Yael Abouhalkah of the Kansas City Star has exposed the underhanded dealings of the Greater KC Chamber of Commerce and highlighted KCMO Mayor Mark Funkhouser's blistering response. It's ironic that Chamber President Pete Levi resides in Leawood (a city referenced by Funkhouser in his letter) and his group often dictates to the city how it should operate. 03-28-2008 http://voices.kansascity.com/node/825 Exclusive: Funkhouser fires back at Chamber of Commerce By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Board In a blistering attack letter, Mayor Mark Funkhouser on Thursday ripped into the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and President Pete Levi. Good for the mayor. The mayor was dissed big-time by the chamber earlier this week, and he decided to fight back. Here's what happened: The chamber made a huge error at a private meeting late Monday afternoon. After meeting that day (separately) with Funkhouser and City Manager Wayne Cauthen, the chamber's board decided to endorse Cauthen's go-slow approach to fixing the KC budget. Funkhouser had correctly told the chamber executives Monday that he favored aggressive changes in the budget. So what? said the Chamber. Here's what Funkhouser wrote in response to the chamber's wrongheaded position on the city budget: "I am outraged that my input was not sought in the development of the chamber's recent resolution on the city's budget. I saw it for the first time when it was introduced at the board meeting. I raised concerns about the resolution. You and your board members listened politely and then called for questions and further discussion. There was none, and the motion to adopt the resolution was summarily approved. "I have an MBA, an MSW and a PH.D. in public administration and urban sociology. I've spent nearly 20 years examining the finances of the Kansas City municipal government as my day job and teaching graduate courses in public finance at night. I know the numbers, the players and the history. I think I'm as qualified to discuss the city's current budget issues as anyone on your board. And I'm the mayor. "As I try to consider what is the best public policy for the city of Kansas City, Missouri, I often think of what other successful cities in our region like Leawood or Overland Park would do and then try to lead my city to do likewise. When I consider this, it occurs to me that, unlike Kansas City, those cities and nearly all others in the region have their own chambers of commerce. And those chambers do not ignore the mayor. Sincerely, Mark Funkhouser" Levi wasn't immediately available for comment Thursday night. But in an interview Wednesday, Levi vehemently denied that the chamber's position on the KC budget had been an endorsement of Cauthen's approach to the budget. Sorry, but as I told Levi at the time, the chamber's position was nothing less than extremely disturbing, especially since business leaders have been calling for City Hall to get its fiscal house in order for years. Along comes a mayor ready to do that, and the chamber shoots the messenger. It was a bad call by the chamber, a bad call by Levi to defend it -- and a great move by the mayor to shoot back and not let this slight go unchallenged. Yael T. Abouhalkah is a member of The Kansas City Star's Editorial Board.
