In Two Weeks It Officially Begins

Filing for municipal offices begins December 13, 2011 and ends on January 17, 2012. In just two weeks candidates for mayor and all three wards will start lining up on the city hall steps to make their candidacy official. More than likely there will be some surprises in store during the coming weeks. The following is a list of candidates that were announced to The Wentzvillian:

Mayor:
Nick Guccione, Alderman Ward 3 has made his candidacy public.
Leon Tow, Alderman Ward 1 has made his candidacy public.

Ward 1: (Vacated by Leon Tow)
Forrest Gossett, Gossett's name was brought in by Alderman Cheryl Kross.
Jay Weber, Weber's name was brought in by Alderman Nick Guccione.

Ward 2: Vann Sample, incumbent is running for a second term.
Donna Sherwood, this will be Sherwood's third try at an aldermanic seat.

Ward 3: Incumbent Rick Stokes is running for a second term.

This is the latest list of highly-suspected or known candidates who have stated their intention of filing. There could be others come forward before filing is closed January 17, 2012. Some names that appeared previously were removed either because they decided not to run or we are unsure if they will register.

For Mayor; Guccione and Tow are going full-bore with fund-raisers and meetings with residents on a regular basis. It needs to be reported that Guccione has the union support and Tow is being backed by the HBA (Home Builders Association). If Paul Lambi is going to run, there is no noise on the streets and he has lost the support of the HBA which carried him through his first four terms. In addition, as reported before, there is an excellent chance that another candidate may announce for the top spot which will shake things up quite a bit and make for an interesting run for Mayor.

As stated above, The Wentzvillian picks for alderman are; Forrest Gossett, Ward 1, and Rick Stokes for ward 3. Should Stokes be opposed, he has our support because he spearheaded the half-million dollar real estate tax cut. The first time Wentzville citizen's taxes have actually been reduced in recent years—maybe ever. On the record, Paul Lambi, Vann Sample, and Nick Guccione minimized the tax cut realization to individual homeowners and therefore opposed it.

Ward 2 is another subject all together. Incumbent Vann Sample, has made some disappointing decisions in recent months by wanting to raise the rent for the Green Lantern Senior Center and vocalizing his disapproval of having Wentzville employees share in their health care. His voting record has been erratic and hard to figure out. The other candidate is Donna Sherwood, this will be her third time trying to capture this seat. In the past, she has campaigned for Vickie Boedeker's unsucessful mayoral bids and Bill Schuette's aldermanic campaigns. Now she is campaign manager for Nick Guccione plus running her own campaign. In all good conscience, The Wentzvillian can't support her effort to become alderman of Ward 2. If push comes to shove and another more viable candidate doesn't materialize, The Wentzvillian would support Sample in this race.

For Ward 3, Matt Garvey has elected not to run and at this time Rick Stokes is unopposed.

This is a very pivotal election please make sure you are registered and get out to Vote on April 3, 2012.

Stupid is Not a Good Reason to be Mayor

The Wentzvillian has been receiving comments to posts by folks who are obviously supporting certain candidates for the 2012 election, and their opinions are welcome here. However, if these opinions are lies, or criticism of reports here, they had better include proof that what was stated here is not true. If they want to cry about how some elected officials (or candidates) are being falsely reported on, prove it! If they feel that some are getting unfair treatment and others are being supported they are wholly mistaken.

The Wentzvillian is going on record to say; a promise was made to all of the candidates declaring for mayor, except one. That promise was: "never to take sides" and to this date that declaration has been kept. Since that time when the promise was made, some things have come to light that seem to need clarification to any and all mayor candidates:

1. If a candidate lies about anything (on the record), that lie will be brought to citizen readers through this blog and proof will be given.
2. If a candidate panders to a special interest group and assembles them before the board to politicize the candidate's support for that group, it will be brought before the citizens readers to judge here.
3. If the candidate offers any legislation which will have a negative impact on taxpayers, it will be vigorously criticized here.

These rules of operation are not negotiable and any candidate participating in anything on the aforementioned list should expect to see their name here in connection with whatever subject may be on the table. The Wentzvillian will not cover up any shady or inappropriate behavior or turn away from any bad decisions or choices made by the candidate. Believe it or not, The Wentzvillian is not here to make friends and stupid is not a good reason to be mayor, the city already has that problem.

For too long, this city has been run by special interests and lies—that needs to end now. If this blog has any credibility or influence with voters it's because the truth is spoken here. If by some chance a candidate doesn't want to hear the truth it is suggested they change the channel. We have a great board of aldermen core (Stokes, Kross, Tow, and Guard), probably the best in recent history. We need a mayor who will work with this board to get the city back on track. I trust the voters to choose the correct person for the job and weed out candidates who are weak or deceptive.

The Wentzvillian hopes that no enemies are made with the truth but this blog can not stand by and assist insanity to rule Wentzville any longer. If you as a candidate feel you are unjustly treated I'm sorry but it won't change the things that are stated here. If by some chance you get elected you should already know, The Wentzvillian is not intimidated by the title; Mayor!

"It's Only a Hundred Thousand Dollars"

Wednesday evening's Board of Aldermen meeting was standing room only, several citizens were even listening to the proceedings from the vestibule. Knowing that the city was going to have the "first reading" of the 2012 budget, I was extremely encouraged to see so many concerned citizens in attendance. The poor shell-of-a-mayor leading the meeting has definitely lost it, our illustrious, high-of-high, all mighty potentate, Mayor Lambi opened by stating: "It is the 16th of December 20,012," But then he corrected himself after everyone was looking at him with furrowed brows, "I mean it's the 16th of November 20,012." The frowns continued even after he stumbled toward steering the meeting back into the 21st century, but everyone there probably agreed that he needs a (permanent) vacation.

To my dismay, the crowd wasn't there to hear about the budget, they were assembled to support revising the pit-bull ordinance. As much as I love dogs, and I do, I'm truly disappointed that these well meaning folks could give a rats-ass about the way the city is spending their tax dollars. It makes me think that maybe they are under taxed. You'd think that in this economy, a dog issue couldn't possibly be more important than their financial welfare. I guess it's true, if you want to make the liberal thinking masses happy, throw them a bone.

One citizen (Mr. Darrel Lackey) out of the 50 or 60 present got up to discuss items on the budget. His concern was the city's employee benefit package. He asked some hard-hitting questions and made excellent points. He was obviously disappointed to hear that the board didn't increase the employee copay portion of their health care benefits citing that very few citizens (if any) pay no health care premiums and only a ten dollar copay. As a matter of fact, most peoples premiums went up this year and they can expect to pay even more this coming year. He went on to say that the city had just increased his water and sewer bill yet the city won't have the employees share in their health care costs. He confirmed that the employees pay zero premiums and asked how much does it cost taxpayers per employee? I don't think the city was really prepared for that question as the mayor looked at the staff and the staff took turns looking at each other. An awkward moment passed when the Assistant Financial Director finally spoke up, "the city pays over $1,300 per employee." Lackey, two term mayor and 13 year veteran of the Board of Aldermen said: "That's not fair! The citizens keep getting increases in their taxes and utility costs yet the employees don't even share in their own health care costs."

It was stated that the city received a $130,000 increase in premiums for health care, Mayor Lambi, Aldermen; Van Sample and Nick Guccione supported the no increase in co pays for employees. Sample justified his decision by saying, "Its only a hundred thousand dollars." Lackey called him on the carpet by saying: "It may be only a hundred thousand dollars to you alderman Sample but that's a lot of money (in the real world)." When Lackey sat down, everyone in the room knew that the Mayor and Aldermen had put themselves in an indefensible position. Minimizing the increase in premiums to the city and supporting a stance not to pass some of these costs on to the employees will be a major talking point in the upcoming election. I'd like to remind our aldermen that $100 large is one-fifth of the cut you proposed  to be made in spending.

The mayor and aldermen are elected officials of the people and intrusted with safe guarding taxpayers money. It's clear to me that the mayor has little regard in this matter but it is disturbing that some aldermen are of the same mind.  If the board desired to do the right thing, they would revisit the employee benefits program to be "fair" to the taxpayers in Wentzville. If they don't, they should be prepared to explain to citizens just why they think; "It's only a hundred thousand dollars" and it's only three or four more bucks on your water and sewer bills.

I'd like to note that The Wentzvillian is averaging almost 3000 page views per month, in that is a sizable number of interested voters living in Wentzville. If you care about the way the city is spending your tax dollars, I hope you attend the next board meeting and call your aldermen with your concerns. Thank you to my loyal readers, and as always I invite your comments.

Last Bastion of Political Incorrectness

You have to  love barber shops, they offer patrons the latest rumors and discussions by everyday folk  from all walks of life. Subjects encompass everything about the city, state, and national news, or foreign affairs but mostly: sports, women, work, women, politics, women, religion, women, all the important stuff, did I mention great jokes. They may be the last bastion of political incorrectness in the United States and real men love going to them to take part in the wonderfully entertaining banter. There isn't a subject on earth that isn't analyzed in a good old fashioned barber shop. If you want to know anything about anything (or anyone) just drop in. Going to barber shops is an American tradition passed down from father to son through the ages. A teenage boy gets an education on life while there and besides it is a really cool place to go. Unfortunately in today's world, mothers have trained their sons to patronize the more politically correct salons suited more for the whole family, Ugh! They feel a need to protect their innocent babes from those dens of second class dregs who may have a negative impression on their young boys, with all their jokes and bad-taste girlie calendars.  Wentzville has only two remaining pure tonsilariums: J&R Barber Shop on West Allen and SK Barber Shop on Pearce Blvd, long may their banners wave.

Since it's getting toward election time, a great many discussions have taken place with barber shop patrons revolving around what is termed: the "Second Term Crazies." They all seem to agree upon one thing; something comes over a mayor who is in office after their second term (two year terms). Some say they go power crazy after winning their second election, it clouds their usually otherwise somewhat-rational thinking. There are those who say it's not only the power, it's some kind of strange unexplainable intrepidity that actually compels them to believe they have become totally bullet proof—they have the delusion that everyone in the city loves them and what they are doing is greatness.

Wentzville's last two mayors have fallen prey to this very malady; they started to overestimate their own omnipotence, I guess it's just one of the pitfalls of elected city officials, especially mayors. I have experienced a few aldermen over the years who had reached their level of incompetence while in office but they usually didn't last too long. My guess is that since aldermen have closer contact with voters, sooner or later their inept ability to govern shows through. Mayors however, get starstruck by the tuxedos, rubbing shoulders with important people at fancy dinners, and news conferences. With a constant media focus, mayors get state and national coverage on major happenings in their city. The news services love stories of that importance and have flocked to Wentzville many times over the years to interview the person in charge. After a dozen or so of these "15 minutes of fame" sessions, a mayor seems to get into it and loses touch with those who placed them there.

The reason for this post is to remind my readers that the term for mayor in Wentzville is now four years. Please think very carefully before pressing the button to choose our next one. Do yourself and Wentzville a favor by not electing, or re-electing, another starstruck feather head with an agenda whose sole purpose is to leave a legacy.

Meltdown in City Hall

The Board of Aldermen's special meeting of November 29th was a bust, hardly worth attending—that's probably why I didn't. The agenda items were only two: "City Administrator Recruitment," and "Police Chief Recruitment." Those lasted about 15 minutes and then they went into executive session for almost two hours. Sometimes watching legislation is like watching speed bumps, it's no wonder why more citizens don't attend city meetings, it takes a certain kind of screwball. But this doesn't mean there isn't entertainment in city hall because on any given day it is filled with mini dramas.

If you had been a fly on the mayor's office wall Wednesday afternoon you would have seen our mayor at his absolute worst. Code of conduct for elected officials doesn't seem to mean much for our omnipresent all mighty potentate; Mayor Lambi, as he went crazy. I think the pressures of trying to act like a mayor by someone who can't grasp the concept is catching up with our man Lambi.

Here's the way it went down: A citizen and old friend of Lambi's went to city hall to talk with Acting City Administrator, Dennis Walsh about a water bill problem. At the front desk he found that Walsh is no longer officed in city hall so he asked if he could have a few moments with the Mayor. Sitting in Lambi's office, he explained why he was there and the conversation evolved into a discussion of the recent employee benefits talks. He asked why Lambi supported the "no increase" in co pays for employees. Irritated, and in his best smart-ass condescending way, Lambi said: "You are always putting down city employees." His friend rocked by Lambi's statement retorted, "I take offense to your attitude! How can you justify passing these costs onto the taxpayers!"

Walsh and the purchasing manager, Jerry Hillin, arrived at city hall for a meeting with Lambi just as the gloves were being taken off in Lambi's office. Shouting and expletives (that even I wouldn't use) were being exchanged while the office employees and staff listened in the lobby. Finally, before it went to blows, Lambi shouted; "YOU'RE NO FRIEND OF MINE, GET OUT OF MY OFFICE!" On his way out, Lambi's ex friend said: "You'll rue the day you treated me this way!" In my opinion, that's one hell of a way to schmooze a taxpaying resident of Wentzville. I wonder if Lambi will get his vote?

You kinda have to feel sorry for Lambi he really is a nice person if you can get him out of his mayor hat. He was originally elected (2004) to dethrone Vickie Bodeker and re-elected (2006) to drive the nail in her coffin by beating her a second time to that old tune: "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead." Then after that he began thinking he was invincible.  Beginning to break promises and  lying to friends and followers became a pass time that lost him a great number of his constituency. In 2008, his third election, Leon Tow gave him a run for his money without even trying. In 2010 he won a split decision by obtaining only 38 percent of the vote but if there had been only one opponent, Lambi would not have been here today. I guess we are fortunate because if he had lost we would have had Lurch screwing things up today. Sometimes blessings come at a high price.

Turning friends into enemies has been a big part of his downfall. His reign of lunacy will lead to a legacy far beneath that which he had hoped to attain. This final meltdown in city hall could cost him any chance at a fifth term. Even some of his closest friends are now looking away and I'm beginning to believe that he finally doesn't want the job of mayor any longer, it's just too hard. With a little training I think he could become a top-notch Wal-Mart Greeter. Maybe he could use one of his $250 "volunteer" tutors to help land the job.

Just Say NO!

I have to talk about something that I've been hearing around town for the last several months, but what prompted this writing was getting a call from a dear friend of mine this morning. I know that our ever-present, all knowing, mighty potentate, Mayor Paul Lambi has been pushing some pretty corn-ball things for the past few years. Things like Incubator Plus, supposedly devised to help small and micro businesses get going and keep going. This venture, and many others, have failed miserably and gone belly-up around here simply because they reneged on keeping  promises made to business owners.

Since his initial election almost eight years ago, Lambi has had a history of backing programs (like Incubator Plus) that look noble on the surface, but there's always some nuance that leaves them somewhat odoriferous. The difference between those earlier dead fish and his latest is that this one smells right up front. After only one minute of my friend explaining this deal, I started scratching my head—and it wasn't dandruff. Let me explain:

Lambi is going around town rounding up individuals as well as business owners to "volunteer" to be tutors for people who want to finish their education; a very worthwhile and noble endeavor. He claims that his organization has hundreds of these so-called "volunteers" lined up to begin tutoring people. In order to be allowed to sign up, the "volunteer" needs to pay $250 for the privilege of getting into the program. I've known a lot of volunteers in my day but I've never known one who paid for it, except in time and talent, or the occasional donation. My confidant said that Lambi's organization will let someone volunteer for free, but their name will be added to the bottom of the list. I have always been under the impression that tutors got paid, not the other way around. I guess the immediate question is; where is all this money going? If I were to guess, it would be Lambi's pocket in the form of a salary.

I wouldn't have brought up this whole subject (frankly I don't give a crap what Lambi does, as long as he does it somewhere else), but I've heard that there are Wentzville people who were approached by the mayor and were afraid not to participate and reluctantly gave in, and some are now angry. One source tells me that some of this business has been carried out in the Mayor's office in city hall. I wonder if there's a name for this; it wouldn't be influence peddling, would it? Wouldn't it be a real hoot if a few of these people would come before the President of the Board of Aldermen (Leon Tow) and lodge a complaint? That could be a very interesting turn of events that could even require Lambi to retain the services of an attorney. I urge any of my readers who felt pressured into participating in this idea to come forward and testify.

I later discussed this subject with several business owners; one in particular summed it up pretty well: "Lambi sounds like he's been eating too many retard sandwiches."

What Happened?

I have intentionally avoided saying anything about the candidates who are running for mayor in Wentzville and I'm trying very hard to stay neutral. Only one of the candidates is seriously troubling; the incumbent Paul Lambi, whom I firmly believe needs to get an eight to five job and get out of politics altogether. At the November 2nd regular session of the board of aldermen something happened that confused me, but that's easy to believe about a guy who can hide his own Easter Holiday eggs.

Before starting, I originally thought the meeting was a work session so I arrived at city hall before 6:00 pm to find I was one of the first to show. Soon after I realized it was a regular meeting that didn't start until 6:30 pm, I could have slept for another half-hour which most definitely agitated my otherwise genteel disposition. As citizens and staff began to file in I noticed the large number of employees taking seats in the chambers, it was almost standing room only. Something was up, what the hell did I miss this time?

I will lay out the facts as I heard them and leave it up to you to decide. I will also try to explain the situation as concisely as I possibly can to keep you from falling asleep, which I almost did; just writing this has me nodding off again. Oh well here goes: If you are a regular reader you know that the aldermen have cut the 2012 budget by a half-million tax dollars and in doing so, employee benefits had to come under scrutiny. It soon became apparent why so many city employees were in attendance. It must be kept in mind that 65 percent of the general fund goes directly to salaries and benefits for Wentzville employees which adds up to nine million of our tax dollars.

With such a crowd I thought it strange during "Open Forum" that no one in the audience stood up to say anything. Then I knew they were there to hear something that I wasn't sure about. The discussion under "New Business" went into a presentation regarding employee insurance where several alternatives were offered, one of which was to implement an employee co pay increase. As health, dental, and vision benefits are free for employee spouses and their families it was thought that a co pay increase would help offset the $130,000 increase in employee health insurance premiums paid by the city using tax dollars. It was stated that Wentzville's employee benefit package is the most attractive in the county.  It was also said that citizens in the private sector have co pays so it shouldn't be an undue hardship for city employees to share in the premium increase and not place that burden on taxpayers.

Aldermen Nick Guccione and Vann Sample vehemently opposed any co pay increase to employees. Interestingly, during the discussion, Alderman Nick Guccione announced that he had invited the employees to come to the meeting and listen in on the proceedings. Even more interesting, Guccione compromised on this matter after a mini filibuster to institute a co pay increase during the October 19th work session. I don't know what changed his mind but I do disagree with the way he invited employees to spring the news on the other aldermen. Of course, Mayor Lambi agreed with Guccione and Sample, jumping in with both feet and smiling from ear to ear the whole time.

There are several ways to look at this situation so I'll leave it up to you to interpret the facts as they are. Guccione denies compromising to allow a co pay increase and I encourage readers to watch the video http://www.wentzvillemo.org/ of the October 19th work session to assess the truth of this statement for yourselves. But the question remains; why did he invite the city employees? I would also be interested to know how many of my readers have free health, dental, and vision care? And as always, I invite your comments.