The Mask Slips: Establishment Alignments and Party Realities

For years, figures like Riverside Mayor Kathy Rose and former County Commissioner Kathy Dusenberry marketed themselves under a Republican banner. But actions speak louder than party labels.

Mayor Rose is actively promoting the entire slate of Independent candidates for county office. This is the same mayor who hosted a political gathering for Dale Brouk and has publicly endorsed him, and who years ago squawked loudly against Platte County lowering its road tax levy, claiming Riverside "needed the money" to maintain their roads. Mayor Rose is listed on county voter rolls as “Unaffiliated”.

Let's look at the math on Riverside's road claims, because it doesn't add up:

• Riverside pulls in $5,000,000 to $6,000,000 annually in Argosy Casino tax revenues—roughly $500,000 every single month.
• How do they spend it? On lavish projects like a massive Clock Tower at Gateway and Vivion Road, luxurious City Council chambers, and new police and fire stations.

When Mayor Rose opposed lowering the County Road Tax, she didn't want county citizens paying for county roads—she wanted county taxpayers to subsidize City of Riverside roads while Platte County taxpayers outside city limits got squeezed. Mayor Rose is a tax and spend politician—tax your money and spend your money. Larger, more expensive government. Definitely not a conservative.

Platte County needs to move to completely eliminate any road funds going to the City of Riverside. If Riverside wants to sit on millions in casino revenues that the rest of the county doesn't share, they can pay for their own infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Kathy Dusenbery is out running video ads actively opposing Proposition A—the voter initiative designed to establish fair district lines that prevent Gerrymandered carve-outs favoring career Democrats like Representative Emanuel Cleaver. After an entire political career built on a Republican ticket, surfacing in video ads to protect a Democrat-aligned congressional map lays bare where establishment loyalties truly sit. Dusenbery claims in the ad to be a Registered Republican, but the 2026 Platte County voter data shows her party affiliation column is blank. So she is lying about being a Republican and lying that she is a registered Republican. So perhaps she is not telling the truth about Proposition A?? I believe that to be the case.

We need you to get out and vote! Early voting is now going on. You can vote early until November 2nd. You must go to the Platte County Board of Elections. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm. Additional evening voting hours are Tuesday October 27 until 7pm and Saturday October 31 from 8am to 12pm (noon). November 3rd, 29 polling stations across the County will be open 6am until 7pm.

To locate your polling precinct and location use this link:

https://voteroutreach.sos.mo.gov/portal/

For a PDF of all polling sites, use this link:

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/561e88cee4b06543191f1ad2/t/67b8c1a6c6ae8d210bd3c033/1740161446907/Polling+Sites.pdf

There are 79,507 registered voters in Platte County, or at least that is the number on the rolls. Not all are accurate and the Board of Elections needs to glean and purge the list after November 3rd, as I got several returned mailers to voters this past July during my campaign for County Clerk. A 30% voter turnout is only 23,852 voters. Let’s see if we can get above 50% turnout this election!

#PlatteCounty #MissouriPolitics #LocalGovernment #VoterTurnout #PropositionA #Accountability