Democratic presiding commissioner candidate John DeFoor, as well as other concerned citizens, have raised questions about the Platte County Commission’s calendar, which is posted on the county website.
The Platte County Commission has posted schedules of upcoming events that one or more members of the commission may attend for many years. The calendars were previously paper posts made on a bulletin board outside the commission office in Platte City, but for at least the past 10 years, the calendar has moved online to the county website at co.platte.mo.us.
According to the Missouri Attorney General’s office: “Under the Sunshine Law, a meeting takes place when a majority or quorum of a public governmental body gathers to discuss or vote on public business (§ 610.010(5), RSMo, and Colombo v. Buford, 935 S.W.2d 690 (Mo. App. W.D. 1996)). Therefore, if less than a quorum of the public body meets to discuss public business, it is not a ‘meeting’ as defined under the Sunshine Law.”
County policy is to post planned events if a quorum could be present. As the commission is made up of only three members, two is a quorum.
The concern with this policy arose when a Thursday, Oct. 6 campaign event for Republican presiding commissioner candidate Scott Fricker was posted on the commission calendar.
“There is no way I can compete in this race for Platte County Presiding Commissioner when our county commissioners are advertising my opponents meet and greets on our county website,” DeFoor wrote on his campaign Facebook page on Monday. “This is using county resources to affect the outcome of an election in my opinion.”
DeFoor asked for opinions, and received an explanation from former district commissioner Kathy Dusenbery, who explained the event posting policy. She suggested DeFoor check with the Missouri Ethics Commission regarding the situation.
Since the posting, the Citizen has heard from several county residents concerned the policy shows favoritism toward Republicans, as all three commissioners are Republican.
On Tuesday, Oct. 4, DeFoor said on social media that he had contacted Platte County government and asked if his campaign events could be posted as well. He was told by an unnamed county official that the calender was for commission scheduling and not a general event listing.
“What they don’t realize is they better have their ducks in a row because whether I get in office or not they will be answering some tough questions after the November elections,” DeFoor wrote on Facebook in response.