Tyrone Garner (politician)

Tyrone A. Garner (born 1969)[1] is an American politician and retired police officer who is currently serving as the 31st[2] mayor of Kansas City, Kansas since 2021. He previously served as the deputy chief of the Kansas City Police Department.

This article is about the politician. For other uses, see Tyrone Garner (disambiguation).

Tyrone Garner
30th Mayor of Kansas City, Kansas
Assumed office
December 13, 2021
Preceded byDavid Alvey
Personal details
Born1968/1969 (age 52–53)
Portland, Maine, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Children1
EducationMidAmerica Nazarene University (BA)
Ottawa University (MA)
FBI National Academy
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army

Tyrone Garner was born in Portland, Maine. He grew up in San Jose, California before he and his family moved to Kansas City, KS at the beginning of his freshman year in high school. He graduated from Wyandotte High School in 1987 and enlisted in the United States Army. After being honorably discharged, Garner joined the KCKPD where he would serve for over three decades, attaining the ranks of captain, major, and ultimately deputy chief.[3] Mr. Garner was the first and only African American KCK Police Officer to attend and graduate from the prestigious FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia and was the first African American male Commander to ever command the western portion of KCKS. He retired in 2019, and briefly served on the Kansas City Kansas Community College Board of Trustees.[4] Garner served as a Governor-appointed Kansas African American Affairs Commissioner for the Kansas Congressional 3rd District.[5] He also appointed the first African-American Female Chief of Staff and County Administrator in Wyandotte County. [6]

On November 2, 2021, Garner defeated incumbent David Alvey in a close election to become the first African-American mayor/CEO of the United Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas.[7] He took office on December 13, 2021.[8][9]

Mayor/CEO of Unified Government (2021-present)

On January 10th, 2022, Mayor Garner hired Wyandotte County's first black female interim County Administrator, Ms. Cheryl Harrison-Lee. [10] Only four months later, on April 21 2022, Unified Government Commissioners raised questions about Ms. Harrison-Lee's dedication to the job, citing her ongoing consultancy work with the neighboring city of Kansas City, Missouri, administering economic development tax revenues. [11]

Controversies

On December 16, 2021, Mayor Garner proposed ending the county's mask mandate early amid rising Covid-19 cases and against the appeal of county health officials.[12] The repeal of the mask mandate was one of Mayor Garner's first acts in office.

On December 27th 2021, Mayor Garner closed the county's sole cold-weather shelter.[13] After citizen protests and an emergency commissioners meeting, the cold shelter was eventually allowed to open.[14]

On January 18th 2022, KCTV News broke the story that Mayor Garner charged county taxpayers $85,569 for a new Yukon Denali.[15] After widespread community debate, Mayor Garner returned the luxury SUV on February 8, 2022.[16]

See also

References
  1. "Tyrone Garner Elected Mayor in Kansas City, Kansas". U.S. News & World Report. Associated Press. November 3, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  2. "Tyrone Garner".
  3. "Tyrone A. Garner". Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  4. Rupert, Mary (October 26, 2021). "Mayoral candidates differ on issues at forum". Wyandotte Daily. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  5. https://www.garnerformayor.com
  6. https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article257118577.html
  7. Horsley, Lynn (November 2, 2021). "Tyrone Garner elected first Black mayor of Kansas City, Kansas". KCUR-FM. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  8. "Tyrone Garner - Mayor of Wyandotte County - KCK". garnerformayor.com. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  9. Schmidt, Heidi (November 17, 2021). "Garner to be sworn in as mayor of Unified Government and KCK in December". WDAF-TV. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  10. Brian Dulle. "Wyandotte County appoints new interim county administrator". WDAF-TV. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  11. Aaron Torres; Kevin Hardy. "'I'm increasingly concerned': New WyCo administrator still doing work for Kansas City". Kansas City Star. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  12. Steve Vockrodt (December 17, 2021). "Kansas City, Kansas, ends its mask mandate early despite growing COVID-19 cases". KCUR. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  13. Kansas City Star Editorial Board (December 29, 2021). "KCK mayor shuts down homeless shelter just before weekend freeze. What's he thinking?". Kansas City Star. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  14. Koch, Makenzie; Castro, Monica (December 30, 2021). "Wyandotte County warming shelter will open despite initial pushback from new mayor". WDAF-TV. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  15. Ricono, Angie; Fahrlander, Cyndi (January 18, 2022). "KCK mayor under fire for vehicle choice". KCTV. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  16. Medina, David (February 9, 2022). "Kansas City, Kansas, Mayor Tyrone Garner returns luxury car purchased by Unified Government". KSHB. Retrieved February 10, 2022.


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