Mayoral Candidate Forum – 2/18

Transform Topeka and WIBW would like to announce a Mayoral Candidate Forum Potluck!

As of this post, TransformTopeka is tentatively planning to start our next community potluck at 6:00 p.m. on February 18, at WIBW. During the dinner, members of the community will have the opportunity to meet the mayoral candidates. Around 7:30 the candidates will answer questions from the moderator and the audience in the WIBW studio. Since seating is limited, only about 80 people will be admitted. Please RSVP to contact@transformtopeka.com by 2/13/2009 if you are interested in attending.

If you have a question you’d like to ask the candidates, but cannot attend, please email jim.ogle@wibw.com or contact@transformtopeka.com.

We’d like you to join us in extending a big ‘thank you’ to Jim Ogle and WIBW for extending the offer to host this potluck and forum! Please continue to check back for updates about this event.

Podcasts – Meet the Team and an Introduction to City Government

TransformTopeka is very pleased to announce that we have successfully recorded our first two podcasts.

The first podcast is an introduction to the TransformTopeka team and what TransformTopeka is about.  We have had the opportunity to meet a lot of people within the community, but unfortunately we haven’t had the opportunity to meet everyone.  This will hopefully give folks whom we haven’t connected with yet a chance to get to know us.

The second podcast is a brief introduction into Topeka’s city government.  With elections coming up in April, we thought it was important to help folks in our community understand the roles and responsibilities of our elected officials. Read the rest of this entry »

Play

Good News for Topeka

Today, it was announced that The Home Depot may be locating a distribution center in Topeka, KS (see CJOnline Article posted 12/12/08).  This is great news for our community as it could bring about 300 more jobs to the area.  It is expected to be located off of 57th and Topeka Blvd, near the Target distribution center once plans are finalized.  Please join me in congratulating all involved with bringing more jobs to Topeka.

City Government discussion

There’s been a lot of discussion lately about what form of government Topeka should have. Reported on Wednesday in the Capital Journal, the city council members weighed in on a proposed change that was reported earlier in the week.

In 2005, Topeka voted to change from a strong mayor/city council form of government to a city manager/city council form, which is what the city currently has. There is a group who would like to see the strong mayoral form of government return as well as a change in how the city council is set up. I know there are many who see things this way. According the Capital Journal, none of the city council members are supporting the idea.

I have no problem with exploring the idea; however, I have to give the following remark some credence:

Councilman Bill Haynes said he hadn’t formed an opinion, but his initial reaction was that the current city council-manager form of government hasn’t been in place long enough to start thinking about abandoning it.

I know that there are other large cities hold a similar form of government, so it begs the question… is the real problem with the system or are the wrong people in place in the system? It’s not been in place long enough, or had enough different individuals in it, to form a clear decision.

I don’t know the answer. But I think that it needs to be considered. If you’ll allow the parallel, it’s a little like saying that marriage doesn’t work based on the wrong people being married.

This is just my opinion… So, what do you think?

  • denise
  • July 24th, 2008
  • Comments    
  • Articles, City Government, Topeka News

City Wide Voting

At-large council suggested

Mayor says setup would be less provincial

By Tim Carpenter

The Capital-Journal
Published Friday, June 20, 2008

Topeka Mayor Bill Bunten raised the possibility Thursday of electing the city council through at-large voting rather than by district.

Read the rest of this entry »

  • Travis Gooden
  • June 20th, 2008
  • Comments    
  • Articles, Getting Involved, Topeka News
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