Ward 1 residents,
I am writing this letter regarding the importance of the election on April 5. Our Ward has a lot of new residents since our last election and many of these people have pets. For those of you who are new to Raytown please let me fill you in on the history of Greg Walters who is running against our current Alderman Joe Creamer. Mr Walters proposed a breed specific ban a few years back. His proposal was to ban 9 different breeds of dogs including Rottweillers, German Sheperds and Pitbulls just to name a few. Raytown residents united in support of our dogs and the right to own any breed we choose. After several months the board decided to go with a Dangerous Dog Ordinance which has been proven to be very effective. Mr Walters still denies he was the ring leader of this proposed ban even though many, many people can confirm it and have handouts from the City Council meetings to back it up.
Recently Mr Walters was confronted after advertising a local animal Outreach group on his site. When confronted he adamantly denied he proposed BSL and claimed he had been advertising this group on his site for 2 years. We responded to him that we had the paperwork to back up everything he had proposed and we were also at every single city council meeting and saw him in action. We also informed him he couldn’t possibly have been advertising this group for 2 years as the group was formed 1 year ago. We insisted our name be removed from his site immediately because we help ALL dogs in need regardless of breed and would never endorse a candidate who supported breed specific legislation. At that point we never heard from Mr. Walters again.
I want to make sure every single voter in Ward 1 knows Mr. Walters history and casts their vote knowing they have made an educated decision as to who will be our Alderman. As a dog lover it is extremely important to me that I vote for pet friendly candidates who will keep Raytown a city where any dog is welcome regardless of it’s breed.
I have debated on whether or not to sign my name to this letter but quite honestly I fear Mr. Walters would stop at nothing to try and retaliate for my informing the voters of his history. I find it very sad that residents have to anonymously speak for fear Mr.Walters will do something out of nothing more than spite and revenge. I intend to vote for Mr. Creamer who is extremely animal friendly but also works tirelessly to better this city that I grew up in and love. Please consider the progress we have seen in Raytown since Mr Creamer took office and let’s keep Raytown moving in the right direction.
Sincerely,
Kendra Albert
Ward 1 resident
*Note one sentence from this letter was deleted with the author’s permission. It was a comment on Mr. Walters character that did not directly address a political topic.
Thank you Kendra for letting Ward 1 residents know what Mr. Walters is really about. I’m with Kansas City Dog Advocates and was there when the Breed Specific Legislation was being discussed from the beginning. I was surprised to see a Alderman address the residents the way he did. Through the hard work of the residents and the Mayor Sue Frank at that time, and many others in City hall we passed a ordinance that is a model for the rest of the country. Several cities that I have worked with have adopted from our ordinance what would work for them. I’m please to tell you that the Tethering Ordinance that we adopted is now in the works in many cities.
Mr. Creamer and others are still willing to better our animal ordinance, to make Raytown a better place for pet owning residents but most of all the animals. I’m honored to be able to work with all of them.
I’ve seen this city move forward in 4 short years with the Mayor and Council we have on board now, I would love to see it to be able to continue to be that way. Where any resident is able to contact anyone at City Hall and have their issues listened to and addressed. I’m afraid that Mr. Walter is not a team player and hope that residents in Ward one realize what Joe Creamer is willing to do to better this community.
Peggy Sloan
Kansas City Dog Advocates.
Thank you for your well thought out letter. It’s good to know there are other people who are concerned with city leadership. Regardless of your stance on pet issues, Walters actions speak to his character and if he will lie and try to stretch the truth on one issue, he will surely do it on others. There is no longer any room in city leadership for less than honest members. We can no longer afford to turn a blind eye to these candidates actions. We must speak up and hold them accountable by NOT electing them!