Tolbert Filing for Extension

It's not over yet. The hopes of Wizards fans, and South KC residents that after tomorrow Richard Tolbert would be gone from our minds will have to wait. Tomorrow was supposed to be the date that Tolbert had to have his 8500 signatures to put the redevelopment funding on an upcoming ballot. Unfortunately, tonight we find out that Tolbert plans to file for a 10 day extension in hopes of collecting the signatures he needs. He made the announcement today at a rally supporting his cause. Apparently, though, the rally was not very well attended, but did bring the police who were called to keep Tolbert and the rest of the Save Bannister group from trespassing on mall property.

The thoughts of people I've talked to is that with the poor turn out at their "rally" today, is a sign that Tolbert and his group are struggling to get the 8500 signatures, and his filing for extension is him grasping at the last straws to stop this project from happening.

We also have Steve Penn at the Star with another column on the whole situation and Tolbert comparing his battle to save the mall to the Biblical story of Jericho. The best part of the article, though, is where Tolbert actually believes that the citizens of Kansas City would vote for them to keep the mall there.

“John Sharp and these people don’t want a vote of the people, because they know black and white will vote overwhelmingly to have a nice mall there,” Tolbert said.

You really can't make up some of the stuff this guy is saying. He continues to claim that the this is for the black community and that the black community is for this project. Yet, as the article mentions, Freedom, Inc., the cities chapter of the black political club, voted 28-1 in support of the project. The only decenter, was Tolbert. I've heard that The Globe, the cities black newspaper, has run ads telling people not to sign the petition. I've even had local black church leaders post comments in this blog stating their approval for this project. So where is all the black community that is supposedly for it?

Or is Tolbert like an overbearing parent that says they know what's best for you?