It wasn’t his victory that raised some eyebrows. It was the overwhelming margin of victory. Incumbent Republican Congressman Sam Graves handily held off what pundits said would be his stiffest challenge ever. It wasn’t close. Graves defeated former Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes by 22 percentage points, with Graves garnering 59% of the votes to only 37% for Barnes in Tuesday’s election.
Tuesday was a big day for the Republican candidates for the Platte County Commission. Both Kathy Dusenbery and Jim Plunkett captured their districts. Dusenbery defeated Bill Quitmeier 55%-45% and Plunkett defeated Charles Rankin 59% to 41%.
Several broken items and five arrests were the result of a fight at the Waffle House restaurant in Platte City. A fight broke out at the Waffle House shortly before 2 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18.
Parkville now has a city administrator after the board of aldermen voted on Tuesday to hire Shannon Thompson. Thompson is the former city administrator of Monmouth, Ill. Thompson said she worked at the city for seven years and spent one year prior in Peoria Heights, Ill. Thompson was hired with a salary of $75,000 as well as a $420 monthly car allowance and $5,000 to cover moving expenses. Thompson told The Landmark that in Monmouth she had an annual salary of $65,215.
