On police budget and more, Kansas City is not the Northland versus south of the river
As a lifelong Clay County resident and state senator representing most Kansas Citians north of the Missouri River, I was disappointed by The Star Editorial Board’s May 27 editorial, “Growing north-south divide in KC is a lot like the old North-South divide in the US.” It relied on lazy stereotypes and unfounded assumptions while disregarding the racial, ethnic, religious, socioeconomic and political differences in the Northland. If the board truly desired unity, it was a ham-fisted effort.
It is neither productive, nor factual, to assert “Kansas City, north, is white and red, Kansas City, south, is Black and blue.” Students in the North Kansas City Schools district speak 107 first languages. North Kansas City High School ranks as the most diverse school in Missouri. Although the demographics of the Northland vary by neighborhood, this also rings true in neighborhoods south of the river.
Politics in the Northland are neither bright red nor deep blue. I am a Democrat. My district includes about 70% of Kansas City residents north of the river. Republican senators have slivers of the city. Democratic state representatives here outnumber their GOP colleagues. Anyone bothering to look at historical trends would see that, contrary to the editorial’s theory of the “big sort,” Kansas City-North is purple — and becoming bluer. A growing Northland strengthens Kansas City.
Some Northlanders support the mayor’s ordinance to give the City Council authority over part of the city budget for the police. Others want more information, and many oppose it. However, most everyone agrees major policy changes should be made in the sunlight with discussion and community input. The purposeful exclusion of Northland council members, regardless of whether I agree with them, disenfranchised the voters we all represent. So does the editorial’s seeming suggestion that council districts be gerrymandered to dilute the influence of my constituents.
Like our state and nation, the Northland grapples with racism, classism and injustice. No one denies there is work to do. But attempts to turn the Northland into a political foil — calling it the “Old South” — should be rejected. Real leaders understand that where a river exists, a bridge can be built to cross it by those willing to do the work.
Lauren Arthur represents District 17 in the Missouri Senate.
