FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Josiah Ranen Announces Reform Platform for Kansas City Council District 1
Josiah Ranen, a longtime Northland resident, veteran, and advocate for responsible city governance, today announced a comprehensive reform platform as a candidate for Kansas City Council District 1. His plan focuses on restoring public safety, improving essential city services, strengthening fiscal discipline, expanding housing affordability, and delivering effective, non-ideological leadership for every neighborhood in the Northland.
“Kansas City is at a crossroads,” Ranen said. “Families in the Northland and across the city are dealing with rising crime, deteriorating services, and a $100 million budget shortfall caused by years of mismanagement. We don’t need more slogans or more political theater — we need competent governance and leaders who put residents first.”
"While Our Outgoing Mayor and Certain Certain City Council Members certainty have a right to express their opinions on our national issues, it seems to me that our city council spent too much time advocating for the interests of a certain subset of voters and not enough time focusing on basic city services. From the police dept to the water dept to potholes, city services have gotten less responsive and our city has suffered as a result."
Ranen’s platform outlines targeted reforms across seven key areas:
1. Restoring Public Safety and Reducing Response Times
Kansas City’s emergency response system is understaffed and overstressed.
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Rebuilding police staffing and presence in neighborhoods.
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Doubling 911 dispatcher pay and aggressively hiring more staff.
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Improving technology and deployment strategies to reduce response times.
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Returning public safety to its proper place as the city’s top priority.
Public safety is the backbone of a functioning city, Residents deserve swift responses, adequate coverage, and leaders who take crime seriously.
2. Fixing Basic City Services
From potholes to snow removal, Northland residents consistently receive uneven and inadequate city services.
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Prioritized, accountable road repair and maintenance.
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Better-prepared snow response with improved logistics and equipment.
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Modernized water infrastructure and maintenance standards.
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A systemic audit to identify failures, bottlenecks, and waste.
Creating a website-kansascitypotholes.org where residents can report potholes to hold the city responsible.
3. Fiscal Responsibility and Ending Wasteful Spending
Kansas City’s projected budget deficit is the result of years of political vanity projects, subsidies, and fiscal mismanagement. :
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Ending insider-driven subsidies and wasteful spending.
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Evaluating incentive programs for real public benefit.
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Prioritizing essential services over nonessential projects.
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Restoring transparency and basic financial discipline in City Hall.
“Families have to live within a budget. So should the city,”
4. Expanding Housing Affordability
Young families and first-time homebuyers increasingly struggle to find affordable housing. Streamlining permitting and eliminating unnecessary regulatory barriers.
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Implementing the Home Builders Association’s “Let Builders Build” initiative.
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Encouraging diverse housing options across the Northland.
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Cutting red tape that inflates construction costs.
“Kansas City should be a place where young people can afford to start their lives — not where regulations push them away.”
5. Restoring Sustainable Public Transit
Kansas City’s zero-fare experiment has destabilized funding and reduced reliability.
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Reinstating modest, affordable bus fares.
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Improving bus safety, maintenance, and cleanliness.
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Strengthening regional partnerships for long-term funding.
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Prioritizing transit for workers, students, and vulnerable riders.
6. Ensuring All Neighborhoods Receive Fair, Reliable City Services
Northland residents often feel overlooked or ignored by City Hall.
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Equal investment and service delivery across all neighborhoods.
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Removing politics and media attention as drivers of resource allocation.
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Data-driven planning and genuine community input.
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Leadership that is present, responsive, and accountable.
7. Replacing Political Theater With Practical Governance
City Hall has become more focused on ideological messaging than on fixing what’s broken, Kansas City doesn’t need a class war, it needs a pothole plan.”
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Refocus city government on its core responsibilities.
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Deliver measurable results across public safety, infrastructure, transit, and housing.
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Restore competence, accountability, and common-sense leadership.