Statesman vs. Politician Part I

Yesterday evening the Board of Aldermen had a work session where they discussed some very important issues regarding the future of city sponsored special events and the state of our new parks. I want to address some points brought out at the meeting but right now my focus is on the upcoming election which in my opinion is even more important to Wentzville's future.

In 25 days Wentzville will be going to the polls once again, this time to elect or re-elect Aldermen from Ward 1, Ward 3 and our Municipal Judge. Each of these positions are crucial in the ongoing process of rebuilding our city from the chaos created by the irresponsibility and misdirection of the administrations of the last 17 years. Unfortunately for Wentzville, as a result of last year's election we have to contend with a man whose reasons for wanting to be mayor were not in the best interests of our City. Mayor Nickolas Guccione is the least qualified and most indecisive, non committal mayor in recent history, and needs to be kept in check by men and women who know how to run a city of our size. Guccione runs a very strong campaign and knows how to get elected but his leadership attributes leave a lot to be desired. After his first year in office he's failed miserably and The Wentzvillian Job Performance Poll has him at a whopping 23 percent approval rating. With that preface, lets look at the candidates:

A Statesman is defined:

A leader regarded as a disinterested promoter

of public good.

A Politician is defined:

One who seeks personal or partisan gain,

often by cunning or dishonest means.

Ward 1

Cheryl Kross (incumbent) vs. Robert Hussey

Cheryl Kross spent her first year on the Board of Aldermen enduring a Board that was giving away the farm and the chauvinistic jabs of a Mayor who abused his authority while taking misogynistic shots at her every chance he got. Once the tide of more conservative Aldermen were elected her ultra-conservative fiscal bend was more appreciated and she gained traction. Kross was heard saying many times: "I'm tired of government piling layer after layer of taxes and fees on taxpayers." She worked hard to get real estate and property taxes lowered, reducing and eliminating fees, and not allowing water and sewer rates to be increased. All of these things were realized during her terms and she's promised to continue those efforts. Cheryl Kross has never once accepted money or special interest support for her campaigns.

Robert Hussey is being supported by Mayor Nickolas Guccione, which in my opinion speaks volumes regarding Mr. Hussey's political stance. A realitor who was unable to garner support from the Board of Realitors (who instead offered their support to his opponent) he turned to scooping up support from Guccione's union connections. His literature reads that he is looking to raise $6000 from a fundraiser in Chesterfield to mount an all out blitz of signs and mailings. Mr. Hussey's resume is impressive, if you can keep from stumbling over the misspelled words and if he's looking for a job as a City Administrator, I don't know about his references simply because I'm not wanting to hire him.

Mr. Hussey was interested in the City Administrator position here and Mayor Nickolas Guccione devised a plan to slide him in the back door around the application process. Guccione told him to contact the two newest Aldermen; Forrest Gossett and Sonya Shyrock, he even went to the extent of setting up a meeting in city hall between himself, Hussey and Shyrock, Guccione didn't show up. Anyone attempting to influence Aldermen during an ongoing job evaluation is the height of unethical behavior, Guccione knew better, that's why he didn't show up. Hussey should have known better since his resume states that he worked in city management.

So, which is the statesman and which is the politician, you decide. I'll continue tomorrow with the Ward 3 and Municipal Judge races.