Kander to sign new book Tuesday in JC

In this Nov. 9, 2016, file photo, Democrat Jason Kander speaks during an election watch party at the Uptown Theater in Kansas City, Mo.
In this Nov. 9, 2016, file photo, Democrat Jason Kander speaks during an election watch party at the Uptown Theater in Kansas City, Mo.

Former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander will be back in Jefferson City on Tuesday, autographing copies of his new book, "Outside the Wire," from 7-9 p.m. at Capitol City Cinema.

"I wrote this book because I wanted to let people know that there are a lot of folks out there right now who want to make change, including myself," Kander said last week, "(and) it is good to be reminded that nobody ever made a lot of change from inside their comfort zone.

"The book is, as the title says, 10 lessons in everyday courage.

"It's about the fact that, if you get out there and you're willing to be a little bit uncomfortable - and take chances and say what you really believe - you can change minds and you can make progress."

Kander's book comes from his personal story, and it's told in a manner that - he said in a footnote and in the interview - is "unstuck in time, meaning it's just pieces of my life offered up without any regard to chronological order."

He explained: "I provide the 10 lessons

"All of them are some cumulative lessons that I have learned over the course of my time in the military (and) my time in elected office."

Kander, 37, served two terms in the Missouri House, then was elected as secretary of state in 2012.

Rather than seeking a second four-year term in that office, Kander challenged U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt's re-election bid in 2016 - and lost by 78,258 votes out of more than 2.8 million ballots cast in the race - but received more votes statewide than other Democrats on the ballot, including presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and gubernatorial candidate Chris Koster.

After that loss, Kander founded an organization called Let America Vote, "to fight voter suppression, and to create political consequences for it."

His main fight, he said, is against a national Republican Party plan to make it harder for some people.

He explained: "As somebody who volunteered to serve in Afghanistan, to protect the rights and the freedoms our nation has to offer, I was not willing to sit by and watch them take those rights away here at home.

"We started Let America Vote to introduce political consequences for politicians who make it harder to vote."

Some observers and pundits expected Kander to run for the U.S. Presidency in the 2020 elections.

However, Kander announced in June that he's running for Kansas City's mayor in next spring's elections, to succeed incumbent Sly James, who can't run again because of term limits.

"Over the last year and a half, as I've been running Let America Vote, I have been thinking about what the best way was to serve my community, and whether or not that was in elected office," Kander said. "I am really excited about the opportunity to, potentially, be the mayor of my hometown.

"Kansas City has experienced a lot of progress, and now I want to make sure that progress continues, and that everybody in Kansas City can see it and can feel it."

His family first arrived in the Kansas City area in the 1880s, he said, and his interest stems from growing up and living on both sides of the state line.

And running for mayor shouldn't be seen as a step "down" from his legislative service or attempt to go to the U.S. Senate.

"As I talk about in the book, this is grab-an-oar territory that we're living in," he said. "You've got to do everything you can to try and improve the world for your friends and neighbors, and for even people you don't know, yet, as much as you possibly can.

"My public service is a direct continuum of my experience in Afghanistan, and it being the first time in my life that I'd been on the receiving end of bad decisions by politicians that had negatively affected my life."

The book's introduction begins with his experience in military service, including his first days in Afghanistan.

Kander wrote: "I thought about how crazy everyone back home thought I was and, for the first time, wondered if they were right.

"I had left behind a well-paying job as a lawyer that included a very safe office with a nice view of the Kansas City skyline."

He said every political campaign he's been involved in is "because there was something I wanted to achieve in the world, and there's been an office between me and that change."

The lessons in Candor's book carry titles like: "Experience is good, but perspective is golden;" "Politics is a profession practiced entirely by amateurs;" "Hustle and be humble;" "Never lose your inner chinstrap," "Keep it real," "Politics can be completely absurd. Deal with it;" "You live your life with your friends [and family], not your accomplishments;" "Be willing to fail publicly;" "Make your argument;" and "Something's happening here (in America)."

Kander said he's been "really, really pleased and grateful" with the early response to the book - which includes "humorous, personally embarrassing to me" stories.

"It is definitely a behind-the-curtain look at what it's really like to be in public service - but it won't leave you cynical," he said. "Because these are my experiences, and they haven't left me cynical.

"And I wanted to tell those stories and relate those lessons in a way that people would enjoy reading them."

Kander said his family helped him write and finish the book, with his wife offering advice on some passages and their son, soon to be 5, helping him choose the pictures used in it.

Quotes in this story from Kander's book were taken from a pre-publication copy provided by the publisher, and may have been changed in the final copy now available for sale.