Kendrick, Runions to face off again in Grandview’s Ward 2 race

By Tony Madden

The race for Ward 2 on Grandview’s Board of Aldermen pits one of the city’s experienced politicians, Joe Runions, against the incumbent Ward 2 Alderwoman Irene Kendrick on the April 7 ballot.

Runions served as an alderman from 2005 until 2012 and again from 2020 through 2024. He also served as a state representative from 2013 to 2020. 

Kendrick is also active as a member of the Hickman Mills Board of Directors and is a previous Grandview Parks and Recreation Commissioner.

The 2026 municipal election marks the first time Grandview will elect aldermen to four-year terms. The city voted to extend alderman and mayoral terms from two years to four years in the 2025 election. 

Irene Kendrick 

The first time Irene Kendrick ran for a seat on Grandview’s Board of Aldermen, she was one year removed from being elected to her first public office as a member of the Hickman Mills Board of Directors. It was 2021, and she lost to Dan Hartman, an incumbent who took 51% of the vote to her 39% in a three-way race.

Now, Kendrick is running for reelection to Grandview’s Ward 2 seat as the incumbent. She was first elected to the Board of Aldermen in 2024 while still co-president of the Hickman Mills School Board. In that election, she earned 444 votes (56%) ahead of legacy incumbent Runions’ 285 votes (36%).

In previous years, Kendrick has campaigned on bringing progress to Grandview, specifically more affordable housing units. She said she is proud of the progress the city has made, citing projects such as the River Oaks housing project, $24 million expansion of Blue Ridge Boulevard and the Grandview Farmer’s Market.

Kendrick acknowledges mixed emotions about roundabouts, but said community surveys show they are generally encouraged. The Blue Ridge Expansion Project is expected to add two more roundabouts: one at Truman’s Marketplace Drive and the other at Harry S Truman Drive.

Runions has made accusations of Kendrick’s role as President of the Hickman Mills School Board during a time when the school district has been accused of mishandling money, specifically on a trip to Ghana which Kendrick attended. It should be noted that the state is investigating these accusations but as of yet have not published any reports that would support Runions’ claims.  

Joe Runions

Joe Runions’ first stint on Grandview’s Board of Aldermen began in 2005 and lasted through his election to the Missouri House of Representatives in 2012. After he reached his term limit in 2020, Runions campaigned to regain his former seat in Grandview. He was reelected in 2021 and again in 2022 for a two-year term before Kendrick was elected to the seat in 2024.

Runions also wants to bring progress to Grandview as Ward 2 alderman. He says there is a lack of economic development along the city’s important corridors, noting vacant buildings and a lack of new business on I-49 and Blue Ridge Boulevard.

He is also not satisfied with the current conduct of city business. Runions says that officials must pay attention and ask hard questions, and that is not happening in Grandview. He also said the city is wasting money and not completing projects. He cited the Blue River Bridge reuse project announced in 2015, which he says never came to fruition.

Runions is opposed to bringing more roundabouts to Grandview, calling the intersection of I-49 and Main Street a “disaster.” He said the city does not have enough traffic to require roundabouts, and the citizens of Grandview don’t want them. The city added three roundabouts in 2022 as a part of the I-49 Outer Roads Conversion project, including the one Runions called a “disaster.”

Grandview currently operates as one of Missouri’s largest fourth-class cities, a designation usually meant for populations between 500 and 2,999. This is because the city was incorporated in 1912, when Grandview’s population was fewer than 1,000. Because the population is now more than 25,000, Runions thinks Grandview should switch to a charter city designation. 

Under that change, a charter would act as the city’s constitution rather than deferring to state laws. It would be best for the city but would require more work of the mayor and aldermen, Runions said.

At 85 years old, Runions says he’s not concerned about his age as it pertains to alderman duties. “It’s how you address the problems,” he said. He added that his age and experience in both state and local government work to his advantage in daily proceedings.