Former Kansas City Councilwoman and mayoral candidate Alissia Canady has filed to run for Missouri Lieutenant Governor.
Canady served one term representing the city’s 5th district before announcing her mayoral bid in 2018.
Although Canady did not advance to the mayoral runoff between Jolie Justus and now-mayor Quinton Lucas, she made a strong 3rd place finish, especially considering her campaign was far less funded than many other candidates in the 11-person race.
Canady, 40, told KCUR last month she had been approached for statewide office and was “open to the idea.”
“I’m excited and flattered as well, but it has to make sense for me,” she told KCUR.
During her time on the city council, Canady was outspoken about holding her colleagues accountable, speaking out against a deal the city negotiated with Cordish, the developer behind the Power & Light District and the One Light and Two Light highrises, to finance a parking garage for the planned Three Light luxury apartments.
She also took a strong stance against re-naming Paseo Boulevard to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., saying the council bypassed citizen’s rights by pushing the name-change through without consulting residents along the street.
Following her loss in the mayoral election, she helped organize a grassroots coalition of residents who successfully petitioned to change the name back to The Paseo.
Canady has had a diverse career, working full-time since she was a junior in high school. She's been a private attorney, assistant county prosecutor, former city council member and former beauty salon owner.
She says while she learned a lot about the underlying issues that lead to crime while working in the Jackson County Prosecutor’s office, she learned just as much working for AT&T right after high school.
“Having being exposed to workers who had been displaced and found themselves in a situation where they didn’t know how to start over and they didn’t have four years to go back to school to get up their skillset to make comparable wages, gave perspective that I wouldn’t have otherwise had as an 18-, 19-year-old,” Canady told KCUR in February.
In Missouri, the Lieutenant Governor runs on a separate ticket from the Governor. The only other Democratic nominee to file so far is Gregory Upchurch of St. Charles.
State Auditor Nicole Galloway is the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for Governor. The only other Democratic candidate with an active campaign committee is Eric Morrison of Kansas City.
Canady did not respond to KCUR's request for comment.
Lisa Rodriguez is KCUR’s city hall reporter and afternoon newscaster. Follow her on Twitter @larodrig.
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