Freedom Inc's Ranking Slum Lord Attacks Kansas City Housing Court

(Update and bump: The rumors were right, plus they are going after Judge Williams, partially because he said that being a municipal judge in Kansas City is a "good gig". Sorry, Freedom, but it is a hell of a good gig. If there were someone who DIDN'T think that getting paid $120k to be a municipal judge is a good gig, I wouldn't trust him or her to judge a dog show.)

Observant Kansas City voters with a sense of history can only shake their heads in wonder at how far Freedom, Inc. has fallen. Back in the day, they were a powerful organization backing credible leaders. Political luminaries such as Congressmen Alan Wheat and Emanuel Cleaver received much needed boosts from this once-powerful, formerly respectable organization.

Back in the early 90s, though, Freedom, Inc. was taken over by criminals and rascals, a tradition that continues to this day. They continue to survive only through unseemly shakedowns of desperate candidates (how did paying for their endorsement work out for you, Charlie Wheeler?) and trading on their long lost honorable name. Their current president is a real estate development lawyer (read: TIF pig), and Leon Jordan is spinning in his grave. Under his leadership, the organization has paid a $45,000 fine for failing to register as a Political Committee.

What fresh humiliation could the current leadership dream up to drag Freedom, Inc.'s name down further into the gutter during this election cycle?

Believe it or not, if current rumor is to be believed, they are attacking the housing court, in an effort headed up by none other than Richard Tolbert, a man who has done more than his share to keep that noble court busy.

What is the Housing Court? It is a division of the Kansas City Municipal Court that handles housing code violations. It is recognized as one of the strengths of Kansas City, and a huge source of support for our neighborhoods. Rather than letting absentee slumlords like Tolbert ruin entire neighborhoods on the east side, the Housing Court forces recalcitrant landowners to maintain a minimal standard of upkeep. I've represented a client in housing court, and, trust me, you need to be almost aggressively negligent to get in trouble there. Tolbert has not only gotten into trouble there, he has actually earned a jail sentence.

Rumor has it that Freedom, Inc., and Richard Tolbert will be asking you to vote NOT to retain Housing Court Judge Wayne Cagle. If anyone asks you to vote against Judge Cagle, tell them you refuse their advice. And that they should be ashamed of themselves.