Techweek opens Monday with KC Mayoral Candidate Tech Forum; launches app with full schedule
October 2, 2018 | Austin Barnes
Candidates to be Kansas City’s next mayor will take the stage Monday at Union Station in one of Techweek KC’s first events of 2018 to talk tech and its importance in shaping the city’s future, said Ryan Weber.
“We’re still a long way from the [April 2] primary election, but this forum will help voters be more educated about the various candidates, their experience, credentials, and vision for the future of KCMO as a whole,” said Weber, president of the KC Tech Council.
Ryan Weber, KC Tech Council
Announced candidates appearing Monday at Techweek KC include Alissia Canady, Jermaine Reed, Phil Glynn, Quinton Lucas, Steve Miller, Scott Taylor, and Scott Wagner.
The forum does not include front-runner and former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, who announced Tuesday in a Facebook that he was dropping out of the race because of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms.
With nearly 100,000 tech jobs across the metro, the tech-focused forum is a can’t-miss for curious citizens who have questions about the city’s digital evolution, Weber said.
“[The tech space] lifts an economy, employs workers, and accelerates development,” he said. “We hope every candidate has a strategy to enable this growth.”
The KC Tech Council hopes each candidate has a tech-focused strategy prepared for the city, if they are elected come the June 25, 2019, general election, Weber said.
Adding the mayoral forum to a full Techweek KC schedule — which was released Monday and can be accessed using the Attendify app — is one of the dozens of ways the 2018 event is diverging from previous incarnations of Techweek KC.
Weber is expecting a conversation Monday that’s both lively and informative, he said.
Featured Business
2018 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
FitBark wags its way into nationwide retailer
Animal tech company FitBark is now selling its dog activity-tracking device in Target stores nationwide. The deal will place its product in front of millions of consumers each year at Target’s nearly 1,800 U.S. locations. FitBark’s animal tracking device will be featured among Target’s new “Connected-Life” section, which features other Internet-enabled products such as wireless…
Kansas City startup ‘walks the talk,’ bungee jumps
Sara Davidson doesn’t lightly espouse a message of fearlessness in business. And that’s why Davidson, the founder of Hello Fearless, is live broadcasting her jump off a cable car in Switzerland. Davidson is hoping to inspire other women around the world to conquer their fears not only with a live-streamed bungee jump — out of a…
Think accounting: 3 ways to drive your accountant insane
In this Think column, Emerging Business CFO founder Dan Schmidt shares three ways to drive him, and other accountants, crazy. The Think column helps entrepreneurs to stop and think about the various aspects of starting and running a business. Accountant and finance professionals are generally known to be level-headed clear thinkers, able to ride the crests of emotion…
Kansas City seeks leaders for Smart City board
The City of Kansas City, Mo., is now seeking nominations to lead the city’s smart city efforts. City leaders hope to attract citizens with experience in smart city technologies to help advise the City of Fountain’s coming Cisco Smart City project, in addition to its other smart city efforts. The newly authorized “Smart City Advisory…