KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Some Jackson County officials continue to be at the center of feuds, drama, and controversy when it comes down to taxpayer issues.
In the coming months, Jackson County voters will see a question on the ballot much like this one:
"Should Frank White be recalled as Jackson County Executive?"
As of 10:15 a.m. Monday, petitioners successfully reached the threshold for the number of signatures required for a recall.
In a population of about 717,000 people, the Jackson County Election Authority checked nearly 55,000 signatures from Jackson County voters on the petition.
Part of the certification process includes checking for duplicate signatures, for people who are not Missouri residents, and to make sure those who signed the petition are registered voters in Jackson County.
The election authority certified 43,011 registered voters on the petition.
The effort only required 42,902 signatures, which are 20% of the total votes cast for White in 2022.
KSHB 41's Alyssa Jackson reached out to every Jackson County legislator.
With the exception of Manny Abarca and Sean Smith, legislators either declined interviews or did not reply.
Frank White, Jr., declined an interview and was not present during the legislature's Monday meeting.
White sent a statement to KSHB 41:
“Today’s announcement is simply a procedural step, not a verdict. Meeting a signature threshold doesn’t decide anything. What it does reveal is how far certain interests are willing to go to punish elected officials who refuse to cave to political pressure and backroom stadium subsidy deals.
“This effort is being led and funded by dark money groups and self-interested insiders who were denied a blank check for a bad stadium deal. They didn’t get what they wanted, and now they’re trying to buy political revenge."
“This recall isn’t about public service; it’s about private gain. It’s being driven by those who want county government to work for them, not the people. But I was elected to serve taxpayers, not special interests and I won’t be bullied into selling out the residents of Jackson County."
“We will shine a light on what’s really behind this undemocratic, partisan push. The public deserves to know who is trying to buy influence, rewrite the truth and weaponize the recall process.”
Legislator Manny Abarca said it's the first time in the county's history a recall effort for a county executive has gotten this far.
"43,000 people basically have said they believe he’s doing a bad job, at least on assessments," Abarca said. "The litany of the list of things going wrong in Jackson County led by this county executive is too long to talk about."
Legislator Sean Smith named many reasons why the recall petition was successful.
He said: "Frank White is an unmitigated disaster as a county executive from beginning to end, whether we're talking about residential assessments, the possibility of losing two sports teams, whether we're talking about commercial assessments, budgets going for six months that he recommended then vetoed himself. It appears he’s thrashing and doesn’t know how to do the job. After 10 years of trying, it’s time for him to go if he doesn’t know how to do it better than this by now."
County officials at odds
Hours after the election authority certified the recall, the county executive requested the Jackson County Sheriff's Office and Jackson County Prosecutor's Office investigate Legislator Smith.
White claims Legislator Smith used "taxpayer-funded resources, including county staff, time and technology for political activities directly connected to the recall campaign."
The county executive claims Smith advocated for the recall in a YouTube video using county resources.
While Smith did create a video, he said the allegations were "absolutely not true" and "ridiculous."
KSHB 41 obtained an email from Smith's county email through an open records request.
The email includes Legislator Smith asking a member of his staff to reply to a resident about the recall effort:
"As we get these, can you forward them to Sean@Seansmithformmo.com. Then, reply from there with the following: 'Hi, I'm replying to your inquiry about the recall. I need to avoid using my County email for these messages. Below are locations where the recall petitions are consistently available during business hours...'"
KSHB 41's Alyssa Jackson showed the email to Legislator Smith and asked him to explain the intent behind the exchange.
Smith said: "I’m not familiar with this specific email. Trying to read it here. I do have people who help me with my emails. This is an instruction from one of my accounts. I suspect it’s my personal account. Not aware of communicating with anybody in my official capacity as to where the recall locations were, but that’s what this appears to be."
Smith said he wants to double-check the validity of the email himself.
However, as a legislator, he knows county business must be separate from recall efforts.
As far as White accusing him of using any taxpayer resources, he firmly denies any of that is true.
"I think it’s especially ironic that he [White] is using county resources to work against the recall effort," Smith said. "It's the height of hypocrisy, and I hope voters send him packing out of the Jackson County Courthouse."
Special Election looms
According to Jackson County's charter, a special election must occur within 60 days of the petitions being filed.
Frank White's term ends in January 2027.
If the majority of voters choose "Yes" to Frank White's removal, the charter states the office must be vacated immediately.
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KSHB 41 reporter Alyssa Jackson covers portions of Johnson County, including Overland Park, Prairie Village and Leawood. Share your story idea with Alyssa.
