The Examiner
Grain Valley City Guide
2012
GOVERNMENT
• Jackson County
County is a key population center
Jackson County, with a 2010 population of 674,158, is home to four of the largest cities in the state. Kansas City is Missouri’s largest city with 459,787 residents (many in Platte and Clay counties), followed by No. 4 Independence at 116,830, No. 6 Lee’s Summit at 91,364 (some in Cass County) and No. 10 Blue Springs at 52,575. Overall, about half of the county’s residents live in Kansas City and about half live in Eastern Jackson County. The county operates with a division of powers similar to that used at the state and federal levels, with executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. The county executive runs the county day to day, although the county prosecutor and sheriff also are elected and run Jackson their offices independently of the executive. County The voters adopted the current charter in 1972 and Executive Mike made some revisions in August 2010. Sanders The county is responsible for many roads, mostly in unincorporated parts of Eastern Jackson County, and it has an extensive system of parks. It also operates a jail in downtown Kansas City. It owns Arrowhead and Kauffman stadiums. Legislators, the executive, the sheriff and the prosecutor all serve four years. Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders was elected to a second term in 2010. He can be reached at 816-881-3333. Sheriff Mike Sharp was elected in 2008 and is seeking a second term this year. He can be reached at 816-524-4302. County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker was appointed the position in 2010 and is running unopposed for a full term this year. She can be reached at 816-881-3555. The County Legislature has nine members. Six are elected from specific districts. Three others are elected from larger districts but are elected by all county voters. (New districts go into effect with the elections of 2014.)
u 1ST District – Scott Burnett, D-Kansas City. He can be reached at 816-881-3076. The district is in Kansas City, basically the area west of Troost to the state line plus the area north of Truman Road to the Missouri River. u 2ND District – James D. Tindall, D-Kansas City. He can be reached at 816-881-3163. That disScott trict is in Kansas City, roughly a rectangle bounded Burnett by Blue Ridge Cut-off, I-470 and I-435, Troost and Truman Road.
u 4TH District – Dan Tarwater, D-Kansas City. He can be reached at 816-881-3362. That district includes the western edge of Kansas City basically south of Gregory; the Grandview area; the area south, west and north of Longview Lake; and much of Raytown as far north as 79th Street. u 6TH District – Bob Spence, R-Lee’s Summit. He can be reached at 816-881-4423. The district includes the southeast corner of the county, with Lee’s Summit, Lone Jack, Greenwood, Unity Village, much of Raytown. It includes the Lakewood area and much of the area east and south of Lake Jacomo and Blue Springs Lake. To the east, the northern edge of the district is Wyatt Road. Dan Tarwater
Greg Grounds
u 3RD District – Dennis Waits, D-Independence. He can be reached at 816-881-4441. The district includes most of Independence north of 35th Street, as well as Sugar Creek, Sibley, Buckner and Levasy, and it goes a little into east Kansas City, as far west as Topping.
Dennis Waits
Bob Spence
The three at-large districts: u 1st District at large – Theresa Garza Ruiz, DBlue Springs. She can be reached at 816-881-3132. The district is roughly the northern third of the county, taking in a slice of northeast Kansas City, Independence, Sugar Creek, Sibley, Buckner and Levasy, Oak Grove, Grain Valley and Blue Springs. It’s mostly north of U.S. 40, but to the east drops as far south at Major Road.
The six districts: u 5th District – Greg Grounds, R-Blue Springs. He can be reached at 816-881-4476. The district runs east to west across the middle of the county, from Oak Grove, Grain Valley and Blue Springs – the area from Burgess Road to the north and Wyatt Road to the south – and reaches into Independence and a Raytown north of 59th Street. The area of Independence is roughly from the southern city limits to 35th Street, but that northern boundary also jogs north on Lee’s Summit Road and then takes R.D. Mize Road east to the Little Blue River.
James Tindall
Theresa Garza Ruiz
u 2ND District AT LARGE – Crystal Williams, D-Kansas City. She can be reached at 816-881-3464. The district is in Kansas City, bounded by Red Bridge Road to the south, the state line to the west, the river to the north and, generally, Interstate 435 to the east. u 3RD District AT LARGE – Fred Arbanas, D-Lee’s Summit. He can be reached at 816-8814477. The district includes Raytown, Grandview, Lee’s Summit, Greenwood and Lake Lotawana. The county’s website is at www.jacksongov.org Fred Arbanas
Crystal Williams
– Jeff Fox