Get to know your Jackson County 1st District at Large Republican candidates

By Samuel Ast

Republicans Brenda Allen and Bill E. Kidd are competing head-to-head for votes in the primary. The winner will face off against incumbent legislator Jalen Anderson, Democrat, who is running unopposed in his party’s primary.

Brenda Allen 

Allen grew up in Independence, Missouri. She is an experienced musician and educator with no political background, though she remains very passionate about the issues. Among her top priorities, if elected, are to increase transparency within the Legislature. 

Allen is an avowed supporter of the Missouri Sunshine statute, which aims to make government actions more open to public scrutiny. “Transparency in all areas of Jackson County government has been violated by some officials, and needs to be corrected by encouraging violators to find different jobs outside of government,” says Allen.  It is abundantly clear that she believes those who operate in the shadows are no friends of the county. 

Allen is also running on increasing support for the Sheriff’s office as well as making changes to property tax assessment and oversight. “There are signs that the assessments scheduled after the election are expected to soar,” she says, noting that she would like to make sure that “taxpayers are not burdened with overwhelming demands.” 

Bill E. Kidd

Kidd currently serves in the Missouri State House, representing the northeast portion of Jackson County as a Republican since 2014. His term ends this year. 

Kidd was formerly a small business owner in Independence, Missouri and obtained his Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering technology from Oklahoma State University. Representative Kidd is a self-described Christian conservative that holds pro-life values and supports gun rights. In Jefferson City, Kidd has served on the Utilities, Pensions, Disaster Preparedness, and Homeland Security committees.

Kidd’s primary purpose for running is to watch spending at the county level. “We are facing tough times,” says the retired financial advisor. “We need to be tough on how the county is spending people’s money. We can’t keep going back and asking them for more money,” he adds. “I’ve been around long enough to know that money has a way of covering up people’s sins,” he says. “And when times get tough, it gets exposed.” 

By watching expenditures, and thereby reducing them, he believes property tax assessments can be lowered.