Yesterday, Mayor Funkhouser was interviewed by Dean Gray, a second grader who also happens to be the nephew of Kendrick Blackwood, Assistant Director of Communications. Former city council member (and current grandfather) George Blackwood is sitting in. Here is a transcript of the interview:
Mayor Funkhouser: How old are you, Dean?
Dean Gray: Seven. What is it like to be Mayor?
MF: What is it like to be Mayor?... Every day is an adventure.
DG: What things do you do for your job?
MF: What things do I do for my job? I talk to people. All…day…long.
DG: How did you become a person who people would vote for?
MF: When you talk to people you get them to understand that you’re trying to help and you’re trying to tell the truth. And they believe you. And if they believe you, they elect you.
DG: What inspired you to be Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri?
MF: I thought things were going the wrong way for the city and the people who live here, and I thought maybe I could turn it in the right way.
DG: How many people voted for you when you won the election?
MF: You know? I don’t know how many… About fifty thousand? Forty-five thousand, something like that.
DG: Have you won any other elections before?
MF: No.
DG: Do you have any kids?
MF: I have two children.
DG: Do you have any pets?
MF: I have a tiny little dog, Maria. She’s four-point-one pounds. She’s about that big.
DG: What are your hobbies?
MF: A long time ago I played golf and I played chess. And now I just play chess a little bit, once in a while. Other than that, I have no hobbies.
DG: Where were you born?
MF: I was born in New Brighton, Pennsylvania.
DG: Where did you grow up?
MF: I grew up in West Virginia.
DG: As Mayor, do you get to take Spring Break?
MF: It’s weird. You get to go whenever you want. So I can take Spring Break whenever Gloria [his wife] says.
DG: What is your favorite color?
MF: What is my favorite color? That’s a darned good question. I’d say blue, probably.
DG: What is your favorite food?
MF: What is my favorite food? Oh, golly, I like it all! I like cheeseburgers pretty seriously. You get to be my size, Dean, you’re not picky. You eat whatever’s sitting in front of you.
George Blackwood: Like my grandfather said, “Eat what’s set before you and say nothing.”
MF: That’s right. And say, “Thank you, ma’am.”
DG: And that’s all the questions.
MF: You don’t have any other questions? I see you have a basketball shirt on. Are you interested in basketball?
DG: Um, yeah, I’m actually pretty good.
MF: You’re pretty good?
DG: Yeah I started playing when I was three and a half.
MF: Three and a half? And what position?
DG: Usually I’m a guard.
MF: You’re a guard? What do you do the best as a basketball player?
DG: I shoot pretty good and I guard pretty good. And whenever I guard, when someone tries to shoot, I knock it down.
MF: You block the shot?
DG: Mmm hmmm.
MF: That’s pretty good. Let me show you… [walks with DG & GB]
GB: You think you can block the Mayor?
DG: Mmmmm……
MF: Can you read that?
DG: “Mayor’s Night Hoops 2008 Parks and Recreation”
MF: Right. We had Mayor’s Night Hoops there were kids your size playing. When I was a basketball player, I couldn’t shoot worth a darn. But you know what I could do? Like you said, I could block shots. Let me show you something else…
Then the Mayor showed Dean a jersey that once belonged to Bill Russell, and told him that Bill Russell invented the block shot.
DG: Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
MF: Good bye, Dean. You’re a pretty good kid. You know, when you asked a question, you asked it just perfectly.
