EC from DC - February 1, 2013

Welcoming Israel Ambassador Michael Oren

On Monday evening, I was pleased to join my friend and colleague from Kansas’ Third Congressional District, Congressman Kevin Yoder (right), to welcome Israel Ambassador Michael Oren (center) to our community. The Ambassador was hosted by our friends at the Jewish Community Relations Bureau / American Jewish Committee and gave remarks about the violence in the Middle East. While there are many subjects on which Democrats and Republicans disagree, America’s support for Israel is a subject of total agreement. It was a pleasure welcoming the Ambassador to our region.

Coming Soon to a Theater Near You

The TEAM and Sojourn Theatre are two theatrical companies collaborating on a new play called Waiting for You on the Corner of 13th and Walnut. Based on interviews with Kansas City residents, and rooted in the ideas, thoughts, and observations of our local communities, the fictional narrative of Waiting for You on the Corner of 13th and Walnut examines how we listen to one another, finds the shared values of our unique communities, and asks if consensus can be found in the midst of polarizing politics. Waiting for You on the Corner of 13th and Walnut is a one-of-a-kind theatrical event commissioned by Kansas City Repertory Theatre, continuing their commitment to excellent new theatre and investment in the stories of our community.

I was invited to participate in an interview with about 15 individuals working on the play. The topic of discussion was how we listen and communicate in America – both as citizens on a political level, and as individuals on an interpersonal level. They asked questions about the influences in my life that led me to serve as Minister, Councilman, Mayor and now Congressman. I explained that I was influenced by Martin Luther King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference who professed that you should carry a bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other. I was sent to Kansas City to start a local SCLC chapter by Ralph Abernathy. Here, I met Bruce Watkins who was serving on the Kansas City Council. When Councilman Watkins decided to run for Mayor, he asked me to run for his seat on the council. Later, I ran and became the first African American Mayor of Kansas City. I am very proud to have held the office for eight years. Few people realize that Kansas City is the largest city in the State of Missouri. The city has the unusual characteristic of remaining connected enough that all activists know each other, which enables us to see all sides of an issue.

If you want to hear more, you should consider going to see the show. It opens on February 15, at Copaken Stage at the Kansas City Repertory Theatre. I appreciated my time with the students and look forward to seeing the finished product.

Big News for Digital Sandbox

There is much debate around how to create jobs in today's fragile economy. We hear calls for investment into infrastructure, alternative energy, and education. Yet we also hear calls for austerity, belt-tightening, and deficit reduction. But today there is no doubt that the federal investment in the i6 Challenge directly supports entrepreneurship and innovation. We can make no greater investment than in grants such as these: investments which spur tremendous cooperation and partnerships while supporting truly innovative efforts to energize entrepreneurship and jobs creation at the local level.

The Digital Sandbox is an effort from the UMKC Innovation Center and its programs KCSourceLink and the UMKC Small Business and Technology Development Center. It is a partnership between many government, civic, corporate, nonprofit and academic partners. The program is funded through a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration and a $500,000 grant from the Missouri Technology Corporation. In addition, the program’s founding partners have provided an additional $610,000 in in-kind services to the project. The goal of Digital Sandbox KC is to create 10 new high-growth companies that gain follow-on funding or reach $1 million in revenue by September 19, 2015 while assisting many others along the way.

This investment demonstrates that government can be a smart and unifying force, a force that brings people together and unites leaders to work to better our communities. Looking around today at the announcement, I saw elected officials from every level of government, university officials, and major business leaders, all coming together to support innovation in our community.

But this investment is about more than bringing leaders together, this effort champions job creation by spurring product development and the formation of start-ups. It takes great ideas from our smartest thinkers and lays out a road to reality. The Department of Commerce has recognized what we have known for a very long time – that UMKC is setting benchmarks for excellence.

I was honored to support UMKC and help bring these dollars home, and am proud that the Digital Sandbox Proof of Concept Center has set its aims high. As the debate continues around our nation, as we struggle to create good jobs and grow our economy, let Kansas City serve as a model for the nation - a model of economic development, of cooperation and partnership, and of innovation and new ideas.

Emanuel Cleaver, II Member of Congress