Lynn Horsley

Kansas City is headed back to the polls on June 20. The new City Council needs to address an urgent need for more affordable housing, recent spikes in violent crime, economic development and neighborhood livability issues like trash services, infrastructure and short-term rentals.

Customers purchasing recreational marijuana in Kansas City and neighboring municipalities will pay a 3% local tax on those retail sales, on top of the 6% state tax, following Tuesday’s election. New taxes and fees on short-term rentals also received Kansas City voter approval.

The April 4 election is the first under redrawn Kansas City Council districts, which means residents may be voting in a different district than they have in the past. Several races, while non-partisan, have become heated and intense.

Kansas City voters are narrowing the field for mayor and city council seats in redrawn council districts. Plus, residents will decide whether to approve taxes on recreational marijuana and Airbnbs.

Kansas City will invest general obligation bond funds over the next five years to upgrade parks and recreation centers and convention facilities and to create more affordable housing units.

In addition to statewide questions over marijuana legalization and police funding, Kansas City and its surrounding counties have their own ballot issues and local elections. The ballot is quite long, so Kansas City voters should familiarize themselves before heading to the polls.

Wheeler was Kansas City mayor for two terms, from 1971 to 1979, and was known as a feisty, forceful, decisive leader who projected a populist, people-oriented persona.

No Democrat has won a U.S. Senate seat in Kansas since George McGill in 1932. Mark Holland hopes to end that trend, but he’s challenging Jerry Moran, the Republican incumbent seeking a third term after cruising to victory over Democrats in the past.

Además de las preguntas a nivel estatal sobre la legalización del uso de la marihuana y el financiamiento de la policía - además de las elecciones para cargos locales, estatales y federales - Kansas City, Missouri, tiene su propio conjunto de cuestiones locales. La boleta de votación es bastante larga, por lo que los votantes de Kansas City deben familiarizarse al acudir a las urnas.

Amendment 4, which will appear on the Nov. 8 ballot, asks Missouri voters to require Kansas City to increase funding for police.