The Emporia City Commission has its first meeting of the year this upcoming Wednesday, and the trio of new members say they are ready for their new leadership roles.
KVOE’s Talk of Emporia this past Friday was focused on the new commissioners — Monica Duncan, Tammi Ogle and Kurt Steinkuhler — as they officially begin their terms in office. And all three say they are ready to serve the city, thanks to the onboarding process they have experienced since the general election in November. In fact, Steinkuhler says he’s “more than ready.”
Ogle agrees, saying the “firehose of information” is legitimate — going all the way back to the start of the election process.
The new commissioners believe the biggest issues, in general terms, are the toughest ones to handle. Duncan says infrastructure is the place to start, followed by economic development.
Ogle says a big focal point early on is trust.
To Steinkuhler, the biggest and toughest issues are all related.
All three say they ran for office after feeling some sort of discontent among local voters. Ogle says there was a growing loss of hope among some voters.
In Duncan’s case, she ran because others wouldn’t.
Steinkuhler says the situation between the city and its economic development partners, including the Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce, Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas and Visit Emporia, was a tipping point for him.
Duncan says conversations with current commissioners Erren Harter and Becky Smith early in the onboarding process have helped to set a collaborative tone.
As they get ready for their new roles, Duncan, Steinkuhler and Ogle encourage residents to step up and speak out.
Steinkuhler, Duncan and Ogle are replacing Susan Brinkman and Jamie Sauder, who decided against running for re-election, and Tyler Curtis, who was seeking a full term in office after being appointed to replace the late Danny Giefer.
The City Commission’s next meeting is at 11 am Wednesday, when the new commissioners will be sworn in. The agenda for that meeting will be released Tuesday.
