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
CBD startup: Young father sees Native Hemp Co. as the launch of a health revolution
At 21 years old, Rich Dunfield IV felt like an absentee father, he said. Struck in his prime with painful ailments after a tick bite — nerve and belly problems, anxiety and depression — he was home but not present. “My entire life was rooted in fatherhood. I started young, but I embraced it. Lyme…
New Lawrence Blade & Timber just the edge of Swell Spark’s ongoing brand evolution
A newly opened Lawrence Blade & Timber — well-positioned on the college town’s popular Massachusetts Street — features the axe-throwing brand’s first “retailtainment” concept. It’s a reflection of parent company Swell Spark’s ongoing push to keep Blade & Timber (as well as the Choir Bar and Breakout businesses) fresh amid an increasingly crowded experience-based entertainment…
25th anniversary: Roasterie founder Danny O’Neill recalls humble start with just ‘nickels and pickles’
Brewed in a recession, Danny O’Neill wasn’t sure The Roasterie would sell a single cup of coffee, let alone percolate into an iconic Kansas City brand, the founder said as he reflected on the regional coffee titan’s 25th anniversary. “The only idea I had was coffee,” O’Neill said of his decision to jump ship from…
KC Crew’s fall leagues set to be first players in overhauled Hy-Vee Arena
The newly renovated Hy-Vee Arena in Kansas City’s West Bottoms is like a giant sports coworking space, said Luke Wade. Coffee shops, restaurants, chiropractors, physical therapists, and other offerings are joining his adult sports and events company in the revamped former Kemper Arena facility, said Wade, founder of KC Crew. And although the arena officially…