TKC BREAKING NEWS!!! LEE'S SUMMIT VOTERS LAUNCH RECALL EFFORT AGAINST CONTROVERSIAL CONSERVATIVE COUNCILMAN CHRIS MORENO!!!

Kansas City metro suburban political life can be unforgiving. After a tense debate over contracts earlier this year . . . Here's a Lee's Summit political movement that looks like payback. We've reached out to Chris for comment and we'll post his side if he decides to send something our way.

Check the presser for now . . . 

Citizen group forms in Lee’s Summit to recall District 4’s Chris Moreno

Lee’s Summit Citizens for Responsible Government is calling for residents of District 4 to recall council member Chris Moreno.

The newly formed citizens group has filed a petition with the Lee’s Summit City Clerk’s office as of Wednesday, Oct. 26. The petition is the formal indication the group will be seeking recall efforts against council member Moreno.

In the petition, Lee’s Summit Citizens for Responsible Government have cited several reasons voters should consider in recalling Moreno, who was elected in April, including noting Moreno’s “intimidation of citizens, elected officials and business owners, repeated misconduct in office, suspicious campaign finances and abuse of power.”

“Councilman Moreno hasn’t remotely begun to speak on behalf of those of us that reside in District 4, much less serve our interests, since the day he took office in April,” said Kent Ruehter, a member of LSCRG and spokesperson for the group. “From his unprovoked attack on Target (which is not in his district) to immature outbursts at council meetings and pandering to certain interests that are not in the least tied to his city and civic duties, Mr. Moreno has let down residents of District 4 at every turn.”

The citizens group has noted Moreno’s lack of basic understandings of local governance, recent bankruptcy filings, lawsuits against Moreno and his constant barrages on social media as various factors that should lead District 4 voters to rethink their decision and instead cast a ballot in favor of recall, which will appear on the April 2017 ballot.

“Mr. Moreno hadn’t warmed his seat at the dais yet when he was calling out local television stations to bloviate on Target’s bathroom policy, using Lee’s Summit City Hall as the backdrop. That sort of self-righteous behavior shows he is unfit to serve us,” Ruehter said. “If this was his only misstep in his first six months, the electorate would likely forgive him. But time and again he has exhibited a pattern of incompetence, arrogance and bullying.

“During public comments at a council meeting in August, a citizen told Mr. Moreno he was not what Lee’s Summit is about. We couldn’t agree more and we plan to take firm and dedicated action to make sure he does not retain his seat.”

LSCRG must obtain 522 signatures of registered District 4 voters to force the April recall election. The group has 60 days from the petition filing to gather the signatures.

At least one citizen has called for Moreno to resign, also during public comments at a council meeting in October. Moreno was absent from his council chair during much of those public comments on Oct. 7, only returning to interrupt the citizen during her allotted time to speak.

The group says Moreno could help the city avoid this recall by simply stepping down.

“The voters may have spoken in April, but since then Mr. Moreno has used his elected position for his own gain and not that of the betterment of Lee’s Summit. We would ask the voters to speak again now as we call for his recall. Our city deserves better leadership than this and we will work to accomplish that.”
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