Local News

Next Tuesday (April 5th) will be the general election for Independence City offices.  The position of Mayor and two at-large Council members will be selected by voters to fill four-year terms.  Two incumbents will face off against two challengers for the at-large positions.  The Mayor’s race will have to names on the ballot, current Mayor Eileen Weir and State Representative Rory Rowland.  Weir suspended her campaign in February and has not actively campaigned for re-election since that time.  Current city councilman Mike Steinmeyer has filed with the Jackson County Election Board as a write-in candidate for Mayor.

Two petitions were certified as to form this week by the Independence City Clerks’ office.  A recall petition against 1st district councilman John Perkins was submitted as was a petition opposing the change in the comprehensive plan which will be required in order for the Northpoint Development project to move forward in the Little Blue Valley.  Both petitions now have 30 days to gather the required number of signatures in order to get on a November ballot.

The Independence City Council is set to meet on Monday, April 4th.  The complete agenda can be found here.

From the Statehouse

The effort to finalize and approve congressional redistricting maps hit a road bump this week.  After two months of debate, the Missouri Senate approved a map which was sent to the House but the map was voted down 131-17.  The House requested a conference with the Senate to work out differences between the maps approved by both bodies.  Members of the Senate Conservative Caucus along with Senate Democrats have indicated that returning to the map would result in more gridlock.