Kansas City Peace Planters

February 20, 2012

Contact:

Rachel M. MacNair, Ph.D., Petition Coordinator, (816)753-2057

Ann Suellentrop, (913)271-7925

Hearing: Wednesday, February 22, 2012, 1:30 PM

Planning, Zoning & Economic Development Committee, City Council Chamber, 26th Floor, City Hall.

City councilmember Ed Ford has introduced two ordinances ORDINANCE NO. 120146, and ORDINANCE NO. 120147 ,  to place each of our two initiatives on the ballot. One measure proposes to safeguard jobs with contingency conversion plans, and the other proposes to remove the city’s financial involvement with the plant. In support of these initiatives, and to challenge policies promoted by councilmembers we will offering testimonies from two expert witnesses:

Steven Starr, MT (ASCP) is Director of the Clinical Laboratory Science Program at the University of Missouri and Senior Scientist with Physicians for Social Responsibility. He will present research on the impact of nuclear war on climate change, agriculture and public health. Starr’s studies, which have been published in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, demonstrate global and sustaining consequences even for nuclear war between states with smaller arsenals such as India and Pakistan.

Dr. Marcus Iszard is Director of Assessment and Associate Professor of Pharmacology/Toxicology at the University of Missouri at Kansas City.             He will discuss the environmental and health impacts of nuclear weapons production, including issues of employee health and safety at the Bannister Federal Complex and the new campus for the Kansas City Plant.

(The ordinances call for the initiatives to be placed on the ballot June 5 with the understanding this would be the next available election date. Let it be understood there is no intention to request the City spend its resources to hold an election on our initiatives alone. If there are no other measures on the June 5th ballot, our measures would be postponed for a later election, likely August 7th.)

Press Release

Contact:

Ann Suellentrop, (913)271-7925

Rachel M. MacNair, Ph.D. (816)753-2057

KC Peace Planters is pleased to announce that it has prepared two new petitions to place measures on the ballot, with the campaigns to gather signatures to run simultaneously.

While we did gather a sufficient number of signatures to place a previous measure on the ballot, the City Council declined to place it on the ballot and the judge at the Circuit Court was concerned about the involvement of federal agencies. Because our attorney advised us that the nature of federal litigation was such that we could get a measure on the ballot more quickly, cheaply, and surely by using all that we had learned in this process and running another initiative campaign, we decided that this was the better route.

The first petition is based on this premise: if the City’s financial involvement in the new plant turns out not to be enough to give city voters a say over the new plant, it is nevertheless still true that city voters have a say over the city’s financial involvement.

This is important because the bypassing of proper U.S. Congress appropriations procedures means the City is doing more than merely participating in building weapons of mass destruction. It is enabling a set-up that might not happen with more federal attention and accountability. Accordingly, the petition is entitled

“Removal of City financial involvement in production of nuclear weapons components.”

The summary of its provision are:

1. Kansas City won’t make any more contracts for nuclear weapons or finance production in the future.

2. Kansas City will divest itself of the municipal bonds for nuclear weapons to the extent allowed by law.

3. No local agency will own the plant (as the Planned Industrial Expansion Authority now does – and the contract does specify that the federal government has an option to buy).

4. If the court knocks down any provision, that provision can be cut off and the rest remain.

The second petition is based on the idea that the City shouldn’t get itself into the perverse position of being in financial trouble if the federal government decides against making more nuclear weapons components. This is a highly plausible scenario for several reasons – yet economic analysis shows that we could actually get more jobs for different alternative products. The need to convert would actually be good news even from a purely economic perspective.

“Safeguarding jobs with contingency plans for nuclear weapons facilities”

Summary:

1. The City will make detailed contingency plans for converting nuclear weapons plants in case they’re no longer utilized for that purpose.

2. Renewable energy production is an option to be considered.

3. The plans will be updated annually.

4. The plans will be available for public comment.

While these proposals are more modest than the previous one, they are also more legally bullet-proof. We have listened closely to the objections to our previous proposal, and carefully crafted proposals that address those concerns.

See “Resources” for the full legal language and a PDF of the Petition.

Kansas City Peace Planters

August 31, 2011

Contact:

Rachel M. MacNair, Ph.D. (Plaintiff in the lawsuit),

Phone: (816) 753-2057

Ann Suellentrop, (913) 271-7925

KC Peace Planters would like to thank all the parties involved in its pending suit on ballot access for the courteous manner in which they have handled a difficult situation and issue.

According to Rachel MacNair, petition coordinator and Plaintiff in the legal case: “Our differences of opinion about the issue of nuclear weapons are great, but in a rare display of civility in our seemingly ever-too-contentious society, we were able to dialogue candidly with the parties and share important information.”

The group has reviewed certain documents provided to it by the interested parties today. The documents are classified as “sensitive” by the Federal Government, and are, therefore, subject to dissemination restrictions.

Based on a review of the documents, KC Peace Planters has concluded that even if they were to prevail in the action currently pending in the Jackson County Circuit Court, all parties involved would necessarily be embroiled in litigation for the foreseeable future.

MacNair explained: “Of course, litigation is not the group’s intent. Our intent is to be active in the legislative process in a constructive way. We believe we can impact society more positively in the months and years ahead if we are able to focus our energy and resources on peace initiatives, rather than litigation that may be framed by pre-existing contracts.”

To that end, the Committee of Petitioners is dismissing the Petition for Writ it filed in the Jackson County Circuit Court August 26, 2011. Future plans are still in preparation and will be announced when they are ready.