On KCPD state control, Missouri Republican candidates for governor all take same stance

Reality Check is a Star series holding those with power to account and shining a light on their decisions. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email our journalists at RealityCheck@kcstar.com.

Missouri’s Republican candidates for governor all support continued state control of the Kansas City Police Department, another obstacle in the long-term quest of Mayor Quinton Lucas and other city leaders for local authority over the force.

The GOP candidates – Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and Sen. Bill Eigel – all affirmed to The Star through their campaigns that they back KCPD’s current governance structure, which relies on a five-member board of police commissioners with four members appointed by the governor. Only one elected official, the mayor, sits on the board.

The major Democratic candidates – House Minority Leader Crystal Quade and Springfield businessman Mike Hamra – both support local control. But even if they are elected, the Republican-controlled Missouri General Assembly is highly unlikely to pass legislation turning KCPD leadership over to the City Council.

Kansas City is the only city in Missouri, and one of very few cities nationwide, where local elected officials don’t control the police force. City leaders have long chafed against the system, which has its roots in Civil War-era politics.

The KCPD’s relationship with the community has been strained. Former Police Chief Rick Smith faced allegations he protected officers accused of killing Black men and using excessive force against minorities. The department is under a U.S. Department of Justice investigation to determine if it engaged in racial discrimination. And the force faced scrutiny amid a record-high number of killings last year.

But efforts to secure local authority in the Democratic-leaning city in the modern era regularly run up against Republican opposition statewide. Conservative politicians say they fear for public safety if local leaders are put in charge.

“I do not trust the elected leaders in Kansas City to make public safety a priority so I favor maintaining state control of the police department,” Ashcroft said in a statement.

Eigel, from Weldon Spring, said he will do everything in his power to ensure Missouri is the “best place in the nation” for law enforcement. “I do not trust the liberal, ‘defund the police,’ KC regime to do right by our officers,” he said in a statement.

Kehoe, who has been endorsed by several Missouri law enforcement groups, struck a more conciliatory tone. Still, his campaign also affirmed the current model of state control, in which the governor nominates police commissioners, who are confirmed by the Senate.

Kehoe “supports the current governance model for the KCPD as it provides a system of checks and balances between the local leaders, the legislature, and the governor,” Kehoe spokeswoman Gabby Picard said in a statement.

Kehoe, Eigel and Ashcroft are locked in a tight race ahead of the Aug. 6 primary election. An Emerson College/The Hill poll conducted in mid-June showed Ashcroft leading in a close contest within the margin of error, but a late June poll by ARW Strategies shows Kehoe ahead, with Ashcroft and Eigel battling for second place.

“Mayor Lucas looks forward to working with the next Governor of the State of Missouri, including engaging with the future Governor on issues related to the Kansas City Police Department and ways to reduce violence in Kansas City,” Lucas spokesperson Jazzlyn Johnson said in a statement.

Ongoing funding fight

The governor’s race is playing out amid an ongoing fight between Missouri Republicans and Kansas City over police funding.

State law used to require Kansas City to allocate 20% of its general revenue for police. In 2021 Lucas and a supermajority of the City Council moved to reallocate $42 million from the police budget to establish a Community Services and Prevention Fund. Police commissioners would have been required to negotiate with the city on how the money would be spent.

The plan would have funded police at the 20% threshold under state law while allowing the city to control spending above that amount. The board of police commissioners sued and a Jackson County judge found the council overstepped its authority.

Lawmakers then advanced a state constitutional amendment – called Amendment 4 – that would allow a state law to take effect that requires Kansas City to spend at least 25% of its general revenue on the police, up from 20%. Voters approved the measure with 63% support in 2022, but the Missouri Supreme Court earlier this year tossed the results of the election, ruling the fiscal note summary on the ballot was misleading.

Voters will decide again in August whether to approve Amendment 4. No major well-funded campaign has emerged to support or oppose the measure.

The struggle over funding has continuously frustrated Democrats, who argue Kansas City needs local authority as it confronts violent crime. Kansas City experienced its deadliest year on record in 2023 with 185 killings, up from 171 the year before.

“Throughout my career, I’ve been an outspoken advocate of local control for municipal governments in a wide variety of issues, including restoring local control of the Kansas City Police Department’s board of commissioners,” Quade, of Springfield, said in a statement.

“I believe that locally elected officials often know the unique problems their communities face and are better equipped to work with local community leaders on how to address those problems.”

Hamra campaign spokesperson Laura Swinford said Kansas City “should have the right to oversee its own police force, just like every other major city in the country.”

Whoever is elected governor will enjoy significant influence over the KCPD by appointing police commissioners. The board’s four appointed members each serve four-year terms and must live in Kansas City.

The next governor will quickly be able to fill a vacancy on the board as board president Dawn Cramer’s term expires in March 2025. By early 2028, the next governor will have named all four of the board’s appointed members.

Eigel promised to appoint commissioners with law enforcement backgrounds, which would mark a break from the current makeup of the board. None of the current appointed commissioners have law enforcement careers; all have careers in business.

“I will NEVER appoint commissioners who want to take police department funding and divert it to social justice programs,” Eigel said. “The ‘defund the police’ movement is nonsense and will have no place in Missouri when I’m governor.”

Ashcroft said in making appointments he would focus on integrity, tenacity “and an understanding that supporting law-abiding citizens and law enforcement must be prioritized over coddling criminals.”

Picard, the Kehoe spokeswoman, emphasized the importance that appointments are supported by the local community. “As governor, Kehoe would prioritize appointing board members who are supportive of fully funding the KCPD so the men and women of the department can effectively do their jobs,” she said.

Johnson, the Lucas spokesperson, said that Lucas will work with the next governor to recommend individuals for the board who are dedicated and trusted community leaders “committed to working collaboratively to ensure the men and women of KCPD have the resources and support to combat violent crime in our community.”

Quade and Hamra’s campaigns both stressed the importance of local representation in appointments to the board.

Quade said she would work with local leaders to appoint commissioners dedicated to addressing crime and “the underlying problems” that lead to it. Quade, a social worker, called for creative thinking about how to address crime before it occurs, adding that “it is important to appoint local leaders who have direct on-the-ground experience and a willingness to think creatively to solve these large problems.”

Swinford, the Hamra spokesperson, said board members should reflect the Kansas City community “and bring to the table a diversity of experience and skills with a shared commitment to work in partnership with law enforcement, state and local government officials, and Kansas City residents.”