The recent government shutdown has laid bare a simple truth: our communities cannot afford leaders who show up part-time. It has also underscored the divide within the Democratic Party— between establishment voices more concerned with corporate interests and those of us stepping up to fight for working-class residents. What Jackson County faces now is urgent, and it requires leadership that is not only present but ready to fight for working people. For too long, the Jackson County Legislature’s priorities have been misaligned with the needs of its residents. While the current legislature focuses on building more jails, raising property taxes, and taking funds from utilities like Evergy and Spire, I am focused on solutions that lift our residents up: a countywide public transit system to connect communities, a guaranteed jobs program to ensure opportunity for all, and transit corridors that spur affordable housing across the county. These are not abstract ideas—they are concrete investments in our future and in the people who make our county thrive. This legislature’s failures have real consequences. It took them six months to pass a county budget, delaying critical services for residents who depend on them. And to this day, they are still sitting on $82 million in COVID-era ARPA funds—money meant to help working families, small businesses, and communities recover. That’s a failure of leadership, plain and simple. It mirrors the same dysfunction we see out of Washington: endless gridlock, misplaced priorities, and a lack of urgency when people need help the most. Jackson County deserves better. The current incumbent in the 1st District At-Large legislative seat has attended only 36% of county legislative meetings this term. We went through every meeting and tracked it—64% of meetings missed. At a time when government shutdowns are disrupting lives and exposing deep systemic failures, Jackson County cannot afford part-time leadership. We need leaders who show up 100% of the time—who fight for working families, who listen, and who work their tail off. That’s why I’m running for the Jackson County Legislature. The 700,000 residents of this county deserve someone who gives their all every single day. I’ve been knocking on nearly 100 doors a day and listening directly to residents because they deserve nothing less. The government shutdown reminds us that the stakes are too high for half-measures or absent leadership. This office doesn’t belong to me—or to any one person. It belongs to the people of Jackson County. They deserve action, vision, and a fighter who shows up every single day. I’m ready to do exactly that.
Candidate for the Jackson County Legislature, 1st District At-Large, and made history as the first Gen Z resident to ever seek the county.
