and build housing that is permanently affordable and democratically controlled by the people who live there by taxing those who seek to profit from housing. I will fight to ensure development within our city is equitable, intentional and provides a tangible community benefit. I will co-govern with the people, meaning I will work with those who are most impacted by the problems within our city to craft policies that work for them.

Tarwater (6th District): Curbs, sidewalks and general infrastructure for the 6th District. Safety so that we all can feel secure in our city, in our neighborhoods and in our community. Would like to see the permitting department reformed so that we make it easier for people to do business in Kansas City. We want the tax base to help all our neighborhood needs.