Corruption or Cronyism, Chiefs’ Sports Authority

With Representative Sean Tarwater, Chairman of the Kansas House Commerce Committee, getting his marching orders from billionaire Clark Hunt to pass the Sports Authority or the Chiefs’ deal is DEAD, the debacle continues to dominate Topeka.  Now there are rumors of consolidation of the Speedway, the Legends, and the American Royal to be under the auspices of the…Sports Authority. So, I think we ALL need to lobby our representatives and senators to make Kansas one BIG STAR BOND district and have the state own everything!  We will all lease from the state at insanely low rates, all of which will go to upkeep and improvements of our property.  No more property taxes or income taxes!!!!  What’s good for the Chiefs is good for you and ME!!

Senator Mike Thompson wrote a very informative column on the Sports Authority, here is an excerpt:

If you didn’t like the agreement reached with the Chiefs, you won’t like this bill either. In short, it does the following:

• The bill codifies the terms set forth in the agreement reached between the State of Kansas and the Kansas City Chiefs back in December. They cannot be changed to give the Kansas taxpayers a fair shake, or a better deal.

• This bill grows government to accommodate any deal that the authority decides to make in the future, including educational, cultural and commercial activities.

• Although they benefit from it, the Chiefs will have a seat on the Authority. A blatant conflict of interest.

• The Sports Authority will be exempt from a number of laws, including some open records act provisions, competitive bid processes, and fair hiring requirements.

• The Authority always wins when in conflict with other laws.

• The Sports Authority will become an unaccountable “Shadow Government” similar to the Mid America Regional Council that has expanded its scope into areas beyond its original founding with no oversight nor restriction on its actions.

Link to the full column:

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/The-Kansas-Sports-Authority-Bill–Penalties-Galore-.html?soid=1133663408167&aid=eboUFCxgz6g

Then last week we were informed that Wyandotte County small business owners must play nice in order to be in “these billionaires” good graces to MAYBE get a few crumbs from the pie of Chiefs’ contracts. What a PR disaster!!! Latanya Goodloe, a WyCo small businesswoman, asked how she and other small businesses in Wyandotte County should navigate the political waters to secure contracts with the Chiefs. Here is DEMOCRAT Lt. Governor Toland’s lecture to Ms. Goodloe:

From Clear Politics,

…“to be just super real about it, the way to do it, the way to get your foot in the door is not to ask the question in this setting like you just asked it. If you want to get in the door with these billionaires, I’ll help you get in the door with these billionaires, but if they think you’re angry at ‘em, like it felt with your question, they’re not going to talk to you. So, I’m just being real because I don’t think it’s helpful to just, you know, shine anybody on. There are ways to get in there, but it doesn’t get done with a microphone. It gets done with you talking to me out in the hallway. It gets done with you making an appointment with my staff, and we figure out OK, here’s what you do, here’s what they need. I make an introduction. Everybody is nice, everybody talks about their capabilities and their needs. That’s how it gets done. So, I hope you’re not offended by my answer, but I think it’s important to just be honest about the way projects like this work.”

Here’s the link to the full story:

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/…/chiefs_get_massive…

So, are we now on the edges of corruption or is this still just meager cronyism?  WOW!!!  We MUST GET BACK to the free market or drown in back room deals!!!

God Bless,
Charlotte O’Hara
Republican for Kansas Governor, 2026