Frank White states his case to stay in office

By Jill Draper

Frank White Jr. is up against time with Jackson County voters, who decide on September 30 whether to recall him from his second term as county executive. He spoke before the South Kansas City Democrats recently to tout his achievements and to issue a warning.

Whether the recall works and he leaves office the next day on October 1 or if he survives the voter initiative and carries out his term through 2026, he cautioned about a bumpy road ahead. “You’ll still have to deal with everything that’s going on.”

“Everything” covers looming issues like where the Chiefs and Royals will play in future years and how to manage county property tax assessments. It even includes the recall, itself, which is still being contested by White and being questioned by Kansas City and Jackson County election boards. Various briefs are being filed, but plans are going ahead for the election date set by a county judge after a petition signed by over 43,000 voters was submitted.

In the meantime, White has been speaking out. On August 16 he met with more than 70 people at the Red Bridge Public Library, while protesters holding signs stood in the parking lot opposite several Jackson County sheriff’s officials accompanied by a police dog. The meeting was open to the public but reservations were required, and all questions were asked by South KC Democrats President Aimee Gromowski with no discussion from the audience.

White confirmed that he was not running for office again, and was asked what advice he would have for the next county executive. Would a professional mediator help with controversial issues? He said he didn’t know.

“The county was on a roll and then it just stopped in its tracks,” he said, blaming incoming legislators in 2023 whom he called divisive from the start. “It’s just the makeup of the people. They’re self-serving.”

It was pointed out that both White and most of the legislators were Democrats. When asked how he could have collaborated more, and what could he have done to find union with some of their ideas, he answered, “From Day 1 they had their own ideas.” Later he added, “They didn’t want to collaborate.”

White talked about his leadership in raising county employee salaries, improving health care programs and constructing a new jail, but those acts were not questioned. Instead the focus turned to property tax assessments. What would he have done differently in 2023 and 2024 when many assessments ballooned in value and inspectors could not physically examine all the properties?

“I would do the same thing,” he answered. “I would appeal to the State Tax Commission for a better process. The process is broken.” He said Jackson County was one of many counties pushing back against the commission’s approach to value property at 90% to 110 % of market value.

And could you have discussed this in 2023 so it wasn’t such a shock? “Things always could have been done better. Yes, I could have done more,” White said.

When he took office, the property assessor was just somebody’s buddy who had no appraisal background, he said. Although he hired a professional, “years of neglect, years of deferred maintenance, years of sweeping things in the corner—it just caught up with us.”

White also was asked about his position on the Truman Sports Complex, which houses the Royals and Chiefs stadiums. “It’s not a good deal,” he told the crowd. “You’re paying more and getting less.” He noted the state paid $3 million a year and got back $36 million in sales tax and the city paid $2 million and got back $18 million in sales tax. Yet the county paid $54 million and got back only $6 million in sales tax.

He voted against extending the 3/8 cents sales tax in April 2024 because the agreement had no financial information and no blueprints. Instead “it was virtually a blank check for the teams.” White said the teams must take community needs into consideration before an agreement moves forward.

And what has happened in over a year since then? In 2006-07 politicians like Victor Callahan and Katheryn Shields were in the news almost every day working on stadium proposals. Now there seems to be no movement.

White answered that the county has reached out by phone and email and is waiting for a response. “When the teams know what they want, they’ll let you know,” he said, indicating the team owners were waiting to see if the recall happens so they could avoid negotiating with him. “They want me gone.”

In the end it’s all about integrity, White said. “As long as I follow the law and do the right things I can sleep at night.” He noted he was not a politician and never has been. “I’m just a guy that wants to do a good job for the people of our county.”