Chairman Manny Abarca IV says that cooperation will be critical for the legislators to work together, he’s looks forward to a productive relationship with all of his colleagues.
BY JOE ARCE AND COREY CRABLE
In early January, Jackson County Legislator Manny Abarca IV was elected the governing body’s chairman.
The other legislators voted to install Abarca, a Democrat, in the chairmanship, with one Republican, Sean Smith, crossing party lines to create a majority vote.
“It was a position I didn’t ask for, but I appreciate the confidence bestowed on me to lead in this way,” Abarca tells Kansas City Hispanic News, adding that Smith will be his vice-chairman. “Sean and I just have a pretty great working relationship, and we have an established trust that I think is unique in this world of politics now between Democrats and Republicans.”
Abarca says that cooperation will be critical for the legislators to work together. He says that even though the vote was mostly split between party lines, he looks forward to a productive relationship with all of his colleagues.
“I understand that folks have some disagreement in this approach. We all have disagreements in a lot of the things that we do, but it’s our job to collaborate and work together and find paths that we can get stuff done versus fighting each other, which I think has been some hostility through these three years so far,” he says. “Now with the new County Executive Phil LaVota and a renewed approach of leadership, hopefully we can have some true discourse on how we get things done. … I’m going to continue to hold myself to as high a standard as I can, as well as my colleagues.”
Abarca says the recent vote on releasing allocated ARPA funds was conducted with a cloud of anger and confusion hanging over the entire process. Taxpayers deserve better behavior from their legislators, he adds.
“I try to uphold the main truths and dignity that is required of this office and of the work that we do. And sadly, I have found colleagues to be less than truthful that then go out and create their own narratives. And that cannot happen as well. And so taxpayers deserve the truth,” Abarca says. “I think through my term these last three years, folks have found me to be truthful and honest about the approaches and the problems (the county faces).”
Abarca’s new position means the Jackson County Legislators now have their first Latino chairman. It’s an honor for Abarca, especially in the current political climate, and he says he’s ready to make a difference.
“It’s heavy, right now, in this time of the ICE invasions and the Trump administration’s reckless efforts and discriminations against Latino folks. I think it is a testament to how far we have come and yet still how far we have to go,” Abarca observes. “In Wyandotte County, there’s a lot of Latino opportunity for leadership there, and I look forward to collaborating and working with everyone in this process, regardless of race, regardless of religion or class or anything to get stuff done for people. When I want here in this situation, is that we win. We rise together in this effort.”
On the national stage, too, Abarca says people must come together during a time that is becoming increasingly dark.
“Shame on (President Donald Trump) for being who he is. But sadly, we knew who he was before we elected him. And so it is now incumbent upon us to protect our democracy, every single one of us. So to the thousand people who came out at the protests and rally on Saturday at Mill Creek on the Plaza in January, to the hundreds of people who showed up before, when sadly, Renee Nicole Good was executed by the ICE agent in Minnesota … Those are the types of actions we need,” he notes. “But we also need to start seeing more local elected officials at the city and the county levels, not just in Jackson County or in Kansas and Missouri, but across the board, creating strategic policies that check this administration. No government is more important than your local government, that’s the one that touches you every single day.”
At the local level, Abarca says he is working on drafting a resolution banning ICE agents from wearing masks. It’s just another way that county leaders can hold law enforcement officials accountable for their words and actions.
“We can’t look to a law enforcement agency to self -govern. Police are accountable to the public. Police are accountable to the legislative body and the judicial side,” Abarca says. “This is truly about maintaining community policing policies, maintaining good relationships, and keeping those federal authorities, whoever they may be, ICE, DOJ, ATF, whomever, from acting as a Gestapo police force out there creating whatever havoc they want without any accountability.”
Abarca says he’s been fortunate to have many mentors and people supporting him on his political journey, including Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II (D-MO), for whom Abarca previously worked for. His family has been a major source of support, too, with one of his biggest cheerleaders being his father, Manny Abarca III.
“He’s done a lot to get here. He was the first one in our family to go into politics. We spoke about this (when Abarca IV first went into politics), and I was so proud, but I was so concerned because I knew nothing about that,” Abarca III recalls of his son. “And as a parent, I thought to myself, ‘We’re not the Kennedys. We don’t have a silver spoon.’ But he reassured me, ‘I’m going to school, I’m going to learn, and I’m going to make a difference.’ And he’s doing it. I’m so proud.”
Abarca III says that not only does he see his son work hard as a legislator he’s an ethical leader as well.
“You stay true to yourself, straight to what you’re doing,” he says, “and everything else will fall into place.”
As a leader, too, Abarca III says his son is an adept listener who takes constituents’ input into consideration when making decisions.
“What I like about, Manny, what we were taught is, in order to be a good leader, you have to listen. You listen before you lead. And he does that. He listens to the people that what they’re speaking and what they’re talking about, whether it be like the mask, whether it be the potholes,” he says. “He retains all that information. Then he implements a strategy to make it work. And that’s why I think he’s going to be really beneficial to Jackson County -- to implement a lot more to get things done.”
Abarca III says that his son texted him when his chairmanship was announced. Before Abarca IV even heard the good news, he asked, “What am I proud of you about today?”
He adds that he raised Manny to be optimistic, to be a go-getter and a problem solver. The chairman position allows him to highlight those traits and more.
“(This position) comes with responsibility and there’s a price, and you have to have your purpose. You know, we say, ‘What was your purpose today? You got up, what was your purpose? What did you do?’” Abarca III says. “He knows me from that, he doesn’t call me just for the good stuff. I’m the father that would say, ‘Tell me the bad stuff. What happened today? What did you, what challenge was brought to you today?’ And what I like to hear is your problem solving. How did you solve that problem? How did you make it better?”
Abarca IV says that as Chairman of the Jackson County Legislature, the values he holds dear will guide his every move – and that he’s ready for whatever lies ahead.
“Family and faith and community service have been ingrained into me since I’ve been able to talk,” Abarca IV says. “And so it is an honor to be in this place. It is something that I take seriously.”
