The Record
Who is Theresa Garza?
Theresa Garza is the Alderman for Ward 4 in Raytown, Missouri, a suburb on the southeast side of Kansas City. She was elected in April 2023, to a term that runs through 2027. Everything on this page comes from a filed document: a court docket, a city minute entry, a county letter, or a news story with a byline on it.
Office
Alderman, Ward 4, City of Raytown, Missouri. Elected April 2023, term expires 2027.
See it dated →Before city hall
Jackson County legislator, then Chief of Staff to the County Executive, fired April 2026. 192 days on the county payroll at about $199,000 a year.
The county job →The letter
The termination letter, signed by County Executive Phil LeVota, cited county time spent on personal business.
Read it annotated →Earlier
Regional manager of government affairs at Spire, Missouri's gas utility, profiled by the Kansas City Business Journal in 2021. Holds a Master of Public Administration from Park University, earned during her county years.
The open questions →State tax lien
Missouri filed a $9,915.43 individual income tax lien in 2016 and garnished her bank account and wages. Satisfied April 15, 2025, two years into her term.
The tax file →Residency
A court disqualified her from the 2015 ballot over residency in Ward 4.
The residency file →The votes
In 2026 she voted to begin impeachment proceedings against Ward 3's Latrice Thomas, whose case was unpaid taxes. The city paid $190,000 for outside counsel. She voted no on all eight articles. She also voted against the 350 Highway redevelopment that the mayor, city staff and the Planning and Zoning Commission had recommended, and it failed 5 to 3.
The Dobbs Tire vote →The point of this page is that you do not have to take our word for any of it.
Each line above opens the document behind it. The documents themselves are all in one place, unedited.
Open the vaultKeep reading
More from the record
File II · The Pattern
Sixteen Years, One Pattern →
Every documented stop from 2010 to today, the spine of the whole record.
The evidence locker
The Vault →
Every document behind every claim, the letters, the docket, the packets, the broadcast.
Case File No. 6713-26
The Dobbs Tire File →
Five years vacant. A 7–1 recommendation. A 5–3 vote that killed it, plus the letter that packed the room.
Annotated, page by page
The Termination Letter →
Her own boss put it in writing: the $199,000 salary, the hidden job hunt, the verdict on her character.
Still unanswered
Open Questions →
The questions Ward 4 voters keep asking, tracked until she answers them.
Spread the record
Share Toolkit →
Ready-to-post lines, the PDF of the letter, and print materials for your neighborhood.
Print it
One-Page Flyer →
The whole record on a single page, built for doorsteps.