Democrat Stacy Lake wants to ‘clean up the mess’ as Jackson County executive
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Who is Stacey Lake and why is she running for Jackson County executive?
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From KCUR, this is up to date with Steve Kraske. I'm producer Hallie Jackson. Jackson County will get a new county executive later this year. Phil Lavota has served in the role since former executive Frank White Jr. was ousted last year, but Lavota didn't seek his party's nomination for a full term. Now, Democratic voters have selected Stacey Lake, an attorney who lives in Hyde Park, to be their party's nomination in the general election. Lake will run against Alan Rolfing, a Republican, in November's election. Lake joined Steve to discuss her vision for the county. Let's hear the conversation.
So you're back on the road after easily winning your primary earlier this month. How are you feeling as November draws closer?
I'm feeling very good. I feel that the primary result shows that the Jackson County public truly want a candidate who will reform and modernize Jackson County government so it finally works for our residents' needs.
Yeah, so you have big plans.
Yes, I do.
Okay. What did you make of the primary results? I mean Jackson County Democrats showed you by a wide margin, Stacy, you earned more than forty five percent of the vote. How happy were you with that outcome?
Uh I you know, I was I was very glad that I won the election, but I was uh you know, I was deeply moved by the public that they were um That they also believed what I believed, which is that Jackson County s is in severe need of reform modernization.
Mm-hmm. This has been years in the making for you. You came within just a few points of former executive Frank White Junior in the twenty twenty-two primary, and you've been campaigning for more than a year. Why do you why do you want the job so badly?
Because for me personally as a millennial, I believe that Jackson County is uh at least twenty to thirty years behind technologically than they should be. The most uh glaring example of this is that we do not have a county wide public transportation system, which we should have had. Decades ago. In fact, in the 90s, we had a better public transportation system in Jackson County than we do today. And so that isn't because we lack the ability, the means, or the money to make public transportation happen in Jackson County. It just shows a clear lack of leadership to implement those changes so that we can finally make, you know, Jackson County uh competitive nationwide. wide. And so that's one of the reasons.
The other reason, too, is that I felt that
How did Stacey Lake perform in the Democratic primary and what does she attribute to her win?
There was a severe need of change in leadership in Jackson County because of our prior history of Jackson County executives and that people needed a uh a candidate that they could trust that will do the right thing once they're elected into Jackson County to clean up the mess in our county. And that is what I've promised many of my constituents that I will do.
What's your theory as to why Jackson County has had so much trouble with its county executives? The track record, uh, to be blunt, is ugly. Wha why is that?
I have I have no idea, Steve. Uh one of the things that one of my uh mentors taught me is to never speculate. So I don't really know the answer to that question.
But you've been watching the county closely. Is there something about uh the types of people we elect or I mean I mean, people wonder what's going on here because it's hard to know how to fix it if you don't know what's causing it in the first place.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
Who is Stacey Lake and why is she running for Jackson County executive?
0:00–3:27
2
How did Stacey Lake perform in the Democratic primary and what does she attribute to her win?
3:27–6:35
3
Why does Lake say Jackson County needs a deep‑scale audit of its government?
6:35–9:39
4
What are the main components of Lake’s seven‑step “Jackson Plan”?
9:39–12:19
5
How does Lake propose to reform the county’s justice system and reduce crime?
12:19–16:23
6
What infrastructure upgrades and public‑transport solutions does Lake envision for the county?
16:23–19:57
7
How will Lake support small businesses and promote affordable home ownership?
19:57–24:16
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from Up To Date
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