Jul

27

Councilmember Weaver calls the arena racist

July 27, 2004 | 3 Comments

Councilmember Saundra McFadden-Weaver somehow managed to play the race card in announcing her opposition to the proposed Sprint Center arena. Weaver claimed that the rental car tax would fall disproportionately on African Americans and other minorities in the urban core, but had zero evidence to backup her attention-seeking claim. Fortunately saner heads are prevailing in the black community, with Jason Whitlock taking Weaver to task and The Call endorsing the arena vote.

she’s unqualified for political office and is doing her district more harm than good. She thinks she’s a savvy negotiator. She thinks if she creates a big enough stink by throwing around substance-less, racial Molotov Cocktails, she’ll get something in return.
-Jason Whitlock, KC Star

Categories: City Council, Politics


Comments

3 Comments so far

  1. Tony on July 28, 2004 8:41 pm

    Thing is, a lot of her constituency is black and making sure they get some of the rewards IF this arena thing is passed is a good move. Whitlock has consistently been shown to be out of his depth when writes about politics, other than guest spots on KPRS, he’s more supportive of the local bar scene than of the black community and no doubt he would be seeing some pretty nice perks from a new sports team and folks involved with the arena for his support (he’s no stranger to the catered press box) . . . taking a politician to task for playing politics seems pointless.

  2. JJ on July 29, 2004 5:57 am

    As a member of the African American community I can say that Saundra does not speak for most of us. Virtually all of our respected leaders in the black chamber, Freedom INC, etc. support the arena and it’s potential to transform Kansas City. Saundra did us a real disservice by making it look like our community wasn’t behind the arena. The city already has laws to ensure participation for minority and female contractors. As a city council member she should know that. Her stunt just proves that she is either ignorant or self-serving. Neither one reflects well on Saundra.

  3. Tony on July 30, 2004 2:04 am

    Clearly, your comments don’t represent the political wisdom of most black people in this town who would laugh when the words “respected” and Freedom Inc. are used in the same sentence. Additionally, there are also laws against drug use and I don’t see them doing much good. Weaver made a solid political move for the benefit of minority owned businesses and herself . . . that’s not using the race card, that’s politics.

    By the way, the arena is a bad idea even if some minority contractors might benefit. Sad that it’s a choice between granting a victory to Enterprise Car Rental or yet another dopey scheme thought up by civic leaders . . . but again, that’s politics.

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