Some voters seem to feel a little uneasy by some of the recent decisions the current Platte County Commission has made.
Beverlee Roper of Weatherby Lake is one of them.
Roper, who is running against Kathy Dusenbery, incumbent first district commissioner in the upcoming Republican primary, sat down for an interview with The Landmark on Monday.
Roper, age 61, said she is running for the Platte County Commission to focus on fiscal responsibility and fiscal priorities for local government.
“I love Platte County,” said Roper, who has been a resident of Platte County since 1994 and currently serves as the municipal judge of Weatherby Lake.
Roper said her desire to run for county office surfaced just prior to 2010.
“I have been watching and hearing, really hearing, what is happening,” in Platte County.
Roper said if elected she will bring a new level of professionalism, as well as transparency, to the commission.
“The federal government and state government are going to have less and less money to hand out and that is why the transparency is so important.”
Therefore, taxpayers know ahead of time what the county is up against and there is consensus, added Roper.
Citizens expect their elected officials to provide sufficient funding to core government functions, she said. She stated her efforts as commissioner will center on protecting life, liberty, and property while promoting a free market.
Roper attended two years at Grove City College in western Pennsylvania before taking a job in television in Youngstown, Ohio. After a two year stint as a television talk show host, she went on to work as a public events coordinator for what is now known as Macy’s.
Desiring to get back into television, she took a position with Pennsylvania Public Television. Roper said the highlight of her career at PPT was interviewing Ronald Reagan in 1976. Video of that interview can be found on Roper’s web site at roper4commissioner.com.
Determined to finish her degree in economics, Roper decided to attend Gordon College, where she earned her bachelor’s degree. In 1981, she received a juris doctorate from Vermont Law School.
Immediately following law school, she took a position in Pittsburgh with Channel 4 action news and took on a second job as a public defender. Shortly thereafter, she was appointed a magistrate for the city of Pittsburgh.
In 1985, she worked as a Reagan appointee in the Office of Public Affairs. Later she tried cases as an attorney with the U.S Department of Justice.
“I tried 15 jury trials. I won 13, I hung one, and I lost one,” said Roper.
Between 1989 and 1993 she worked as a trial attorney in the Environmental Enforcement Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division. She was assigned to various regions and handled cases in Kansas City, Seattle, and Dallas.
While on assignment in Kansas City, she met her late husband, who she describes as a “tall, never been married, bachelor.”
Shortly after moving to Kansas City in 1993, she accepted a partnership with Blackwell Sanders/Husch Blackwell. After about eight years with that firm she now works for Finch and Campbell LLC.
Roper’s husband passed away five years ago from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
“His goal was to make it to age 60,” she said.
He died just several days following his 60th birthday. Roper has two dogs that she considers her children and still resides in the family home at Weatherby Lake.
Currently she is busy fundraising for her campaign.
If she wins the primary election held on Aug. 7 and is later elected in the general election, Roper said she will approach the position as a full time job, because she feels “that is the right way to do it.”
