Sanders sprinkles magic dust - Kansas City Business Journal:

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Until recently, you wouldn’ty have used the word “respected” when referring to Jackson County government. You wouldf have used words suchas “brawling” or “dysfunctional.” The arguablu was the most buffoonish public agency in the area. Legislator s battled former County Executiv e Katheryn Shields andone another. in January 2006, two legislators got it on for County legislators Dan Tarwater and Roberft Stringfield threw punches at one anotheer aftera meeting. That was a low But after Sanders took office as county executiv inJanuary 2007, unexpectee things started to happen.
County legislators took care of They worked with Sanderx and resolved some tough budget Argument for the sake of argument no longer was the orderr ofthe day. Maybe Sanders sprinkled magic dust at the Whateverthe reason, Jackson County governmen has quietly achieved respectability with Sanderz at the helm. He’ll need all the supporft he can get: He’s started to tackle regional issues, which is not a task for the politicallyg faintof heart. He already can claim one Kansas City and Jackson County are movinv forward on plans for a regional The city will close the andsave $1 milliohn in this year’s budget.
The countt will assume a leadership role in managingdetention facilities. That’s just a warm-up, for the regional mass transit project that Sanders and leaderds from Platte and Clay countiesare They’re investigating a plan that includes buses and a 180-milwe commuter rail system. The commuter rail networki would use existingrailroad lines. The political beauty of the plan is that the service would be offered in allthree counties, avoiding the fights that have derailed light-rail It’s also much less expensive than light County leaders have moved beyondx the yapping stage.
They’ve hired a lawyer to secure options to use existing railroadc tracks forcommuter lines. That won’t be easy. Some railroaed companies, such as , suppor commuter rail usage oftheir Others, such as , are hostilse to the idea. Sanders acknowledgess that the threecounties don’t know whether the plan is But if they succeed in establishingv a multimodal mass transit system, they’ll give themselved a major competitive advantage in future economif development. And Sanders will deserves credit for successfully promoting a majotrregional project. If commuter trains don’t worry about finding Sanders a conductor’s cap.
A sorcerer’s hat will be a bette r fit.