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IF YOU'RE WONDERING WHAT THE ELECTION WILL BRING, MAYBE YOU'LL FIND YOUR ANSWERS IN THE
STARS. THE KANSAS CITY STAR'S POLL ON MAJOR ELECTIONS, THE RESULTS
SHOW MITT ROMNEY WINNING MISSOURI, DESPITE THE PAPER'S ENDORSEMENT OF PRESIDENT OBAMA,
AND CLAIRE MCCASKILL EDGING OUT TODD AKIN IN THE RACE FOR THE SENATE.
GOVERNOR JAY NIXON SEEMS HEADED FOR REELECTION AS DO LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR PETER KINDER AND
ATTORNEY GENERAL CHRIS KOSTER. AGAIN, THESE ARE POLL RESULTS, NOT OUR PREDICTIONS.
THE MISSOURI BALLOT HAS MORE THAN CANDIDATES. IT ALSO CONTAINS ISSUES AND ONE
OF PARTICULAR INTEREST TO KANSAS CITY. IT'S PROPOSITION A THAT IF
APPROVED WOULD GIVE ST. LOUIS CONTROL OF ITS POLICE DEPARTMENT.
SO HOW DOES THAT ST. LOUIS ISSUE HAVE AN INTERESTING AFFECT ON KANSAS CITY AND THE FUTURE
OPERATIONS OF ITS POLICE DEPARTMENT, ***? WELL, OUR TWO POLICE
DEPARTMENTS, FOR COMPLETELY DIFFERENT HISTORICAL REASONS, WOUND UP BEING GOVERNED BY
BOARDS SELECTED BY THE GOVERNOR, SUBJECT TO THE ADVICE AND CONSENT OF THE STATE SENATE.
THE ONLY MAJOR CITIES IN AMERICA THAT ARE GOVERNED IN THIS FASHION.
THE MAYOR OF ST. LOUIS PUT IT ON THE BALLOT AND AN OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF ST. LOUISIANS SAID
WE WANT IT AWAY FROM STATE. I WAS PART OF THE LOBBYING GROUP THAT HELPED GET THIS ON THE
BALLOT. THE STATE OF MISSOURI IS GOING TO VOTE ON WHETHER ST. LOUIS
GETS TO RUN ITS OWN POLICE DEPARTMENT LOCALLY. IF THAT PASSES, IT LOOKS LIKE IT
WILL LEAVE KANSAS CITY AS THE ONLY CITY IN AMERICA THAT DOESN'T GET TO DO THAT, AND OF
COURSE, THAT WILL LEAD TO SOME EFFORT TO CHANGE THAT AND BE SELF-GOVERNED.
ACETONEY'S KANSAS CITY NOTED, HOWEVER, THERE IS NOT THE SAME UNITY AMONG INTEREST GROUPS IN
KANSAS CITY THAT THEIR LARGELY WAS IN ST. LOUIS OTHER THAN THE POLICE UNION, PRETTY MUCH
EVERYONE IN ST. LOUIS WAS ON BOARD WITH US. THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY THE CASE
IN KANSAS CITY, SO IT'S GOING TO BE AN INTERESTING PROCESS TO SEE WHETHER KANSAS CITY GETS TO THAT
POINT. IN FACT TONY'S KANSAS CITY SAID THERE ARE DIFFERENT
INTERESTS IN THE URBAN CORE, DIVIDING SUPPORT OVER THIS QUESTION OF LOCAL POLICE CONTROL
BY THE CITY. ARE YOU AWARE OF THOSE SPLITS, GWEN?
WELL, I'M AWARE OF THE KANSAS CITY JOBS WITH JUSTICE. I THINK THERE IS A MISSOURI JOBS
WITH JUSTICE ORGANIZATION THAT HAS ACTUALLY INITIALLY SUPPORTED THE ST. LOUIS -- THE PROPOSITION
AND WAS BEING AN ADVOCATE FOR KANSAS CITY, AS WELL. AND SO I THINK THERE HAS BEEN A
CHANGING OF THEIR POSITION ON THAT, AND FROM WHAT I COULD GATHER, BASED ON THEIR FEELING
THAT THE -- THERE WILL BE A LACK OF TRANSPARENCY WITH RESPECT TO MISCONDUCT AMONG POLICE OFFICERS
OR SOMETHING, AND I DON'T KNOW. I DON'T SHARE THAT OPINION. I AM STILL FOR LOCAL CONTROL OF
THE KANSAS CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT, AND I'M HOPING THAT MAYOR JAMES WILL REALLY EXERCISE
SOME STRONG LEADERSHIP IN THIS ENDEAVOR. WE DON'T HAVE TO HAVE A
STATEWIDE VOTE FOR KANSAS CITY TO GET CONTROL, DO WE? CAN'T THAT BE DONE BY THE
LEGISLATURE, AN ACT BY THE LEGISLATURE? RIGHT.
TO ME, THAT IS THE BEST THING POSSIBLE, IS TO GO TO LEGISLATURE NEXT YEAR AFTER ST.
LOUIS GETS ITS LOCAL CONTROL, AND SAY OKAY, IT'S TIME TO MAKE THE SWITCH IN KANSAS CITY, AND
LET'S DO IT AND THE LEGISLATURE APPROVES IT. NOW, I'VE WRITTEN FOR YEARS THAT
THERE ARE PROBLEMS WITH THIS FROM SOME OF THE PEOPLE THAT LIKE TO PULL THE STRINGS TO GET
THEIR BUDDY ELECTED OR PUT ON BY THE GOVERNOR TO THE POLICE BOARD.
YOU ALSO HAVE SOME OF THE LOCAL CORPORATIONS AND NOT JUST THE URBAN CORE, THERE ARE SOME HEAVY
HITTERS IN KANSAS CITY WHO ARE AGAINST IT. I DON'T CARE.
IT'S TIME FOR THIS CHANGE, PEOPLE. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?
WE NEED TO HAVE LOCAL CONTROL OF THIS DEPARTMENT. IT OUGHT TO BE A DONE DEAL.
IF THE ISSUES ARE REAL, THEY CAN BE HANDLED LOCALLY. AND I THINK THE STAR'S POLL
SUGGESTS IT WILL PASS. LET'S GO ON NOW. WE WANT TO GET THESE OTHERS IN.
PROBLEM B, STATE TAX INCREASE ON CIGARETTES, 63 CENTS PER PACK. YEAH.
THE MONEY WOULD BE USED IN PART TO FUND EDUCATION. THE RUSSIANS ARE STARTING TO
BECOME INTERESTED IN TAXING CIGARETTES, YOU KNOW, AND THE REST OF THE UNITED STATES --.
WELL, THAT MAKES IT A GOOD IDEA. IT INDICATES SOME GLOBAL
INTEREST AND SANITY, ***. WE HAVE THE LOWEST TAX IN THE UNITED STATES ON CIGARETTES.
IT'S PREPOSTEROUS, REALLY IMMORAL IN A SENSE, BECAUSE THESE TAXES ON EVERYBODY ELSE,
ON PROPERTY AND SALES AND SO ON. THANK YOU REVEREND.
NO, I WILL GIVE MY OPINION, ***, AND I HOPE YOU RESPECT IT ON THIS ISSUE, BECAUSE GUESS
WHAT? THE FUNDS FROM THIS TAX WILL GO INTO EDUCATION, AND IT IS
SPECIFIED. READ IT ON THE BALLOT ISSUE. HAVE WE HEARD THAT BEFORE?
CASINOS. OKAY. THAT'S THE WHOLE BASIS OF THE
CAMPAIGN AGAINST IT, IS WE'VE HEARD THIS BEFORE AND IT DIDN'T HAPPEN.
THEY'RE WRONG. PROBLEM E SAYS NEITHER THE GOVERNOR NOR ANY STATE AGENCY
CAN ESTABLISH A STATE-BASED HEALTH INSURANCE EXCHANGE WITHOUT A VOTE OF THE
LEGISLATURE OR THE PEOPLE. THIS IS IN REFERENCE TO OBAMA CARE.
YES, COME ON. IT'S RIDICULOUS. IT'S JUST THIS FAR RIGHT WING
EFFORTS TO ATTACK OBAMA CARE, WHICH IS RIDICULOUS. UNFORTUNATELY, THOUGH, IT'S JUST
LIKE MISSOURI, WE'VE GONE SO CRIMSON SO FAR TO THE RIGHT AND TO THE RED THAT IT'S GOING TO
PASS. SO IF THIS HEALTH INSURANCE EXCHANGE IS PART OF OBAMA CARE,
CAN'T BE SET UP BY THE STATE, I THINK THE LAW SAYS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WILL SET IT UP.
EXACTLY. YES, IT WILL. BY A VOTE OF THE LEGISLATURE
OR A VOTE OF THE PEOPLE. EXACTLY. SO THAT THE GOVERNOR, WHO IS
A DEMOCRAT, DOESN'T GET TO DO IT ON HIS OWN. HE'S GOT TO GO TO THE
LEGISLATURE. BUT THE POINT IS, I THINK, IN ANY CASE, REGARDLESS OF THE
OUTCOME OF THIS ELECTION ON TUESDAY, IF OBAMA-CARE CONTINUES TO EXIST AND IS NOT REPEALED AND
REPLACED BY PRESIDENT ELECT ROMNEY, THEN WE'LL HAVE THESE HEALTH INSURANCE EXCHANGES IN
MISSOURI RUN BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, RIGHT? YES, OF COURSE.