KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A group called Take KC Back is spearheading an effort to recall 4th District City Councilman Eric Bunch for repeatedly going “against the will of his constituents.”
“4th District Councilman Eric Bunch has a consistent history of enmity toward our police department, and of supporting radical agendas,” the group’s website reads.
Take KC Back announced the effort via a press release on Thursday and listed Bunch’s actions in the past that they take issue with.
In January, Bunch called for the resignation of the Kansas City Chief of Police amid pressure from the Defund the Police movement. Take KC Back said the call for resignation was “without merit” and that Bunch “[bowed] to the radical protestors who also call for defunding the police.”
“We believe that Councilman Eric Bunch should be fired, not our Chief of Police,” the press release said. “That is why today, we filed an affidavit with the city clerk to start the recall process of Councilman Eric Bunch.”
The group also referenced the KC City Council’s vote in May to “reallocate” over $42 million away from the Kansas City Police Department, of which Bunch voted in support of.
“Bunch voted to defund KCPD by over 42 million dollars without constituent input and without guarantee that the money would go back to the police department,” the press release continued.
As eight other council members voted to do the same, Bunch isn’t the only one in the group’s crosshairs for voting to cut KCPD’s funding – he’s just the first.
“He will be the first councilmember to be recalled for voting to defund KCPD,” the group said.
Take KC Back is a police advocacy group that works towards supporting law enforcement amid recent criticism and efforts across the U.S. to slash police funding.
“We are a group of local Kansas City nonpartisans – retired police officers, community and faith leaders – joined to represent all of our city in supporting our police and common-sense city policy,” their website reads. “We have experienced the deteriorating condition of the police due to reduced funding, increased divisiveness and dishonor, and political agendas that serve to increase crime and threaten our communities and officers.”
“We are confident that with the number of Fourth District constituents who feel their voice is not being represented at City Hall, we will reach the threshold of signatures necessary to put this on the ballot.”
In order to successfully recall Bunch, Take KC Back must collect the signatures of 20% of the registered voters in Kansas City’s 4th District within 30 days of filing the affidavit. Once the signatures are collected and verified, Bunch will face a recall election where he could be voted out of his position.
“Our strategy is multi-pronged,” the group said. “We have boots-on-the-ground volunteers to knock on doors, remote locations for you to find us and we have fun events to attend and sign petitions.
“We will take back Kansas City for common-sense governance. We’ll win this, then the next one, 30 days at a time. Actions have consequences in Kansas City.”
Take KC Back has until August 22 to gather the necessary number of signatures to prompt a recount. The group encourages voters in Kansas City’s 4th District to sign the petition here.
