A Sale on Chicken Parts

As I predicted, last evening's Board of Aldermen work session meeting could be considered uninteresting to most, but I had a ball. Watching our New Mayor and seeing his lack of participation and willingness to let the Aldermen run the meeting is right in line with his five years of inactivity on the Board where he did absolutely nothing. I'll will say one thing for Mayor Guccione, he's consistent.

The retreat meeting agenda was fun. After Guccione opened the meeting and the discussion about the retreat agenda, the President of the Board, Alderman Rick "Bulldog" Stokes spoke up and in my eyes, just like the City Attorney Paul Rost last week, ran the meeting while Guccione went into his thousand yard stare. This will be Guccione's operating procedure for meetings during the next four years, I like to think of it as a deer in the headlights form of leadership.

I have to say that if the "Bulldog" hadn't led the meeting, it would be still going on at this writing. The next 30 or 40 minutes was a drag as the Aldermen went through the tedium of listing agenda items and organizing time slots for each discussion.

As the discussion wound down, the "Bulldog" realized that the agenda didn't include a slot for the Mayor. He said to the Mayor that in his report last week, he remarked that he wanted to hit the ground running; "Where would You like to give your direction?" Guccione responded; "You forgot about me, I didn't get a chance to talk." I was right there when he said that, where was he while the Aldermen led the meeting? Where was he when he was supposed to be keeping decorum and leading the meeting. As a matter of fact, at one point he tried to close the discussion before the agenda was even created. "Bulldog" asked Guccione if he agreed with or had comments about the agenda and he replied: "No, this all fits in with my goals." WHAT! What the hell does that mean" He let the Aldermen run the meeting and set the agenda, while adding and saying nothing, and now it all conforms with HIS GOALS? C'mon Mayor, throw us a bone, what exactly are your goals. I have to go to that retreat if for nothing else but to hear him elaborate on his goals.

Now, on to more fun: The Chamber of Commerce holds a ribbon cutting for new businesses in Wentzville and has done this since their founding every Tuesday at 11:00am. Mayor Guccione was invited and agreed to officiate the proceeding. 11:00 came and went with no Mayor when a phone call illuminated that he couldn't make it but would be there by noon. Noon came and went and after receiving another phone call from the Mayor we learned that he couldn't be there until 4:00pm. The Chamber officials decided to wait and went on with the BBQ and other festivities. 4:00 became 4:30, no mayor, 4:30 became 5:00 and still no Mayor. The Chamber could wait no longer so they asked the President of the Board to stand in for the AWOL Mayor.

I've heard that the Chamber President, Mr. Tony Mathews asked the Mayor if there was a better time for him to attend the ribbon cuttings and Guccione said that he's always off work on Wednesdays. I know that the Chamber has board and regular meetings on Wednesdays so this is going to be interesting to see how much they can adapt before keeping it on Tuesdays and invite the Economic Development Director or an Alderman to preside over ribbon cuttings.

I've been sitting here trying to figure out what would keep Mayor Guccione from this event when he said he'd be there at least three times last Tuesday. I need to look in the ad section of the newspaper to see if Schnucks has a sale on chicken parts. If so, that would explain Guccione's absence.