Jackson County Legislator DaRon McGee (4th District) issued the following statement today.

Jackson County Legislator DaRon McGee (4th District) issued the following statement today.

As the sponsor of Ordinance 5822 which authorized the April election to give the voters the right to decide whether a sales tax should be extended to keep the Kansas City Chiefs and Kansas City Royals in Jackson County,
I am grateful that so many of my colleagues joined me in voting to overturn the veto of Executive White.

County Executive White wanted to takeaway that choice from voters and fortunately thanks to overwhelming support from our citizens including business, labor, nonprofit and other community organizations we prevailed and can now proceed to do the important work ahead. Executive White’s tone deafness on this issue and the property tax fiasco that he supervised has awakened our community and but for their engagement, we stood on the precipice of losing these teams.

With today’s vote we ensure that the work to complete long-term leases by the end of February can continue and a Community Benefits Agreement can be developed. These two agreements (and others that will accompany them) will enhance opportunities for both workers at the stadium and those who will be involved in both the new construction and renovation projects that will be necessary. These projects will employee thousands of individuals and my colleagues and I are committed to fighting for living wages and critical benefits for these workers. There is much work to do so that the voters are fully informed before the April election. I join my colleagues in saying we are prepared to do that work.

We are committed to saving our teams and promoting opportunities that will enhance the lives of our residents.

Sincerely,

  
DaRon McGee