Tyrone Garner

Mayor/CEO

Mayor Garner is the 31st mayor of Kansas City, KS and 5th Mayor/CEO since city/county consolidation in 1997.

A picture of Mayor Garner

Mayor & Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Tyrone A. Garner is the 31st mayor of Kansas City, KS, and the 5th Mayor/CEO since city/county consolidation in 1997. Mayor Garner was sworn into office on December 13th, 2021. The mayor’s office is responsible for overseeing the official activities of the Unified Government, working in conjunction with the Board of Commissioners and the County Administrator.

Mayor Garner is dedicated to providing bold, visionary, decisive, engaged, and community-driven leadership to meet and exceed the reasonable expectations that the community has for its elected officials. His overriding goal is to work alongside community members to make all of Wyandotte County a great and safe place to live, work, and raise a family. Mayor Garner ran on a seven-point platform that he will use to guide the work that he does as your mayor. The seven points are:

  • Visionary Leadership - Fostering unity, opportunity, and hope.
  • Engaged Leadership - Putting people over politics.
  • Fiscal Responsibility - Streamlined government and real tax relief.
  • Equitable Development - Investing in the disinvested.
  • Equitable Public Safety - Enhanced safety and authentic reforms.
  • Infrastructure Improvements - Upgrades for bridges, roads, sidewalks, and parks.
  • COVID-19 Recovery - Focus on resident health, education, poverty, small businesses, and jobs.

Professional Background

Tyrone Garner graduated from Wyandotte High School. After graduation, Mr. Garner joined the Kansas City Kansas Police Department as a police cadet. After being met with a budget-related layoff, Mr. Garner joined the United States Army, serving in Germany, Texas, and Kansas. Upon being honorably discharged from the military, Mr. Garner returned to work with the Kansas City Kansas Police Department. Mr. Garner, through hard work, dedication, and sacrifice, quickly moved up the ranks and was the youngest recorded African American promoted to the ranks of Detective, Captain, Major, and Deputy Police Chief of Police within the Kansas City Kansas Police Department. Mr. Garner was the first and only African American KCK Police Officer to attend and graduate from the prestigious FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia and was the first African American male Commander to ever command the western portion of KCKS. Professionally, after successfully managing personnel, budgets, initiatives, and programs and positively connecting and collaborating with people in all corners of the community, Mr. Garner retired from the KCKPD in June 2019.

Education

Mr. Garner earned his associate degree from KCKCC, his bachelor’s degree from Mid-America Nazarene University, and his Master of Arts degree in Human Resources from Ottawa University. Garner also attended Leadership 2000, an educational initiative intended to identify and develop emerging community leaders.

Community Involvement & Civic Activities

Mayor Garner served the Kansas City community outside the KCKPD, with highlighted achievements in the KCK Housing Authority Board, where he fought hard for equitable service for those most in need. As an executive board member of the Ad-Hoc Group Against Crime, Garner supported families and victims in crisis, helping them cope and overcome the unsuspecting challenges of life. As a Kansas Governor appointed KAAAC commissioner for the Kansas Congressional third district, Garner focused on juvenile detention alternatives, youth engagement, implicit bias, and criminal justice reform. As a past elected member of the Kansas City Kansas Community College Board and chair of the board’s Finance Committee, Garner pushed for campus revitalization, equity in contractual awards and agreements, enhanced security, free bus service for students, classroom upgrades, lower tuition, a veteran’s center, the reopening of the campus childcare center, as well as a commitment not to raise taxes.

Honors & Awards

  • 2016 KCKPS Reasons to Believe Award Recipient
  • 2018 Black Achievers Award presented by the SCLC of Greater Kansas City
  • KC Globe Most Influential Kansas Citians of 2015 Award
  • Eugene K. Patterson Community Service Award presented by the Heart of America Chapter of The Tuskegee Airmen
  • Rosalyn Brown and Betty Taliaferro Service Award presented by Friends of Yates, Inc.

Personal

Favorite thing about Wyandotte County - The cultural diversity.

Mayor Garner has a son and grandchildren whom he holds dear to his heart. He grew up in a Christian home where faith, family, education, and hard work were established as the centerpiece of his life. Mayor Tyrone Garner is a devout Christian that notes God’s divine direction and grace as a pinnacle throughout his life journey.

Watch Mayor Garner's Inaugural Speech

Read the Inaugural Speech