Kansas City, Missouri

==Law and government==

===City government===
[[File:Kansas City Missouri City Hall.jpg|thumb|upright|City Hall, Kansas City, Missouri]]
{{See also|List of mayors of Kansas City|Alcohol laws of Missouri}}

Kansas City is home to the largest [[Kansas City, Missouri Municipal Government|municipal government]] in the state of Missouri. The city has a council/manager form of government. The role of [[city manager]] has diminished over the years. The non-elective office of city manager was created following excesses during the Pendergast days.

The mayor is the head of the [[Kansas City, Missouri City Council|Kansas City City Council]], which has 12 members elected from six districts (one member elected by voters in the district and one at-large member elected by voters citywide). The mayor is the presiding member. By charter, Kansas City has a "weak-mayor" system, in which most of the power is formally vested in the city council. However, in practice, the mayor is very influential in drafting and guiding public policy.

Kansas City holds city elections in every fourth odd-numbered year. The last citywide election was held in April 2023. The officials took office in August 2023 and will hold the position until 2027.

Pendergast was the most prominent leader during the machine politics days. The most nationally prominent Democrat associated with the machine was [[Harry S Truman]], who became a Senator, Vice President and then [[President of the United States]] from 1945 to 1953. Kansas City is the seat of the [[United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri]], one of two [[United States district courts|federal district courts]] in Missouri. The [[United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri]] is in St. Louis. It also is the seat of the Western District of the [[Missouri Court of Appeals]], one of three districts of that court (the Eastern District is in St. Louis and the Southern District is in [[Springfield, Missouri|Springfield]]).

The Mayor, City Council, and City Manager are listed below:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kceb.org/useruploads/2019_mayorCC/Election_Summary_Official_6-19.pdf |title=Kansas City Missouri Municipal General Election June 18, 2019 |publisher=Kansas City Municipal Administration |access-date=August 11, 2021 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308182211/https://www.kceb.org/useruploads/2019_mayorCC/Election_Summary_Official_6-19.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kcmo.gov/city-hall/city-officials/city-council-members |title=City Council Members |publisher=City of Kansas City, Missouri |access-date=August 11, 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719152736/https://www.kcmo.gov/city-hall/city-officials/city-council-members |archive-date=July 19, 2019 }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Office
! Officeholder
|-
|'''Mayor''' (presides over Council)
|[[Quinton Lucas]]
|-
|'''Councilman, District 1 At-large'''
|Kevin O'Neill
|-
|'''Councilman, District 1'''
|Nathan Willett
|-
|'''Councilwoman, District 2 At-large'''
|Lindsey French
|-
|'''Councilman, District 2'''
|Wes Rodgers
|-
|'''Councilwoman, District 3 At-large'''
|Melissa Patterson Hazley
|-
|'''Councilwoman, District 3'''
|Melissa Robinson
|-
|'''Councilman, District 4 At-large'''
|Crispin Rea
|-
|'''Councilman, District 4'''
|Eric Bunch
|-
|'''Councilman, District 5 At-large'''
|Darrell Curls
|-
|'''Councilwoman, District 5'''
|Ryana Parks-Shaw
|-
|'''Councilwoman, District 6 At-large'''
|Andrea Bough
|-
|'''Councilman, District 6'''
|Jonathan Duncan
|-
|'''City Manager'''
|Brian Platt
|-
|'''Mayor Pro-Tem'''
|Ryana Parks-Shaw
|}

===National political conventions===
Kansas City hosted the [[1900 Democratic National Convention]], the [[1928 Republican National Convention]] and the [[1976 Republican National Convention]]. The urban core of Kansas City consistently votes Democratic in presidential elections; however, on the state and local level Republicans often find success, especially in the Northland and other suburban areas of Kansas City.

===Federal representation===
Kansas City is represented by three members of the [[United States House of Representatives]]:
*[[Missouri's 4th congressional district]] – the Cass County portion of Kansas City; represented by [[Mark Alford (politician)|Mark Alford]] (Republican)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/MO/4|title=Missouri's 4th congressional district list|website=govtrack.us|access-date=February 1, 2024}}</ref>
*[[Missouri's 5th congressional district]] – all of Kansas City proper in Jackson County, Independence, and portions of Clay County; represented by [[Emanuel Cleaver]] (Democrat)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/MO/5|title=Missouri's 5th congressional district list|website=govtrack.us|access-date=February 1, 2024}}</ref>
*[[Missouri's 6th congressional district]] – Portions of Kansas City proper in [[Clay County, Missouri|Clay County]] and [[Platte County, Missouri|Platte County]]; represented by [[Sam Graves]] (Republican)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/MO/6|title=Missouri's 6th congressional district|website=govtrack.us|access-date=February 1, 2024}}</ref>

===Crime===
[[File:Police Respond to Shooting.jpg|thumb|Police respond to a shooting in the [[Crossroads, Kansas City|Crossroads]] area during the early hours of New Year's Day 2016.]]

Some of the earliest organized violence in Kansas City erupted during the [[American Civil War]]. Shortly after the city's incorporation in 1850, so-called [[Bleeding Kansas]] erupted, affecting [[border ruffians]] and [[Jayhawkers]]. During the war, Union troops [[General Order № 11 (1863)|burned all occupied dwellings]] in Jackson County south of Brush Creek and east of Blue Creek to Independence in an attempt to halt raids into Kansas. After the war, the ''[[Kansas City Times]]'' turned outlaw [[Jesse James]] into a folk hero via its coverage. James was born in the Kansas City metro area at [[Kearney, Missouri]], and notoriously robbed the Kansas City Fairgrounds at 12th Street and Campbell Avenue.

In the early 20th century under Pendergast, Kansas City became the country's "most wide open town". Though this gave rise to [[Kansas City Jazz]], and also led to the rise of the [[Kansas City crime family|Kansas City mob]] (initially under [[Johnny Lazia]]), and the arrival of [[organized crime]]. In the 1970s, the Kansas City mob was involved in a gang war over control of the [[River Quay]] entertainment district, in which three buildings were bombed and several gangsters were killed. Police investigations gained after boss [[Nick Civella]] was recorded discussing gambling bets on [[Super Bowl IV]] (where the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Minnesota Vikings). The war and investigation led to the end of mob control of the [[Stardust Casino]], which was the basis for the film ''[[Casino (film)|Casino]]'', though the production minimizes the Kansas City connections.

{{As of|November 2012}}, Kansas City [[United States cities by crime rate|ranked 18th]] on the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI)'s annual survey of crime rates for cities with populations over 100,000.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2013/02/01/fbi-violent-crime-drops-in-kansas.html |title=FBI: Violent crime drops in Kansas City for first half of 2012 |work=Kansas City Business Journal |date=February 1, 2013 |access-date=July 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130730054734/http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2013/02/01/fbi-violent-crime-drops-in-kansas.html |archive-date=July 30, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> Much of the city's violent crime occurs on the city's lower income East Side. Revitalizing the downtown and midtown areas has been fairly successful and now these areas have below average violent crime compared to other major downtowns.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thinkdowntownkc.com/happening/happening.htm |title=Powered prohibited Mirror |work=thinkdowntownkc.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081222050510/http://www.thinkdowntownkc.com/happening/happening.htm |archive-date=December 22, 2008 }}</ref>{{irrelevant citation|date=June 2019|reason=Link does not corroborate claim, but instead links to an article about money spent on development.}} According to a 2007 analysis by ''[[The Kansas City Star]]'' and the [[University of Missouri-Kansas City]], downtown experienced the largest drop in crime of any neighborhood in the city during the 2000s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.downtownkc.org/content.aspx?pgID=875&newsID=579&exCompID=82|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080412045254/http://www.downtownkc.org/content.aspx?pgID=875&newsID=579&exCompID=82|url-status=dead|title=Crime falls downtown and across much of Kansas City|date=January 7, 2008|website=downtownkc.org|archive-date=April 12, 2008}}</ref>