To most that meet him Roeland Park Mayor Steve Petrehn makes a good first impression. He is genuinely nice, very amiable, and takes enormous pride in his 35 years as a Roeland Park resident.

A self-proclaimed activist, Petrehn is very comfortable 'stirring the pot' in order to get his way and enjoys attending committee meetings and different functions in Roeland Park and outside of Roeland Park in order to push his extremely liberal agenda. Steve is the first to tell you that he knows more about the subject at hand than anyone else in the room, regardless really of the subject matter, or regardless if he really does know.

To Steve, being a politician is part of who he is and he sees being duplicitous as a strength and believes that words mean nothing and actions mean everything. He is very positive and sees himself in a very positive light and he is critical of those who disagree with him. Sometimes critical to the extreme. Point in fact. Councilwoman Fosters did not conform to the Mayor's opinion on a recent issue. Instead of debating the matter as government civics teaches us, the mayor gaveled her into silence. A meeting or two later, the Mayor was censured with a vote of 7-0 by the City Council for abusing the power of the Chair and discriminating against those who disagreed with him, while giving full license to those who agreed with him to speak ad nauseum.

Their sentiment is fully expressed by the fact that they will not come forward to voice their concerns because they are afraid of being made to feel stupid, uninformed, un-enlightened, and insensitive. He makes it a point to "gossip" about others rather than face them to engage in meaningful dialogue.

Roeland Park needs a Mayor with respect for the Office, respect for the Citizens, and respect for the staff. Roeland Park needs a Mayor that can run meetings and get along with the City Council.

Roeland Park needs a Mayor that can set the agenda, listen to others, take criticisms constructively, and help push the City forward to meet the needs of it's Citizens.

Roeland Park needs a Mayor that engages others for their opinions and can build consensus to keep the City on track.

Roeland Park needs a Mayor that can assist city staff in accomplishing their agenda without micro-managing them to a point where they are second-guessed at every turn.

Roeland Park needs Adrienne Foster!