Missouri Discovers Democracy Still Exists, MO Guv Pulls Police Board Nomination
In a shocking twist no one saw coming—except literally everyone paying attention—Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe has withdrawn his appointment of Heather Hall to the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners, after one state senator committed the unforgivable act of saying “no.”
The withdrawal, quietly memorialized in a letter obtained by The Star, removes Hall from the board that controls the Kansas City Police Department—a department already governed through Missouri’s famously democratic arrangement of not letting Kansas City govern its own police.
Hall, a former city council member, had been serving in an “acting” role since July, a status that in Jefferson City apparently means confirmed unless someone notices.
Someone noticed.
That someone was Maggie Nurrenbern, who blocked Hall’s nomination from even coming up for a vote. Her objection was prompted by community activists who had the audacity to ask whether Hall might be willing to hold police officers accountable for misconduct—a question that, in Missouri politics, is often treated as hostile rhetoric.
Faced with the terrifying prospect of an actual confirmation process, Kehoe’s office opted for the safest possible solution: retreat.
The result is now a vacant seat on the police board at a “crucial time,” according to officials, as Kansas City prepares to host FIFA World Cup matches this summer. Nothing says global showcase like a state-controlled police board scrambling for nominees because one senator wouldn’t rubber-stamp the governor’s pick.
To be clear, Hall wasn’t rejected by the Senate. She wasn’t voted down. She wasn’t even debated. She simply ran into the one obstacle Missouri’s system isn’t designed to withstand: public scrutiny.
So now the governor gets to search for a new candidate—presumably someone more confirmation-proof, less controversial, and ideally allergic to the phrase “civilian oversight.”
In the meantime, Kansas City residents can rest easy knowing that their police department remains firmly under state control, insulated from local voters, and protected from the dangerous possibility of accountability—just in time for the world to come watch.
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