The public record of a Raytown Alderman
Ward 4 Alderman. Former county Chief of Staff at $199,000 a year — until the letter. The documents, the headlines, the court docket: all public, all in one place.
Start with the letterPublic Record
File No. 2026-R4
Subject — official city portrait, raytown.mo.us
Alderman, Ward 4
The 60-second version
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taxpayer-funded salary as county Chief of Staff
See the receipts →
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from appointment to the letter that ended it
See the receipts →
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recorded votes she didn't show up for
See the receipts →
5–3
the vote that killed new investment in her own ward
See the receipts →
Every number on this page links to a document. Scroll for the receipts.
Follow the Money
The salary is named in black and white in the letter that ended her county employment. Big numbers are easy to skim past — so we broke it down.
Per month
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Per week
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Per workday
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Arithmetic on the $199,000 figure in the county's letter. Bars are scaled to each other, not to any household budget.
Appointed in the spring, fired by letter before the year was out. In that span, the salary alone paid out roughly:
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Half a year of the $199,000 salary — before the county concluded it needed “new leadership.”
In a hurry? The letter in 30 seconds
She was hired at $199,000 a year.
Chief of Staff to the Jackson County Executive — a taxpayer-funded salary named in the letter itself.
Six months later, the county fired her.
Not a resignation. The letter says it plainly: "you will receive a termination letter."
The reasons are in writing.
"Stealing county resources." "No loyalty above your self-promotion." "I finally lost all confidence in your ability to serve."
That's the whole story. Everything below is the proof — read the full annotated letter →
The Letter Everyone's Talking About
This letter has been making its way around Raytown — passed between neighbors, forwarded in group chats, brought up at the dinner table. No downloads, no links — it's right here. Scroll and read every word.
Swipe to turn the page
✦ Highlighted passages, drawn in as you read
Share it with a neighbor. That's how this spreads.
Quotable. Shareable. Documented.
Four lines from the county's own letter. Copy any of them — with the link — and put them in front of a neighbor.
On the job · p. 2
“That can equate to stealing county resources.”
On loyalty · p. 2
“No loyalty above your self-promotion.”
The verdict · p. 3
“I finally lost all confidence in your ability to serve.”
The ending · p. 4
“You will receive a termination letter.”
You continually utilized official county, taxpayer resources — your email, county phone — to set up and pursue personal employment opportunities for months. ... That can equate to stealing county resources.
Jackson County Executive Phil LeVota — the termination letter, Apr. 2026
Act II · The Pattern
She ran as the ethics reformer. Then came the chairmanship, the conflicts of interest, the warnings she waved away. Every stop documented.
Sixteen Years, One Pattern
Seven stops on the public record — each one documented, each one linked. Scroll and watch the line draw itself.
Jan. 2010
As a Jackson County legislator, she spends three years chairing the Justice and Law Committee — until the newly elected chairman removes her from the post. A public demotion, one she confirmed herself.
Source: The Dispatch, Jan. 27, 2010
Full citations and document links are listed in the sources section at the bottom of this page.
2011
Her husband resigns from the Guadalupe Center — a nonprofit receiving nearly $200,000 a year from the county — after the county attorney warns the funding would have to stop if she served. Her offer to simply recuse herself wasn't enough. She later called the standoff political retribution — while admitting to the Star she had no proof.
Source: Associated Press, Feb. 2011; The Pitch candidate roundup
Full citations and document links are listed in the sources section at the bottom of this page.
Feb. 2015
Drops out of the race for Kansas City's 5th District at-large seat amid questions about whether she met the charter's two-year residency requirement.
Source: Kansas City Star
Full citations and document links are listed in the sources section at the bottom of this page.
Mar. 2015
Her name stays on the ballot, but a judge disqualifies her over residency — votes cast for her are not counted.
Source: Kansas City Star editorial
Full citations and document links are listed in the sources section at the bottom of this page.
Apr. 2023
Elected to the Raytown Board of Aldermen, Ward 4, for a term expiring in 2027.
Source: City of Raytown
Full citations and document links are listed in the sources section at the bottom of this page.
Nov. 2025
Accepts the Chief of Staff job under Jackson County Executive Phil LeVota while serving as Alderman.
Source: LeVota letter; press reports
Full citations and document links are listed in the sources section at the bottom of this page.
Apr. 2026
LeVota's letter fires her from county employment, citing taxpayer resources used for personal job hunting, a contract conflict of interest, and hidden activity.
Source: The letter; KSHB
Full citations and document links are listed in the sources section at the bottom of this page.
Promise vs. Record
Read down the spine: every promise on one side, every documented answer on the other. The gap between them is the whole story.
Campaigning for the county legislature, she makes ethics her brand: "It was very rarely heard that you heard the words 'ethics' and 'county government' in the same sentence. And if you did it was kind of a joke."
Source: KCUR, Aug. 1, 2010
Weeks into the job, the county attorney warns that her husband's employer — a nonprofit taking nearly $200,000 a year from the county — creates a conflict. Her offer to simply recuse herself: rejected. She calls the fallout political retribution, then admits to the Star she has no proof.
Source: Associated Press, Feb. 2011 · The Pitch
A glowing press release welcomes her to the LINC Commission, listing board seat after board seat, award after award. What it never lists: a single thing any of those seats delivered for the public.
Source: LINC Commission announcement, Aug. 2025
Appointed Chief of Staff to the County Executive at $199,000 a year — the salary of someone expected to guard the public's money, not shop for their own next job.
Source: The LeVota letter, Apr. 2026
She pursues a job with CBIZ while serving as "a decision maker" on its multi-million dollar county contract — hidden in private calendar entries and a second Facebook page. The termination letter's verdict: "Anyone could see that is inappropriate and unethical."
Source: The LeVota letter, Apr. 2026 — read it on this site
Trusted with the ward's future — its investment, its growth, its voice at City Hall.
Source: City of Raytown
Staff recommends approval. Planning & Zoning votes 7–1 to approve. She tallies the votes needed to bury the Dobbs Tire permit anyway — and supplies one of the three no's herself.
Source: City staff report · Board of Aldermen, Aug. 11, 2026
Her answer to the termination letter: a discrimination complaint against the county executive. His written response denied the allegations and accused her of "trying to build a case for a lawsuit." Back in 2011 it was a retribution claim she admitted she couldn't prove. Deflect — never own it.
Source: Kansas City Star, Sept. 2, 2026 · The LeVota letter
The ethics reformer of 2010 would recognize the record of 2026 instantly. It's the kind of joke she warned us about.
While Raytown budgets got tighter
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a year — her taxpayer-funded Chief of Staff salary
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roughly what that salary costs taxpayers per working hour
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the median Raytown household income ($68,840 — Census ACS)
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from appointment to the letter that ended it
“I will not be bullied by someone I overpaid and gave an amazing opportunity who just wanted to have more of the limelight than she got.”[1]
Entered Into Evidence
In their own words — her former boss, and the Kansas City Star.
Exhibit A
“You actually pursued a position with CBIZ when the county is currently negotiating a multi-million dollar contract when you were a decision maker on the awarding of that contract. Anyone could see that is inappropriate and unethical.”
— Jackson County Executive Phil LeVota's letter to Garza
See it in the letter — page 1Exhibit B
“I chose you to fill the Chief of Staff position at a salary of $199,000 a year and to receive a letter like this is appalling and a great piece of evidence to show your true character.”
— LeVota letter
See it in the letter — page 1Exhibit C
“You purposely hid all of this activity from me even going as far as having two Facebook pages of one I was blocked from and also by having these employment pursuing meetings labeled as 'private' on your county calendar.”
— LeVota letter
See it in the letter — pages 1–2Exhibit D
“Theresa Garza Ruiz's name is on the ballot, but a judge disqualified her as a candidate because of residency questions, and any votes for her will not be counted.”
— Kansas City Star editorial, March 23, 2015
Read the editorialThe Conflict-of-Interest Playbook
Once is a mistake. Twice is a method. Three times is a career. Lay the conflicts side by side and the playbook writes itself — get close to public money, get warned, cry persecution.
2011 · Jackson County Legislature
Source: Associated Press, Feb. 2011 · The Pitch
2026 · County Chief of Staff
Source: The LeVota letter, Apr. 2026 — read it on this site
Today · Raytown Board of Aldermen
OngoingSource: her own LinkedIn profile · City of Raytown utilities page (Spire is Raytown's gas provider) · LINC Commission announcement, Aug. 2025
The signature — the same moves, every time
Public money within reach
2011: $200K/yr in county funds to her husband's employer. 2026: a multi-million dollar county contract for her would-be employer.
Warned about the conflict
2011: the county attorney spells it out. 2026: her own boss puts it in a termination letter.
Deflect, never own it
2011: cries political retribution — then admits she has no proof. 2026: private calendar entries, a hidden second Facebook page — then a discrimination complaint the county executive called “trying to build a case for a lawsuit.”
Warned in 2011. Fired in 2026. And today the same conflict sits on the Raytown Board of Aldermen — on the payroll of the utility it regulates.
Don't Take Our Word For It
The headlines, the history, the court docket — it's been public for years. Here's where to find it.
Three years into chairing the Jackson County Legislature's Justice and Law Committee, Garza Ruiz is removed from the post by the newly elected chairman. She publicly confirmed the ouster herself — the pattern's first chapter.
Read the sourceKCUR's pre-primary profile: Garza Ruiz runs as the county's ethics reformer while her challenger warns she's more interested in planting flags than bringing people together. The ethics brand didn't age well.
“It was very rarely heard that you heard the words 'ethics' and 'county government' in the same sentence. And if you did it was kind of a joke.”
Read the sourceThe Pitch's candidate roundup revisits the Guadalupe Center conflict in detail: nearly $200,000 a year in county funding at stake, the county attorney's warning, her recusal offer rejected as insufficient — and her claim that it was all political retribution.
“She admitted to The Kansas City Star that she had no proof for this theory.”
Read the sourceKMBC reports on Garza-Ruiz's withdrawal from the Kansas City 5th District at-large council race.
Read the sourceAP reporting on conflict-of-interest concerns involving public funding while Garza-Ruiz served as a Jackson County legislator.
“Concerns were raised that his position would pose a conflict of interest for his wife.”
Read the sourceLocal political commentary on the 2015 council race and Garza-Ruiz's departure from it.
“Theresa Garza Ruiz's announcement that she is dropping out of the race.”
Read the sourceThe Star's report on her withdrawal from the 5th District race amid questions about whether she met the charter's two-year residency requirement.
Read the sourceThe Star notes she remained on the ballot — but a judge had disqualified her, and votes cast for her would not be counted.
“A judge disqualified her as a candidate because of residency questions, and any votes for her will not be counted.”
Read the sourceKSHB reports Garza is out as Chief of Staff — six months into the $199,000-a-year role, after LeVota's letter.
Read the sourcePublic court docket from the Missouri judiciary's CaseNet system. Court records are public documents — read the docket directly.
Read the sourceThe Character File
Character isn't what you campaign on. It's what you do when the money is on the table, the truth is inconvenient, and your neighbors are counting on you.
She reached for it.
Source: Associated Press, 2011 · The LeVota letter, 2026
She chose the convenient story.
Source: The Pitch, 2015 · The LeVota letter, 2026
She wasn't there.
Source: City minutes & staff report · Board of Aldermen, Aug. 11, 2026
Sixteen years. Three tests. The record answers every one.
Act III · The Record in Office
The votes she skipped, the meetings she missed, and the investment she killed in her own ward — straight from the city's own minutes.
Case Study: Economic Development
For about five years, the former IHOP at 10000 E. 350 Highway sat empty — an obsolete building on one of Raytown's main commercial corridors, in Alderman Garza's own Ward 4. Then Dobbs Tire & Auto came forward with a plan: tear into the site, build a modern 8-bay auto shop, and bring an active business back to the lot.
City staff reviewed it and recommended approval, calling the project “a significant reinvestment” and warning that if denied, “the property is likely to remain vacant and underutilized.” The Planning & Zoning Commission agreed, voting 7–1 to recommend approval.
And it wasn't some borderline project. Vehicle repair is an allowed use in that zoning district, and staff's own report said the project would “help to uphold and increase existing property values” — jobs on the corridor, sales-tax revenue for the city, and life back in a dead lot.
On August 11, 2026, the Board of Aldermen killed the permit anyway. The motion to adopt failed 5–3 — and Garza was one of the three no votes: she worked to convince her fellow board members to vote it down. The ward's own representative led the charge against new investment on her own turf, then publicly defended the outcome, dismissing the whole idea as “just filling empty buildings.”
Jobs. Tax revenue. Higher property values. A 7–1 recommendation. All of it traded for one empty lot that's still empty. That's economic development, Garza-style.
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Lot vacant in her ward
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Bays turned away
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Businesses gained
Live in Ward 4?
This wasn't an abstract vote — it was your ward's storefront, your tax base, your jobs. Your representative didn't just vote against it; she worked the floor to make sure it died.
The roll call
6 votes needed to pass
Tap a seat to see how they voted.
One vote short. The permit died — and Garza was one of the three who killed it.
Sources: city staff report, P&Z vote, and Board of Aldermen minutes — linked in the sources section.
Bill No. 6713-26, second reading, August 11, 2026. Motion to adopt failed 5–3 (Ayes: Mims, Emerson, Hayden, Aziere, Krizek; Nays: Morales, Walters, Garza; two absent). Now in the published minutes on the city's portal. Read the full file →
The staff warning
“If denied, the property is likely to remain vacant and underutilized, continuing a pattern of disinvestment over the past five years.”
— City of Raytown staff report, June 16, 2026 packet
Garza's response, on her own page
“Economic development is about shaping Raytown's future, not just filling empty buildings.”
— Alderman Theresa Garza, Raytown Ward 4 public post, August 2026
From the floor, doing the math
“When it initially came to us and it had been declined, then it required seven votes. And now it went Planning and Zoning and that changed, so now it requires six votes, correct? Thank you.”
— Garza, moments before casting one of the three no votes (city broadcast)
~2021
The IHOP at 10000 E. 350 Hwy goes dark
5 yrs
The lot sits empty — in Garza's Ward 4
2026
Dobbs Tire proposes a modern 8-bay shop
Jun 16
City staff recommend approval
Jul 23
Sent back for reconsideration — P&Z flips to 7–1 for approval
Aug 11
The permit dies 5–3 — Garza votes no
The Anti-Business Record
This is what “anti-business” looks like in practice — not a slogan, a vote. Hold her own words against the process she overruled.
What the process said
What Garza did
The result? Five years vacant — and still vacant today.
An empty lot on Raytown's main corridor is her economic legacy in Ward 4. Jobs, sales-tax revenue, and a 7–1 recommendation — traded for nothing. Read the full Dobbs file →
Just filling empty buildings.
Garza, dismissing the reinvestment project she helped kill in her own ward
On the Record, On Camera
Quotes below are transcribed from the city's own broadcast of the August 11, 2026 Board of Aldermen meeting. Watch it yourself — it's public.
The kill shot
“Alderman Garza.” — “No.”
City broadcast, Aug. 11, 2026
Doing the math
“When it initially came to us and it had been declined, then it required seven votes. And now it went Planning and Zoning and that changed, so now it requires six votes, correct? Thank you.”
City broadcast, Aug. 11, 2026
From the gallery
“I can think of one Alderman that continually works with groups that possibly raise money… and probably had a conflict of interest.”
City broadcast, Aug. 11, 2026
Side by Side
No interpretation needed. Her own statements, next to what the public record shows — both sourced, both checkable.
In her words
“It was very rarely heard that you heard the words 'ethics' and 'county government' in the same sentence. And if you did it was kind of a joke.”
Garza, campaigning as the county's ethics reformer — KCUR, Aug. 1, 2010
On the record
Sixteen years later, her own termination letter from that same county government reads: "Anyone could see that is inappropriate and unethical." The self-styled ethics reformer became the cautionary tale.
The LeVota letter, Apr. 2026 — read it on this site
In her words
“When it initially came to us and it had been declined, then it required seven votes. And now it went Planning and Zoning and that changed, so now it requires six votes, correct? Thank you.”
Garza, moments before the Dobbs vote — city broadcast, Aug. 11, 2026
On the record
She knew exactly how many votes it would take to kill the permit — then supplied one of the three no votes herself. The motion failed 5–3.
Roll call, Board of Aldermen, Aug. 11, 2026
In her words
“Just filling empty buildings.”
Garza, publicly defending the outcome of the Dobbs vote
On the record
The project she dismissed meant jobs, tax revenue, and new investment — in her own ward. The ward's own representative led the charge against it.
Case study: the Dobbs Tire vote (see above)
Follow the Paper
| Date | Item | Her Vote | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb. 18, 2025 | Board of Aldermen meeting | Absent | — |
| Apr. 1, 2025 | R-3698-25 — Rescinding approval of the Enterprise Fleet Management agreement | Nay | Passed 5–4 |
| May 19, 2026 | R-3808-26 — Amending the Verizon cell-tower lease (city revenue) | Nay | Failed 3–6 |
| Jun. 2, 2026 | Bill No. 6710-26 — Accessory residential use ordinance (rules suspension) | Nay | Failed 3–5 |
| Jun. 2, 2026 | R-3810-26 — Appointment to the Special Sales Tax Review Committee | Nay | Failed 3–5 |
| Aug. 11, 2026 | Bill No. 6713-26 — Conditional use permit: Dobbs Tire & Auto, 10000 E. 350 Hwy (Ward 4) | Nay | Failed 5–3 |
Compiled from official Board of Aldermen minutes, published by the City Clerk on the city's public meeting portal. Every vote is on the record — check them yourself.
72
Meetings on the record since she took office
4
Missed entirely (roll call absent)
6
Recorded votes she didn't show for
Attendance compiled from the roll calls in every published Board of Aldermen minutes file, July 2023 – August 2026.
Meetings missed entirely (roll call absent)
4
Recorded votes she didn't show for
6
Each absence is documented in the city's published minutes — linked in the sources below.
Hover the board
Tile positions are illustrative; the counts are not. Every absence is documented in the city's published minutes, July 2023 – August 2026 — linked in Sources.
Act IV · The Verdict
The issues, the standard Raytown deserves, and everything you need for Election Day.
Raytown families want to feel safe walking to their cars at night. That takes an Alderman who shows up — to the meetings, the votes, and the ward. The attendance record above shows what Ward 4 has gotten instead.
Drive down any street in town and you can feel the priorities — literally. Fixing them starts with leadership that treats city business as a full-time commitment, not a side gig between other jobs.
This one isn't abstract: when a redevelopment permit for a long-vacant lot in her own ward came to a vote, she helped kill it — 5–3 — and dismissed the project as "just filling empty buildings." Neighboring towns say yes to investment; Ward 4's vote said no.
City Hall works for you. Every claim on this site links to a document you can read yourself — because that's how representation should work too: on the record, in the open, checkable by anyone.
The Bar Isn't High
Residency requirements, ethics rules, and the city charter aren't suggestions — they're the job description.
No moonlighting conflicts, no outside employers with business before the government you serve.
Public email, phones, and staff time are for the public's work. Full stop.
Prepared at meetings, honest in the minutes, present in the ward — not just at the events with cameras.
Judge every candidate — this one included — against this list.
The other side of this story
An Alderman who votes for new investment instead of against it. Who treats taxpayer resources as sacred. Who answers to one boss: the public. Raytown isn't asking for the extraordinary — it's asking for the standard. And the standard is winnable.
Here's how it changes →Accountability starts with knowing how the machine works.
Raytown's city council — ten members, two per ward, elected to four-year terms. They pass ordinances, approve the budget, and set city policy.
A city law. Every vote an Alderman casts on an ordinance is recorded in the meeting minutes — permanently.
When an official's personal interests — a job, a family member's employer, a contract — intersect with their public decisions. Missouri law and city ethics codes restrict what officials can do in those situations.
The questions we hear knocking on doors around Raytown — answered straight.
Fair question. Everything on this site links to something you can check yourself — news reports, court dockets, city records. If the record looks bad, that's the record talking, not us.
Public sources: local news coverage, Missouri CaseNet court records, and Raytown Board of Aldermen meeting minutes. Follow the links — we want you to read the originals.
Voters deserve to know who pays for a website like this — and we take that seriously. The full 'paid for by' disclaimer, including the committee and treasurer, is printed in the footer of every page, exactly as election law requires.
Three things: read the letter, share it with a neighbor, and show up on election day. Local races are decided by a few hundred votes — yours genuinely matters.
Fired. The county's own letter says it in so many words: "you will receive a termination letter." She never resigned — the letter ended her employment, and it's linked on this site so you can read every word yourself.
Because it's the most detailed performance review any Raytown candidate has on file. The letter documents how she handled a $199,000 taxpayer salary, public resources, and public trust — written by the people who worked with her every day. Character in one office is a preview of the next.
The election section below has the date, a live countdown, and links to check your registration and find your polling place. Local races are decided by a few hundred votes — mark the day.
Mark Your Calendar
General Municipal Election — April 6, 2027, per the Missouri Secretary of State's official calendar. Candidate filing opens December 8, 2026.
Sixteen years · Three tests · One record
Case Closed
The verdict is yours
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1 · Read the originals
Every number, quote, and date on this site links back to one of the documents above. Don't take our word for any of it.
2 · Watch the meetings
The city broadcasts its Board of Aldermen meetings publicly. The quotes here are transcribed from those broadcasts — go hear them in context.
3 · Hold us to it
If anything here is factually wrong, we'll correct it and note the correction publicly. The record only works if it's accurate.
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Did you know Raytown's Ward 4 alderman was FIRED as Jackson County Chief of Staff after just 6 months? The termination letter is public — it says "anyone could see that is inappropriate and unethical." Read it yourself: [site link]
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Before you vote in Ward 4, read the public record: fired from a $199,000 county job over a conflict of interest, then counted the votes to kill a reinvestment project in OUR ward — against staff and a 7–1 Planning & Zoning recommendation. All documents here: [site link]
I just read through the documented public record on Alderman Theresa Garza — the county termination letter, the 2011 conflict-of-interest story, the Dobbs Tire vote. Every claim links to the source document. Worth five minutes before Election Day: [site link]
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Start with the letter — it's two minutes and it explains everything else on this page.