Seven of the twelve-member KCMO City Council that will be sworn in August 1 for a new 4-year term will be new members, and four of them will speak at the 6 p.m. Monday, July 10, South Kansas City Alliance meeting in the front building community room of the South Patrol Police Campus, 9701 Marion Park Dr.
This will be an excellent opportunity to hear their top priorities for their first months in office, and perhaps more importantly, to let them hear what you think the Council’s top priorities should be and what are south Kansas City’s greatest needs.
The other three new members of the twelve-member Council (thirteen counting the mayor who is also a voting member of the Council) had prior commitments and have been invited to speak at our August or September meetings.
Monday’s confirmed speakers are City Councilmembers-Elect Johnathan Duncan, Lindsay French, Melissa Patterson Hazley and Nathan Willett. They will take audience questions.
City Councilman-Elect Johnathan Duncan will fill the 6th District-in-District seat replacing Mayor Pro Tem Kevin McManus who was prohibited by term limits from seeking another term. The 6th District covers the western portion of south Kansas City.
Duncan is director of administrative operations for the 1.7-million-member U.S. Veterans of Foreign Wars headquartered in Kansas City. He serves on the steering committee of KC Tenants and played an instrumental role in establishing the city’s office of tenant advocate.
A combat veteran who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom while a member of the Kansas Army National Guard, Duncan has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas.
City Councilwoman-Elect Lindsay French will fill the 2nd District-at-Large seat replacing Councilwoman Teresa Loar whose City Council service also was term-limited.
The owner of LFrench Design, she is a leader in the Northland Regional Chamber of Commerce, having recently served as chair of its Planning & Development Committee and co-chair of its Build Up KC Task Force. She also is a member of its Legislative & Parks Committees.
With a professional background in business development, community planning and graphic design and a history of working in downtown KCMO, French is involved in numerous organizations promoting positive economic growth in downtown and other areas of the city. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas.
City Councilwoman-Elect Melissa Patterson Hazley, PhD, will fill the 3rd District-at-Large seat after defeating incumbent Councilman Brandon Ellington in June.
Hazley currently serves as vice chair of the city’s Central City Economic Development Sales Tax Board and the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority and as a member of the city’s Enhanced Enterprise Zone Board and the Kansas City Chapter 353 Advisory Board. She is a former member of the city’s Neighborhood Tourism Development Fund Board. She also has coordinated the campaigns for several successful recent city ballot issues.
She is the owner of Phoenix Research Group that conducts campaign management and community engagement for clients. Her doctorate degree is from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, and she has separate master’s degrees from that university and UMKC and a bachelor’s degree from UMKC.
City Councilman-Elect Nathan Willett will fill the 1st District-in-District seat replacing Councilwoman Heather Hall whose Council service also was term-limited. The 1st District covers the most northern part of the city.
Willett currently is a math teacher at Park Hill High School and formerly taught math at Central High School through the Teach for America program. Willett has a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Missouri – Columbia where he served as student body president and a master’s degree in education from the University of Missouri – St. Louis.
Willett has been a volunteer scholarship application reviewer for several years for KC Scholars which provides college scholarships for high school students and adult learners from low to modest income families throughout the six-county bistate metropolitan area.
