Delivered by
Mayor Bob Knight

Distinguished colleagues of the Wichita City Council, City Manager and staff...and fellow citizens...I come before you this evening to share my assessment of our community in this 2003 State of the City address.

Since this will approach the conclusion of my 24 years in public service...I would like to introduce my wife Jane and my daughter Jennifer. I met my wife when I was a nobody and she has loved me into being a somebody...and I can never repay her for her love and support.

When I was first elected to the Wichita City Commission in 1979...the world was a far different place than today. For those in elected office the major challenges of 24 years ago now seem very…very tame. Today...the Wichita City Council attempts to confront challenges and opportunities that would have been incomprehensible back then.

Gangs...drugs...breakdown of the family...illiteracy...poverty...and indiscriminate violence are only some of the concerns that require our attention. In addition...September 11, 2001 has become a hinge on the door of history for our nation and our community...life will never...ever...be the same. In addition to the immeasurable human toll...there are geopolitical and economic consequences that have very direct implications on our city. Not since World War II has the world’s political landscape been so volatile. And again terrorism’s broader economic fallout is still being calculated.

Signs of shaken confidence abound. Layoffs have accelerated...profits have evaporated. The boom times of the 1990’s seem as though they occurred a century ago. Retrenchment is a natural instinct in such circumstances. Yet retrenchment is not the answer to the current crisis. If there is one essential quality that underpins success in a world of disconcerting change...it’s resilience...the capacity to adapt to radically new circumstances and emerge from a crisis not merely unbroken...but substantially stronger. That must be the primary goal of our community.

Citizens of Wichita...members of the Wichita City Council...I am honored and proud to declare to you: despite the difficulties we face today...the State of the City is sound and strong...and the future for our community is filled with the promise of continued progress and prosperity.

I believe our City represents greatness. It is the pursuit of excellence and the fulfillment of human capacity. Wichita is not the casual acceptance of economic decline and social disintegration. Yet... that seems to be what some are prepared to endure. Our City is better than what we are being asked to be by some of our leaders. We are a City of goals...not a City of limits. We must have leadership that is committed to world pre-eminence in the strength of our economy...in the cohesion of our neighbors...and in the quality of our environment. To accept anything less is to do disrespect and insult those who came before us.

Wichita is not just another City. It is not just another place. It is the embrace of fundamental human values that define what committed citizens can become.

Those in elected office should be respectful keepers of the sacred trust that has been forged by the blood...sacrifice...and hardships of those who came before us. Wichita has been bequeathed to us. It is a living heritage meant for us to preserve and then bequeath to other neighbors...some yet unborn and yet proven to be worthy. As we meet this February evening...that heritage is under attack. Restoring it is the great challenge before us.

Perhaps a good starting point is to carefully consider what it is that has brought success to some cities and regions...while others have suffered from mediocrity or failure. What causes these differences? The failures generally cannot be reduced solely to oceans...mountains...or financial resources because so many cities are roughly equivalent with respect to these features.

In short...I have reached the conclusion that the most common characteristic of successful cities is their willingness to pay the price of success. Many cities claim they have the desire to succeed and announce their ambition...but are still unwilling to pay that price.

You may rightly ask...what is the price? The price is the willingness to have a high and sustained determination to achieve their goals in spite of all the obstacles and barriers, which can and will arise. Success does not come just when circumstances are favorable. True success comes when times are difficult.

Many cities and elected officials choose to play it safe and never attempt to do great and exciting things for their community. It is far easier to never try...to stay in the rut...than endure the pain of the struggle or the possibility of defeat.

Over the past years...we have tried to set the stage for greatness in Wichita. We have had a very aggressive agenda with the purpose of moving us toward our potential...world pre-eminence in the strength of our economy and the cohesion of our people. This has required a significant change within the halls of Wichita City government. A considered...proactive change...not a fad...not a knee-jerk reaction or temporary program. A change that is positive...aggressive...and focused on results. It has been the onset of an entrepreneurial attitude. Business-like to be sure...but also stressing quality...creativity...and public concern...as well as efficiency and cost containment.

The proof of this approach and its success is abundant:

The Fair Fares effort continues to be a crowning accomplishment of what citizens and government can achieve when we work together. The Fair Fares initiative...which brought AirTran Airways and Frontier JetExpress to Wichita Mid-Continent Airport...will save business and leisure travelers nearly $60-million in the cost of air fares during its first year. Airline industry experts calculate travelers using Wichita Mid-Continent Airport are saving more than $123-thousand a day in air fare costs. We recruited AirTran Airways and Frontier JetExpress to Wichita because we identified a community problem...put our heads together to look for solutions...found one which is innovative and workable...then pulled together to make it happen.

Our community fight against unfair electric rates is also paying off for every citizen. It is a modern day version of the David versus Goliath story...a story in which the citizens of Wichita overcome the opposition of powerful political and business forces to slay the unfair and punitive practices of a Goliath utility. Nearly 90-thousand of you signed petitions demanding the inequity in our electric rates be corrected. And your unified...unrelenting voice was heard. We stopped Westar’s efforts to raise electric rates by $151-million and instead...convinced regulators to make the utility reduce the rates for Wichita citizens rates by $41-million...this has resulted in direct savings of more than $53-million a year for our city.

When the Union Pacific Railroad announced it would run mile long coal trains through the heart of our city...we objected. The railroad told us there was nothing we could do about it. The Governor told us there was nothing we could do about it. The Legislature and Congress told us there was nothing we could do about it. Well...guess what...we did something about it. We’ve secured $100-million in funding to build the Central Rail Corridor. It took two years of hard fought debate and tactics which broke traditional...accepted political practice. But it worked. And it worked because we focused on the best interest of the community and our citizens. The Central Rail Corridor...with train bridges at eight of the metro areas busiest arterial streets is designed. Construction will begin this year. More than 200,000 motorists a day cross the streets which will be improved by the rail corridor.

The Central Rail Corridor and the Kellogg Freeway projects will not only improve traffic and the quality of life in Wichita...they will create hundreds of good paying jobs at a time when the economy is stalled and needs a major stimulus. These projects also will have an enormous positive economic impact on South Central Kansas for years to come. The Governor...Legislature and Secretary of Transportation have promised a total of $85-million in state funding for the Central Rail Corridor and Kellogg and Rock Road projects. It is a promise that cannot be broken now.

As our community works to restore and strengthen our economy...we must realize the delicate link between the economy and the environment. Without a clean and plentiful water supply...none of us can survive...much less strive.

We must all realize that putting short-term profits ahead of protecting our water supplies is a business formula, which will wreck the economy and lead to disaster. The City of Wichita recognizes its responsibility to be a good steward of the natural resources its citizens use and as a community we accept our obligation to preserve and protect those natural resources.

One example of this commitment to the environment is the Cowskin Creek Water Quality Reclamation Facility. It is an award-winning national model for state-of-the-art waste water treatment facilities...a facility which not only protects the environment...but offers citizens educational and recreational opportunities.

The most urgent project is the Equus Beds Recharge Project. The City of Wichita...with strong support from the state and federal governments... is undertaking this groundbreaking approach to guarantee a clean...safe water supply for 500-thousand people. The Equus Beds Recharge Project will protect the aquifer from pollution and replenish it with fresh...treated water from the Little Arkansas River...giving us a reliable water supply for the next 50 years.

The Wichita City Council wants to be partners with the agricultural community...the homebuilding industry...other cities and individual citizens in protecting the Equus Beds and Arkansas Rivers. None of us can do it alone. For decades the City of Wichita has worked cooperatively with farmers and livestock ranchers to minimize pollution runoff in the Cheney Reservoir...the Equus Beds and the Arkansas Rivers. That cooperative effort is more important now than ever before.

Tackling complex...controversial issues is common in Wichita. As a community we have taken on many issues the political experts...the critics and the professional naysayers have said we could never win. Making these vitally important community projects happen requires a leadership style I call Public Entrepreneurship. It is not for leaders who are timid or afraid to question the status quo. But it’s required to make a community successful in these challenging times.

We have developed a range...and intensity around five primary objectives: Productivity improvement...Privatization initiatives...Creative financing techniques...Information system applications...and a Stable tax rate. This change has accelerated the pace of progress in Wichita.

The budget crisis faced by the State of Kansas will affect every Wichita resident. The draconian budget cuts made by former Governor Bill Graves and now proposed by Governor Kathleen Sebelius will cost the City of Wichita more than $10-million in promised funds over the next 18 months.

We are reducing expenses...we are delaying projects...and we are looking for every way possible to be more effective and efficient in delivering the services and programs our citizens depend on. The Wichita City Council will balance its budget.

The biggest challenge in coping with these budget reductions will be to ensure that basic services do not suffer to the point that we lose ground in our efforts to make Wichita a safe and clean place to work...live...and raise our families. Wichita will weather this financial storm...we will survive it...and we will emerge stronger and more independent than before.

Obviously...ideologues and political purists find this style disconcerting. But to risk...to dare...to achieve on behalf of your community...to endure the taunts of a tabloid age...to try to make a difference with no guarantee of success...gives one a measure of direction...a vector of choice...and puts you in a position to do a battle with fate. And that’s all you can ask for...a chance to fight...a chance to make the condition better for your community...in short...to leave it better and more beautiful than you received it.

Is it risky?...Is it politically unsettling? ...you bet it is. But the rewards that await those citizens and communities which are bold...daring...and imaginative...are of true significance.

When I was first elected...Wichita had a population of 260-thousand people. Now 360-thousand call Wichita home. Growth has been significant on the western and eastern edges of our city. But we shouldn’t and we are not neglecting the heart of our community. Our downtown and our mature neighborhoods are not only a significant component of our tax base...but also differentiate us from all other cities...they provide our unique identity.

Public and private partnerships have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in renovating...revitalizing...and reversing over 30 years of decline in downtown Wichita.

The face of our downtown has experienced a remarkable transformation over the last 15 years. The Hyatt Hotel and Conference Center...the Boathouse...City Arts...the Ice Sports Center...Lawrence Dumont Stadium...Exploration Place...Old Town, including the Hotel at Old Town and Eaton Hotel...Century II and Exhibition Hall...beautiful bridges...Delano District...Orpheum Theater...and Douglas Street Improvements, including the beautiful art sculptures, which were paid for by private donors...just to name a few.

And you haven’t seen anything yet...plans for the downtown riverfront...on both the east and west banks...offer a unique opportunity for our community to make the Arkansas River a focal point for local leisure activities...and become a magnet for tourism and visitors.

We have worked long and hard over the last 20 years to make Wichita a great place. In the last 10 years...we have been recognized three times as a finalist and twice as a winner of the highly competitive and highly sought All-America City Award. I congratulate you as a community on these accomplishments.

As I mentioned earlier...along with doing the ordinary things well...we must commit ourselves to confronting the large...daunting issues. One of the requisites of an advancing community is to have unity...coherence and clarity.

In a City our size...we know that there are many issues, which could potentially divide us,...but I would argue that none are more toxic or malignant than prejudice or discrimination.

It infects societies around the world...and our own community is not exempt. This is the reason I worked several years criss-crossing our nation in an attempt to galvanize hundreds of cities across America in the effort to give full standing to every citizen.

Allow me to briefly summarize my views on this subject. First of all...since they first set foot in North America...men and women of color have been speaking with an unambiguous passion and clarity...for full participation and inclusion. Regrettably...many of us white’s have mumbled...stumbled...and stuttered in response. Instead of embracing those foundational principles to which every American has emotionally committed...by virtue of the promise that...we are all created equal...their clear...heartfelt plea has in many ways fallen on deaf ears.

This denial has such profound implications that it may well represent one of our nation’s...and our community’s...core challenges. Outwardly…some of our citizens appear to be robust and healthy...while inwardly many of them are seriously hurting and wounded...much like the physically powerful athlete struggling with early stages of an incurable cancer.

All too often my friends...the color of one’s skin still determines where they live...where they worship...where they work...where they play...and their associations and opportunities. This mocks our nation’s founding principle that all people are created equal...that everyone has a right to expect that their talents and abilities...not the prejudice of others will determine the nature of their lives.

It is so obvious that we as a nation and as a community are uneasy to confront one another around the issue of race. We are afraid of unleashing pent-up anger...disappointment...frustration...resentment...and pain.

I was asked many times...why I...a white guy who is a Republican from Wichita...would focus on this issue. It is a result of me believing...from the bottom of my heart...that it represents the major unresolved moral and social issue in our society. And those of us who say we care...and are white...must stop leaving the task of addressing racism to our friends and neighbors of color.

Let me be perfectly clear...I am not presenting myself as one who has led the perfect life on this subject. Unfortunately...that is not the case. I have said and done things in my life that I wish I could go back and undo. I have also remained silent at times when I should have said something. I want to acknowledge these shortcomings and publicly express my profound regret for any intentional or unintentional circumstances where I hurt another human being.

Perhaps most of you have lived more exemplary lives...but even when we are not aware of wrong actions or harboring such feelings ourselves...we recognize that they exist in others. Our natural tendency is to hold our feelings in check...in hopes that they will somehow fade away. Regrettably...they will not.

It has been written that tangled emotions and inexplicable behavior are the inevitable by-products of our nation’s unresolved racial past.

Until we deal with them...we resemble peasant villagers who continue to build on the slopes of an ancient...but active volcano. Sooner or later the volcano will erupt...and so will our society.

We have run away from “race” for far too long. We will never achieve racial healing if we are unwilling to confront each other...take risks...make ourselves vulnerable...put aside pride and say all the things we are not supposed to say. We must remove the masks that conceal our deepest feelings and impulses and put on the table all of our fears...hopes...and dreams.

My experiences have led me to conclude that public policy has moral implications. There is no better example than the issue of race. Most of the world’s great religions teach that every single human being is created in the Divine image. That most foundational premise gives each of us an equal and sacred value.

The truth is...there is something terribly wrong in our country and we have seemingly just accepted it. As a nation...and in most of our communities...it appears as though we have condoned the injustice...tolerated the suffering...and ignored the consequences. The majority of us have simply looked the other way and made sure that our security and well being...and that of our families and loved ones is assured. There is more than enough blame to go around. The question is who will take responsibility for the change that is necessary?

That’s where all of us come in! Our nation’s “original sin” of racism (as it has been called by former Senator Bill Bradley) must be faced in a way that we have never done before. Only then can Wichita... and all of America...and all of her people...reach their potential. And again...only then can we hold to our nation’s founding principle...“that all men and women are created equal”.

So what can we do as individuals? We can get involved in initiatives that are exploring ways in which to improve race relations in our community. We know there is no silver bullet...but we also know that when people are separate from each other...when they are angry...polarized and defensive...breakdown and disorder always follow. The way to heal social disorder is to reintroduce community...citizens caring about each other.

Respect is the thread that laces all of us and our various cultures and faith traditions together.

Did you know that “The Golden Rule” is stated in at least 13 religions...in some form or fashion?

Doctor Martin Luther King gave a speech at Lincoln University in which he confessed to being what he called a “maladjusted person”. He said that he simply had not been able to adjust to a world of discrimination. He had not been able to adjust to economic conditions that left a few with luxuries and so many without even basic necessities. And Dr. King concluded that the salvation of the world might well rest in the hands of the maladjusted.

I’m asking all of you to join me in being maladjusted...

• That we will no longer adjust to an America or a community where hate crimes occur.
• That we will no longer adjust to an America or a community where discrimination persists.
• That we will no longer adjust to an America or a community where our fellow human beings are abused or exploited...
• That we will no longer adjust to an America or a community where any citizen is denied fundamental human freedoms...
• And that we will never...ever adjust to an America or a community that lacks the opportunity for a decent life for any citizen who is able and willing to work for it.

We are right to expect enterprise...thrift...and self-reliance in our fellow Citizens.

But we must insist that those expected responsibilities are coupled with an authentic concern for the welfare of every citizen...irrespective of race...religion...gender...or ethnicity.

Shouldn’t all of us as citizens participate in having honest conversations on matters of race...reconciliation...and responsibility. Don’t all of us have a role in choosing to move beyond blame and guilt...beyond hatred and fear...deciding to face the past with courage and honesty. Shouldn’t we be willing to embrace each other’s painful experiences...and be so sensitive to others that if any citizen in our community is injured...exploited...or demeaned...it would cause the rest of us to feel the pain and likewise be diminished.

Wichita should be a place where every heart can put down roots and where every single person feels accepted and at home. All of us know what we should stand for...and what we should oppose. Our task now is to turn from “talking the talk” to “walking the walk”. My deepest wish and hope is that of our community finds the vision...the humility...the repentant spirit...and the regard for each other to have a resolute unity in matters of the “public good”.

In order for this to happen… we must have a resolute determination to work toward repairing the wounds in our individual and collective souls. We must be prepared to apply ourselves to this most serious challenge with a concentration and sense of purpose that we usually don’t summon during normal times.

As Dr. King said...it is ours to decide...transformation and integration...business as usual...and disintegration. Cultures... societies...nations...and cities in the past that were unable or unwilling to fundamentally rethink themselves when historical conditions demanded that they do so...have become but memories of missed opportunities. The decaying...dead, bleached bones of history. That my friends...should not and must not be our fate. Surely...our common humanity is more important than our differences. We are a diverse city...growing more diverse each passing day. Abraham Lincoln...Gandhi...DeKlerk...Mandela...Sadat...Begin...Kennedy and Schweitzer all believed that our ability to reach unity in our diversity will be the test of our civilization. We will rise...or fall...advance...or decline as a result.

We should purpose to be the beacon...the polar star for every other city in the world...as to how we treat each other.

Allow me to conclude my remarks with a story...perhaps a myth. It is called “The Rabbi’s Gift.” The story concerns a monastery that had fallen upon hard times. It had once been a great order...but now there were only five monks left. The abbot and four others were all over the age of seventy. Clearly it was a dying order.

In the deep woods surrounding the monastery there was a little hut that a rabbi from a nearby town occasionally used for a secluded retreat. The old monks could always sense when the rabbi was in his retreat. “The rabbi is in the woods...the rabbi is in the woods again...they would whisper to each other. The Abbot decided to visit the Rabbi and seek his advice on how to save the monastery.

The Rabbi and the Abbot wept over the loss of spirit and hope in their communities. But the Rabbi had no advice to offer. He did however tell the Abbot that the Messiah was living among the monks at the monastery...a statement which baffled and confused the Abbot and the other monks. None of them could believe that any of them could be the Messiah.

But just in case the Rabbi was right...the monks began to treat each other with renewed respect and appreciation. And they began to treat themselves with respect.

This new attitude spread over the entire monastery. The few visitors who occassionally came to the grounds of the monastery could sense it...they could feel that this dilapidated...dying monastery was a special place.

The word spread...and soon more and more people came to see the place and experience the almost magical sense of respect and love.

Soon...several young men asked to join the order...then several more. Within a few years the monastery had once again become a thriving order and thanks to the Rabbi’s gift...a vibrant center of light and spirituality. Is it just a story...or do all of us have the power to begin again...to renew our own spirit and the spirit of our community?

I believe we all possess the power to transform ourselves and our community and in the process...change the world. Could it possibly be that years from now...we will look back and recall that special time in the life of our City on February 27, 2003...when we decided to change our community. That special time when we chose brotherhood and sisterhood and unity...instead of suspicion and division. That special time when we chose to become so very much more than unrelated strangers...we chose to be neighbors.

Citizens of Wichita...members of the Wichita City Council and neighbors...the State of our City is strong...and the future of our community is full of hope and promise.

God bless each of you...God bless those you love...God bless Wichita...and God bless America.