Hello, I’m Ian Scott. I’m running for Raytown Alderman in Ward 1 and I’d like to introduce myself a little bit.
I’ve lived in the Kansas City area my whole life. I grew up in Belton and have lived in Raytown for the last 12 years. I’m a member of River Church Family, have an office in the River of Refuge building on Raytown Road, and live right in the heart of Ward 1. My wife, Maria, and I have a busy young family, with five children ages 9 to 4. Two of our kids are homeschooled, two attend Blue Ridge Elementary, and our youngest is not-very-patiently excited to start preschool later this year. When not in school, we love our Monday “adventure day” trips to nearby state parks, nature centers, the Zoo, and Science City. During the school year, we love the Chiefs and Royals, and Saturday “adventure days.”
Over the years, I’ve participated in numerous outreach programs and events through my church and River of Refuge including Summer Lunch Program; cleanups at local parks and public spaces; donation drives for school supplies and teachers’ resources; service projects such as mowing lawns, painting houses, and donating and delivering groceries. I’ve greatly enjoyed all these experiences and look forward to many more opportunities to serve my Raytown neighbors.
I’m a young man but I’ve held leadership roles throughout my life: youth leadership council of my high school youth group, editor-in-chief of the Longview Community College student newspaper, creative arts pastor, worship leader, retail department manager, head of White River Productions’ digital publishing department. I also currently serve on our church council overseeing the finances of River Church Family.
I have some ideas I’d like to see unfold in our city: more local business, communities coming together in friendship, safer streets and neighborhoods through improved infrastructure and crime prevention. More than my own ideas, though, I want to hear from you. I feel like elected leadership’s highest responsibility is to understand the needs of the people you serve and work to address them. So my platform is: Listen to people • Learn their needs and struggles • Solve problems and improve our community
Raytown is designated Brooking Township by the Jackson County Election Board. Polling locations are determined by what precinct in Brookings Township you live at. The map below will help you locate your precinct and the information below the map indicates where those precincts vote at.
Raytown Poll locations
1,2,3 Raytown Library 6131 Raytown Rd
4,8 Connection Point at First Baptist Church 10500 E State Route 350
5,7 Raytown Central Middle School 10601 E 59th St
6,9,10,20 Laurel Hills Elementary 5401 Lane Ave
11,15 Raytown South Middle School 8401 E 83rd St
12,13,14,17,19 Raytown South High School 8211 Sterling Ave
16,18 Southwood United Church of Christ 7904 Raytown Rd
SAMPLE BALLOT
CITY OF RAYTOWN, MISSOURI
GENERAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION
TUESDAY, APRIL 6, 2021
FOR ALDERMAN – WARD 1
IAN SCOTT
JAYNE LOULOS
WRITE-IN
FOR ALDERMAN – WARD 2
TONY JACOB
LORETHA HAYDEN
WRITE-IN
FOR ALDERMAN – WARD 3
RYAN MYERS
WRITE-IN
FOR ALDERMAN – WARD 4
WILLIAM A. “BILL” VAN BUSKIRK
WRITE-IN
FOR ALDERMAN – WARD 5
BONNAYE MIMS
WRITE-IN
FOR MUNICIPAL JUDGE
TRACI FANN
WRITE-IN
FOR CITY COLLECTOR
LISA EMERSON
WRITE-IN
SAMPLE BALLOT
CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 2
FOR DIRECTOR (Vote For Two)
AMY TITTLE
NATALIE JOHNSON-BERRY
ALONZO BURTON
DONNA PEYTON
WRITE-IN
WRITE-IN
Candidates participating in this Forum Co sponsored by League of Women Voters and Raytown Chamber of Commerce and Tourism: Jayne Loulos, Ward 1 Ian Scott, Ward 1 Loretha Hayden, Ward 2 Tony Jacob, Ward 2 Ryan Myers, Ward 3 William “Bill” VanBuskirk, Ward 4 Bonnaye Mims, Ward 5
On April 2nd of 2019 there will be an election for Raytown, Raytown School District, Raytown Fire District and Jackson County water District #2. Filing for these elected positions closed on Jan. 15th.
City of Raytown 10000 E 59th St, Raytown
Alderman Ward I – 4 year term expiring April 2023 Joe Creamer Josh Bennett Greg Walters Quentin J. Brown
Alderman Ward II – 4 year term expiring April 2023 Jim Aziere Loretha Hayden
Alderman Ward III – 4 year term expiring April 2023 Janet Emerson Jeremy Utterback Otis Taylor III
Alderman Ward IV – 4 year term expiring April 2023 Bob Cochran Mary Jane Van Buskirk
Alderman Ward V – 4 year term expiring April 2023 Derek Ward
City Collector – 2 year term expiring April 2021 Kathie Schutte
Mayor – 4 year term expiring April 2023 Michael McDonough Tony Jacob
Raytown C2 School District 6608 Raytown Rd., Raytown
Two positions are open
Bobbie Saulsberry (incubant) LaShonda Orkes Rick Thode
Raytown Fire District 6020 Raytown Trafficway, Raytown
Barb Schlapia
Jackson County Water District #2 6945 Blue Ridge Blvd, Raytown
Sub district 3 Fred Hartwell Sub district 5 Jimmie McClanahan
Arimeta DuPree is running for the Democratic nomination for the Jackson County Legislature in the 2nd District. Raytown’s portion of that district is from Raytown Road West, with slight exceptions. I know Arimeta and have endorsed her. I admire her intellect, passion for justice, and ability to work well with people from all walks of life. Below is a video of her presentation to the Raytown Democratic Association at their July meeting. She received the organizations endorsement. I added a picture of her sign to cover my bad camera work in the last minute of the presentation.
Parties unknown claimed to Facebook that my endorsements were abusing and managed to get them deleted. To read my Endorsements and decide for yourself if there is an iota of abuse or abusive language in my endorsements, you have to go to this website if you are reading this one facebook. Everyone else, please share my endorsement post.
Half of our Board of Aldermen are up for election next Tuesday, April 4th.
Ward I
No endorsement
Ward II
Loretha Hayden: Hayden`s real world business experience, pleasant nature, would be a great asset to the Board of Alderman. Hayden served as the Chair of the Raytown Chamber of Commerce.
Ward III
Ryan Myers : This is a tough call, as both candidates are good-natured and have good intent. Ryan add more energy and numeric analysis to the board and by that gets the endorsement.
Ward IV
Chuck Henss: Henss has education and experience in large international projects. His ability to work well with diverse people to a common goal (as in trans-Pacific telecom cables) would add needed skills to the Board.
Ward V
Bonnaye Mims: Mims probably has the most impressive set of skills, education, and experience of any candidate to run for the Board of Alderman. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, Master’s in Government Business and two terms as a State Rep for a district that includes the lower west part of Raytown. She sat on the Appropriations Committee that oversees all State spending. Here skills in creating, overseeing and passing budgets is a skill Raytown is in need of. Mims also served 13 years on the Hickman Mills School Board and was elected four times in succession to the post of Board President.
The Raytown Times article gave Mims only 5 % of the space that was given her opponents and no photo and her name was the only one of all candidates in all races not highlighted. To balance the scales, Raytown Online will provide featured coverage.
Dear Neighbor,
I want to be your Ward 5 Alderman and I am asking for your vote on Tuesday, April 4th. My experience as an active member of the Raytown community, a State Representative and a School Board Member make me a great choice to be the voice of the people.
We have many things to be excited about! Raytown is growing and this is exemplified by the increase of new businesses and the face-lifts of current businesses. Continued public and private investment will increase the opportunities for Raytown’s ongoing economic growth.
I have been speaking with residents in the 5th Ward and have been honored to meet so many wonderful people. The common theme we share is a vision for safe neighborhoods, providing local services for seniors, Veterans, and families, and repairing our streets and building sidewalks.
Residents are looking for experience and leadership and I would be honored to be your voice in our city. I firmly believe it is my responsibility as a public servant to not play politics, but to give our community the resources needed to thrive, not just survive.
The League of Women voters forum for candidates for Raytown Missouri’s Board of Alderman. In order to quickly post this no editing has been done. This is straight from the camera.
Tuesday December 13th was the first day for filing for city office. Candidates that file on the first day have their place on the ballot determined by a lottery. Candidates filing after the first day are placed on the ballot in the order they file. So far there has not been a filing for the two year remaining term of Steve Mock in Ward 5.
Here are the first day candidates.
FILING FOR OFFICE April 4, 2017 General Municipal Election
Alderman Ward I – 4 year term expiring April 2021
Frank Hunt
Alderman Ward II – 4 year term expiring April 2021 Jason Greene
Loretha V. Hayden
Alderman Ward III – 4 year term expiring April 2021
Janet Emerson
Ryan Myers
Alderman Ward IV – 4 year term expiring April 2021
Bill Van Buskirk
Alderman Ward V – 4 year term expiring April 2021
Melissa Beall
Phylis Goforth
Bonnaye Mims
City Marshal – 4 year term expiring April 2021
Jim Lynch
Municipal Judge – 4 year term expiring April 2021
Traci Fann
While his opponents service to the Raytown Police Department since the 1970’s is laudable, it does not come close to Ertz’s experience as an Aldermen and as a manager in both the private and the public sector.
Ertz has shown 8 years of steady political leadership for Raytown and we need that experience at the helm.
His polite and friendly nature is an added bonus, but in truth his opponent also shares those qualities.
This is the worst of the last three charters presented to the voters of Raytown. The previous charter was flawed with conflict and inconsistencies within it. The Charter before that attempted too many changes and was probably rejected by voters unwilling to make that great a leap into the unknown.
The proposed Charter would take us from a weak Mayor to a ceremonial Mayor. The Mayors power would be to Chair the Board meeting and cut ribbons.
It would transfer power from the Parks Board into the hands of the Alderman and it would set the qualification requirements for Police Chief to vague standards that very well could result in litigation between candidates over whether those standards are met. All decisions could be reviewed by the Board of Aldermen if just 3 Aldermen agree. Hiring and salary of the Parks Director us a decision made by the Aldermen
The Parks and Recreation Director may be removed from office by a majority vote of the Board of Aldermen and shall serve at their pleasure.
We would have a Parks Director with two masters, but one that can fire him. Part of the reasoning for having an independant Parks Board with money we voted to have them use for the Parks alone, was to separate it from politics. If the Aldermen can hire, fire and set the salary of the Parks Director, then there is no separation from politics.
Here is a small sample of from the section on Chief of Police that runs from page 12 to page 16.
Candidates for the Chief of Police shall also possess:
1) considerable knowledge of the principles of modern police administration and police methods;
2) considerable knowledge of the principles and accepted good practices and procedures as applied to patrol, traffic control, criminal investigation, and crime prevention;
What constitutes considerable knowledge and who determines if a candidate possesses that knowledge? Do they get to take a test? Does a Police Chief actually have to be able to wear every hat in the department, to oversee the department? Is there someone in the Police Department that meets these qualifications and are these qualifications tailored to insure he runs unopposed?
While the City Administrator must live in the City, the Municipal Judge is not required to live in Raytown and can actually serve as a Judge for other communities.
c) Qualifications for Office; Outside Employment. The Municipal Judge shall possess and maintain the following qualifications before and after taking office:
i. Must be a licensed attorney, qualified to practice law within the State of Missouri, and shall have been engaged in active practice of law in the State of Missouri for at least three (3) years immediately preceding election.
ii. Need not reside within the City.
iii. Must be a resident of the State of Missouri and have resided in the State for one (1) year immediately preceding election.
iv. May serve as Municipal Judge for any other municipality.
Click Below to download a complete copy of the Proposed City Charter
The race for Mayor of Raytown is turning out to be the biggest in terms of cash contributions ever. Alderman Ertz has raised a respectable $5,533.33 and given the amount of time left from that filling to election day, should hit the normal well financed range of $6,000 to $8,000. Retired police Sergeant McDonough has raised a whopping $16,260.00 and has already set a new record for contributions.
Analysis of the named cash contributor based on their stated address shows that Ertz got 81.48% of his contributions from Raytown and the average contribution level was $270, McDonough got 55.48% of his contributions from Raytown and his average donation was $630.83. This is an incomplete picture as a large portion of McDonough’s contributions were in-kind donations and a large portion of Ertz’s donations were raised at fundraising events where small donations to not have to be itemized.
Click HEREto download a pdf scan of the Ertz filings with the Ethics Commission that this article is based on and clickHERE to download the McDonough filings.
The New Man Running In The Raytown School Board Election
At first glance, the long beard of Thomas Estlund may make you take a second glance. But after just a few words, you find that the man behind this beard is a fatherly-figure, wise beyond his years. Thomas Estlund is running for his first term on the Board of Education for Raytown Schools. Estlund and wife, Bibi, have chosen to make Raytown their permanent home. They have 4 small children that will attend Raytown Schools, so Estlund has a vested interest in improving the educational experience of all Raytown students.
Estlund has been an upper elementary school teacher in the Greater Kansas City area since graduating from Truman State University in Kirksville with a Bachelors in English, and his Master’s in Education. Estlund’s experience in education includes being named Team Leader and Mentor Teacher, as well as speaking at state and national conferences.
Prior to his current position as a 4th grade teacher at Benjamin Banneker Charter Academy of Technology in Kansas City, Estlund taught 5th grade for three years and 1st grade for a year in Raytown. In addition he taught in Kirksville for five years after graduation. Corina Mann, parent of one of Estlund’s Raytown students said, “I found Mr. Estlund to be exciting and engaging. He enjoys opening young minds to new experiences and encourages students to explore and question the world around them.”
New experiences that could be explored if Estlund is elected include a stronger sense of community. Estlund plans to propose activities such as opening the gym for community use for an evening. Another is allowing area residents to make use of the computer labs in our schools. Estlund states, “The unfortunate consequence of streamlining processes within the social services of our government, is that those without computer access are left without the ability to communicate with those that can assist them. Computers that are unused more than half of our typical daylight hours should open previously untapped opportunities to those that pay the taxes to provide them.”
Estlund’s first priority in office would be digging into district requirements regarding preparation for tests. He would like to evaluate and then limit the amount of time dedicated to mandatory assessment preparation. His experience in the classroom has taught him that a teacher who can focus time on building relationships with students and invests in instruction has the most success engaging the students.
The differences in the population of Raytown demand that teachers be culturally responsive in order to address the needs of each student on an individual basis. Estlund is a lifelong learner and believes that teachers who lack cultural skills should be provided with the training needed to become the best teacher they can be.
Estlund fears that, “In our nation, as a whole, schools are becoming places where students are stifled, creativity is limited and there is no time for students to try things out with the freedom to be unsuccessful their first time.” Thomas Edison is well known for believing that failure is a necessary part of learning, although he may not be the author of the following quote on the subject, it still rings true. “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Estlund is certain that childhood is the time to learn lessons like these that shape who an individual becomes.
Mann also has this to say about Estlund’s run at the school board election, “He has a unique way of addressing an issue so that it can be viewed from multiple positions which encourages thoughtful discussion. As a teacher, Mr. Estlund has experienced firsthand the successes and challenges of our school district and I believe that he will use the knowledge gained from those experiences to bridge the gap between the classroom and the board room.”
The quintessential educator, Estlund is known for using Facebook to assign essays to his friends. He feels that “the district should also be using the very latest in technology and social media to communicate with Raytown.” You can check into Estlund’s Facebook page, Estlund for Raytown School Board, to learn more about him and his plans for the Raytown School District.
Having made the decision not to run again for Raytown Alderman of Ward 3, I wanted to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for the support I have received the past 16 years. I have thoroughly enjoyed and been honored to represent the residents of Ward 3 and the City of Raytown. I have learned so much from Raytown residents and City staff on some many issues and topics and appreciate the time taken to answers all of my questions. I sincerely appreciate all those who have contacted me over the years with their gratitude or issues that needed resolve.
My hope when I started my first term in 1999 was to make a difference. It was with that determination that I made sure that I read every piece of information that came before me, prepared for each meeting with my highlighters, sticky notes and asked the questions that would get to the core of the issue and thus having the information available for me to make for the best decision for our community.
In this upcoming election, I would like to express my support for Ryan Myers who is running for Ward 3 Alderman as he grew up in Raytown and returned as a young professional to make Raytown his home. His expertise in economics and real estate will be a welcomed addition to the Board of Aldermen and his enthusiasm contagious.
I also support Pat Ertz and his bid for Raytown Mayor. Pat has not only the expertise but also the leadership and experience which will benefit our city in the coming months and assist to continue the progress in the opportunities that are coming our way. I have seen Pat’s dedication on the Board of Aldermen since 2007 and in many organizations such as the Raytown Chamber of Commerce and Raytown Summer Lunch Ministry Board. Pat is a very devoted and involved member of our community.
Lastly, I was honored to be elected to serve on the Raytown Charter Commission, as I wanted to make sure the commission followed the rules and maintained a reasonable budget. After 10 months of work, I could not sign my name to the final document as I felt that it did not ‘mirror’ the current city government and will cause extensive expenses if passed. It is not the clear, concise document I hoped would be finalized. I would ask all the voters to read it very carefully as confusion will be prevalent in any attempt to put it in reality.
The City of Raytown has certainly changed over the past 16 years and I sincerely appreciated the opportunity I had to serve as a representative for our great community.
I have trust in the voters of Raytown and know they will make the right decision so that we can continue the progress that has been made and continue forth in the great opportunities we have on the horizon.
The Raytown Area Chamber of Commerce will co-sponsor with the League of Women Voters of Kansas City/Jackson, Clay and Platte Counties, a Mayoral Candidate Forum and a Raytown Alderman Candidate Meet and Greet.
The Forum and Meet and Greet will be held at Raytown City Hall in the Council Chambers on March 31, 2015 from 6:30 to 9:00 pm.
The Mayoral Candidate Forum will be first on the agenda running from 6:30 to 7:15 pm. Each Mayoral Candidate will answer questions submitted in writing from the audience and will also give a closing statement
In the Meet and Greet, each alderman candidate will have five minutes to introduce him or herself and then answer this question: What would you like to achieve in a 4 year term as an Alderman for the City of Raytown? Candidates will be called up by ward and placement on the ballot. Following the presentations, the audience is invited to meet the candidates individually.
The forum is free and open to the public. We encourage you to attend and take this opportunity to become an educated voter.
Questions? Contact Vicki Turnbow, Raytown Area Chamber of Commerce at 816-353-8500.
Social Studies Teacher at Raytown High School for 30 Years
Head District Boys Swimming Coach for Raytown Schools
16 Years as an Alderman for the City of Raytown
Jim has been at the center of the Board of Alderman during a time when the Board ended a long period of fighting and ineffective policies. During the past eight years the old First Baptist Church was town down, and we have seen remarkable economic redevelopment in downtown and 350 Highway. Bridges have been rebuilt, snow removal has become excellent, and the law suits that we experienced during the previous administrations disappeared.
Represents continuity on the Board if a huge change takes place on April 7.
He has worked hard to revitalize the City of Raytown by launching an, effort to bring a new brewery to Raytown, and established a committee to build a community center.
Jim focuses hard on meeting the needs of his constituents in Ward 2. While many of the Alderman have put business interest first, Jim stays in touch with citizens. He knows the people want a nice restraint, a lower crime rate, a smoke free environment in public establishments, and a new community center. His leadership can make those things possible.
ott. I’m running for Raytown Alderman in Ward 1 and I’d like to introduce myself a little bit.
