Tuesday, Jul. 13, 2010
Civic involvement
John Beaudoin, Journal Publisher
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There is a mad dash for Sen. Matt Bartle’s 8th District seat.
And why not? It pays a whopping $35,914.80 per year. Oh, and on top of that, the state senator gets a generous $103.20 per diem for each day they are in Jefferson City.
Still, even with the paltry paycheck, state representatives Will Kraus (Lee’s Summit), Bryan Pratt (Blue Springs) and Gary Dusenberg (Blue Springs) desperately want that seat that Bartle is leaving behind. So much so, they will pay in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to get it.
Why are they so eager to fill that 8th District spot? Well, they are going to tell you on July 26.
That evening, the Journal is joining forces with the Lee’s Summit Chamber of Commerce and Blue Springs Chamber of Commerce to host a political forum at Delta Woods Middle School. The forum begins at 6 p.m. and promises to be action packed.
The idea to get Kraus, Pratt and Dusenberg together was borne months ago and brought to fruition quickly. And how could it not be? You get a couple of political geeks like Mark Dickey and me together and anything is likely to happen.
What’s been most interesting leading up the forum, however, has been the overwhelming interest of our readers in Lee’s Summit and Blue Springs.
Ask anyone who has put on a political forum before – getting the public to submit questions takes a (pardon the pun) act of Congress.
But since the publicity for the forum started nearly a month ago, through our newspapers and through the vast Chamber correspondence, we have received nearly 20 questions from 16 different citizens/voters. That is an impressive amount during any election season. And I think it demonstrates the passion and knowledge of our area voters in a race as important as this one.
Bartle was never shy to let his opinion be known in Jefferson City and back home when visiting with constituents.
One of these three – Kraus, Pratt and Dusenberg – will need to exhibit the same zeal toward public service and the voters and citizens in the 8th Senatorial District.
They will also have a mountain of issues awaiting them regarding the budget and fiscal health of our state. But before they do that, they have to worry about their own checking accounts, spend a few bucks and tell you on July 26 why they deserve your vote.
Please join us July 26 at Delta Woods Middle School. And if you have any questions to submit for consideration, please send them my way at the e-mail below.
John Beaudoin is publisher of the Blue Springs Journal. To respond to today’s commentary, call 816-282-7001 or e-mail jbeaudoin@lsjournal.com.
