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John Joseph Rizzo |
Historic Northeast resident John Joseph Rizzo is hoping the fourth time is a charm when it comes to running for state office.
Rizzo filed paperwork this past week to run for election to the District 40 state representative office this coming August. It is the fourth consecutive election for which the 29-year-old marketing consultant has filed to run. Current Rep. John Burnett will not be in the running this year, as he has occupied the office for the maximum number of terms.
Instead, Rizzo will face off with fellow Historic Northeast Democrat, Will Royster.
Rizzo said he is not dismayed by his three past defeats running for this office. On the contrary, he said it shows he is serious about bettering the Northeast community.
“I’m a fighter like Northeast,” Rizzo said. “We [the people of Northeast and I] have been and we always will be. We will continue to persevere.”
He said he would take that perseverance to Jefferson City and that it would help him stand up to lobbyists and special interests.
Rizzo said the most important issues to him currently are getting people back to work, health care reform and enacting tougher measures against crime.
“We need more [Kansas City Police] officers,” he said, “and we need to get them more money to get them the programs they want to do to help the neighborhoods, fight the crime and move on.”
Rizzo said he continues to come back to the state representative election as opposed to a city or county office because the 40th District is the “true Northeast seat,” as its boundaries mainly begin and end in the neighborhood.
“Northeast is my home,” he said. “Northeast is where I grew up. … It’s just something I feel akin to do, that I want to see done well.”
He claimed that in past elections, his opposition spread “lies” about him, including that he was involved in the payday loan industry. Although a relative owns a title loan business, he said, he has no connection with these businesses.
“It’s not easy to go through that time and time again,” Rizzo said, “but my love for Northeast and my vision for Northeast being the community I think it can be are the things that get me through the horrendous lies that have been said about me and my family.”
Rizzo in turn charged that his opponent, Royster, is not qualified for the position.
“In the ultimate power play, [Burnett] is saying to the people of Northeast, ‘I can get my next-door neighbor elected just because I can, not because he’s qualified.’”
Rizzo currently serves as 11th District Democratic Committeeman, an office for which he ran against Royster two years ago. Rizzo previously served on the City Planning Commission and has served on the Truman Medical Center Board of Directors.
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