Tyrone Garner (politician)

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

Tyrone Garner
30th Mayor of Kansas City, Kansas
Incumbent
Assumed office December 13, 2021
Preceded by	David Alvey
Personal details
Born	1968 or 1969 (age 54–55) Portland, Maine, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Children	1
Education	MidAmerica Nazarene University (BA) Ottawa University (MA) FBI National Academy
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army

Tyrone A. Garner (born 1969)^[1] is an American politician and retired police officer who is currently serving as the 30th^[2] mayor of Kansas City, Kansas since 2021. He previously served as the deputy chief of the Kansas City Police Department (KCKPD).

Tyrone Garner was born in Portland, Maine. He grew up in San Jose, California before he and his family moved to Kansas City, Kansas (KCK) 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 (2021-2024)

On January 10, 2022, Garner hired Wyandotte County's first black female interim county administrator, Cheryl Harrison-Lee.^[10] Only four months later, on April 21, 2022, Unified Government Commissioners raised questions about 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] Garner "angrily stormed out of a special session"^[12] of the Unified Government on May 3, 2022, refusing to answer commissioners' requests that he begin a nationwide search for a permanent county administrator. Commissioners cited the interim administrators' possible conflict of interest as reasons to begin the search.

In a Facebook post on January 29, 2024,^[13] Mayor Garner announced he would temporarily step aside as mayor to undergo a confidential medical procedure. No return date was given. Tom Burroughs, former Democratic member of the Kansas House of Representatives and current Unified Government At-Large District 2 Commissioner will serve as Mayor Pro Tempore.

Controversies

On December 16, 2021, Garner proposed ending the county's mask mandate early amid rising COVID-19 cases and against the appeal of county health officials.^[14] The repeal of the mask mandate was one of Garner's first acts in office.

On December 27, 2021, Garner closed the county's sole cold-weather shelter.^[15] After citizen protests and an emergency commissioners meeting, the cold shelter was eventually allowed to open.^[16]

On January 18, 2022, KCTV News broke the story that Garner charged county taxpayers $85,569 for a new Yukon Denali.^[17] After widespread community debate, Garner returned the luxury SUV on February 8, 2022.^[18]

"... weeks into his tenure" in January 2022,^[19] Garner blocked a $23 million downtown redevelopment project,^[20] despite campaigning on a promise to revitalize the downtown core. The project was to include 70 to 85 apartment units, as well as a fitness center and meeting space. The proposed development is supported by the Commission.

Honors and awards

• 2016 KCKPS Reasons to Believe Award Recipient^[21]
• 2018 Black Achievers Award presented by the SCLC of Greater Kansas City^[22]
• KC Globe Most Influential Kansas Citians of 2015 Award^[23]
• Eugene K. Patterson Community Service Award presented by the Heart of America Chapter of The Tuskegee Airmen^[22]
• Rosalyn Brown and Betty Taliaferro Service Award presented by Friends of Yates, Inc.^[22]

See also

• List of first African-American mayors

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. "Home". garnerformayor.com.
6. The Kansas City Star (subscription required)
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. Aaron Torres (May 3, 2022). "KCK mayor angrily storms out after shutting down requests for new county administrator search". Kansas City Star. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
13. KSHB 41 News Staff. "Medical procedure sidelines Unified Government Mayor Tyrone Garner, Mayor Pro Tem Tom Burroughs will fill in". KSHB-TV. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
14. Steve Vockrodt (December 17, 2021). "Kansas City, Kansas, ends its mask mandate early despite growing COVID-19 cases". KCUR. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
15. 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.
16. 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.
17. Ricono, Angie; Fahrlander, Cyndi (January 18, 2022). "KCK mayor under fire for vehicle choice". KCTV. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
18. Medina, David (February 9, 2022). "Kansas City, Kansas, Mayor Tyrone Garner returns luxury car purchased by Unified Government". KSHB. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
19. Aaron Torres (June 15, 2022). "KCK was set to get downtown apartment complex. Why did Mayor Tyrone Garner stop it?". Kansas City Star. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
20. Thomas Friestad (October 22, 2020). "Lanier United, UG advance plan to redevelop current Reardon Center site into mixed-use". American City Business Journals. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
21. "Tyrone A. Garner". Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
22. "Tyrone Garner". www.wycokck.org. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
23. "100 Most Influential Kansas Citians and the Lifetime Honorees" (PDF). Kansas City Globe. March 25, 2015. p. 8. Retrieved May 31, 2022.