Driving around the county like me, you’ve no doubt come across some pretty large political signs. And I mean so enormous that they block your view of oncoming traffic when you’re trying to see around a corner. The biggest ones have been strategically placed on empty lots. I think some of them are taller than me.
I always assumed that candidates asked for permission before erecting their massive 6-by-4-foot signs, but that appears to be a misconception. Why, you may ask?
I spoke to someone in the know this week who said that one group of candidates is accusing their opponents of taking down their signs. But that’s not the case. Property owners have removed political signs because candidates never asked permission to place them there.
Highway 45 is littered with campaign signs and half of one candidate’s signs disappeared before the primary. Not for nefarious reasons because they were stolen by an opponent. But simply because they put them up without asking first.
Maybe next election season, start by politely asking property owners for permission before you stake your signs in the ground. But that wouldn’t fit your narrative, right? If you asked first, your signs might stay put — and you’d lose the chance to blame a “dirty opponent” for sabotaging your campaign.
Oh, the drama.
Speaking of trying to sabotage others, there’s been plenty of talk lately from my sources inside the county administration building that some elected officials work part-time hours in their roles. I’ve heard this before, but the plot thickened a few weeks ago when a current elected official told me about their first days on the job.
Apparently, Presiding Commissioner Scott Fricker himself told them, “Yeah, keep your other job. This is a part-time role.” According to the new officeholder at the time, Fricker was serious. As in, not joking.
How is being a public servant a part-time role? Many of these elected officials manage a staff of 20 to 30 people. The ones I know personally work significantly more than 40 hours a week. Sometimes 50, 60 or more. I drive into the office on Saturdays and Sundays and I often see elected officials walking to or from their cars wearing jeans and flip-flops. They certainly aren’t the “part-timers.”
I’d love to learn the names of these individuals. I’ll keep you updated if I do.
That brings me to the topic of salaries. Do you recall the Landmark story that received a lot of buzz nearly a year ago, when the salary commission voted in November 2025 to raise elected officials’ base salaries by 30%?
This salary increase takes effect at the beginning of each office’s next term, so January 2027 for most and March 2027 for one role. Current officeholders cannot receive it during their existing terms, but those who win reelection will receive the higher salary when their new terms begin.
I mention this because I just learned a new development. I had already been planning to write a story on elected officials’ annual salaries in the new year, but now I can include a sidebar on who has chosen to accept the 30% salary increase and who has not. Because it is optional.
Stay tuned for that enlightenment in three months.
Here in the newsroom, we’re also keeping a close eye on the Dale Brouk stealing investigation that we discussed at length last week. As you’ll recall, he’s the independent candidate for presiding commissioner who was recorded on a doorbell camera removing the Republicans’ bag of campaign literature from a local doorknob and replacing it with his own.
There are new developments this week. It began when a theft report was filed with the Platte City Police Department. But then, PCPD’s Chief Jeff Wilson said the case was transferred to the Platte County Sheriff’s Office for investigation. It didn’t stay there long either.
According to the media liaison for the Platte County Prosecutor’s Office, they received the case Oct. 7 and forwarded it to the state attorney general’s office that same day. I don’t know how much investigative work you can accomplish in less than one day, but the reason it was passed on again to the state has not been shared.
Now we have to wait with bated breath to see if the state will move forward with charges or decide to do nothing. It’s been passed on to the next agency so many times at this point, it appears no one wants that decision on their docket.
Remember, next week’s issue is your last chance to publish a political letter to the editor. Your deadline to get those to me is noon Monday, Oct. 19.
