http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-904351.mp3
Kansas City, MO – Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser shook up city council committees again Wednesday with the unexpected removal of councilwoman Jan Marcason from all her committee assignments.
Until this week, Jan Marcason has served on two of the most powerful city council committees: Finance and Audit and Transportation and Infrastructure.
The mayor's memo to the council and the media gave no rationale for stripping Marcason of all her committee duties, but she says she did get a terse explanation in a voicemail message.
"The message said that it was clear 'that you and I share no element of common agenda,'" Marcason said.
Marcason has been praised by the mayor for her work on balancing the city budget, and was a key worker on the initiative to overhaul the city's sewer systems. But she has been critical of the mayor's "Schools First" plan, which is a major plank in his reelection campaign.
Marcason says "Schools First" is a good slogan, but the mayor has not provided enough details on the scope of the related infrastructure improvements or how they actually will help the schools.