The Wentzvillian has been reporting on Wentzville politics for just under five years now, and has been watching Wentzville politics for the better part of fifteen. I've learned the methods employed by unpopular candidates to get elected by less than 50 percent of the vote. The sleaziest way is to file unfounded ethics violations and sling mud, the other is to split the vote. All of which are well within the wheelhouse of our current mayor; Nickolas Guccione, using them in his run to win the Mayor race last year by a miserable 42 percent.
The three methods of unethical behavior mentioned can be proven, and have become his trademark campaign. If you will allow me to speculate about this past election and Guccione's involvement, I'll lay out the facts and you be the judge. Case in point: three people ran for Alderman of Ward 3 in this past April's election; Michael Hays, Linda Wright, and Darrel Lackey.
The three methods of unethical behavior mentioned can be proven, and have become his trademark campaign. If you will allow me to speculate about this past election and Guccione's involvement, I'll lay out the facts and you be the judge. Case in point: three people ran for Alderman of Ward 3 in this past April's election; Michael Hays, Linda Wright, and Darrel Lackey.
Michael Hays, the favorite of Guccione, won the election by a pathetic 39 percent of the vote. I cannot remember a less popularly elected Alderman in recent history. Guccione pulled out all of the stops, by using the office of the Mayor to actively campaign for his appointed Alderman, Michael Hays.
Darrel Lackey ran on his long and successful record in Wentzville politics. The only qualified candidate in the Ward 3 race in April, Lackey lost his bid, gathering 38 percent of the vote.
Now, lets get to the campaign. Guccione orchestrated the victory of Hays by recruiting Wright to enter the race to split the vote. It worked! At last night's board of Aldermen meeting, Wright got up in open forum and praised Mayor Guccione and Hays, To paraphrase, she stated, "Guccione was a very good Alderman and Mayor." That is 180 degrees out of phase from her opinion prior to the election. People have the right to change their minds, but in this instance, I've heard this same tactic while interviewing candidates prior to the 2012 election.
Another interesting fact: Wright stated last night, "I was going to drop out of the race, but two people convinced me to stay in it; Darrel Lackey and The Wentzvillian." She went on to blast Lackey and say that The Wentzvillian is a little too negative (thank you for reading) for her tastes. She even quoted from a prior post; We The People She read: "My opinions of our Government and those of every citizen of Wentzville may differ, but that's what makes America great: one citizen may stand before them alone and speak about injustice." This quote from The Wentzvillian is what Wright credits for her appearance at the meeting last night. She felt an overwheloming compulsion to blow-off on Darrel Lackey, and The Wentzvillian.
So what happened, why the inconsistencies in Wright's statements? It's quite simple actually. Linda Wright was recruited by our Mayor, to run for the seat in Ward 3, and split the vote, because he knew that Hays could never beat Lackey in a one-on-one race. Secondly, after several citizens spoke in open forum (April 10, 2013) accusing Mayor Guccione of "unethical behavior, he wanted to counter and discredit them. So, he asked Wright to come to the meeting last night to read her prepared statement. In my opinion, Ms. Wright is probably a very nice lady, however she got sucked into drinking Guccione's Kool-Aid, and sooner or later she will learn that she was used by our manipulative mayor.
Guccione is really frightened by The Wentzvillian and the opinions posted here. He is so scared that he has his buddy, two time defeated for municipal judge, Mike Carter, investigating The Wentzvillian, and Guccione is also trying to dig up dirt on all of the other five Aldermen that he can use in upcoming elections. He ran Robert Hussey against Alderman Cheryl Kross, Mike Carter against Judge Steve Martin, and Michael Hays and Linda Wright, against Darrel Lackey. His fingerprints are at the root of the April election, but fortunately, two-thirds of his candidates lost, only Hays won with just 39 percent of the vote.
I watched my two Aldermen, and the others, closely last night; Hays and President of the Board, Rick Stokes. During the course of the meeting, the Aldermen had vigorous discussions about various subjects and I experienced deja vu, I was thrown back in time to see Alderman Nick Guccione in the Ward 3 seat. Michael Hays added nothing to the any of the many discussions being debated by the five other Aldermen. When I say "nothing" I mean absolutely nothing, four and a half hours of silence. He is following in the footsteps of the five year record of Alderman Guccione's total lack of participation in City business. Once again, I am represented by only one Alderman.
I wish I weren't hated by just a few of my loyal readers. If, as they say, they don't read The Wentzvillian, why do they spend so much time bad-mouthing, and trying to shut me down. Surely, it couldn't be because I'm telling the truth, after all, it's their bleak records I bring to the light. Maybe it's time for a group hug. I've got an idea! I won't write anything negative about their records, if they agree to quit being sneaky, under-handed, and unethical. I know that will be tough, especially for Mayor Nickolas Guccione, he has an agenda, and an unspoken, yet, clearly illustrated plan for the future of Wentzville. And that is to control the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative branches of Wentzville Government. Myself, I see major flaws in his plan, but I'm just one frustrated old man crying in the darkness of cyberspace.
Watched the video from last night. They said there is more rock identified at the Slash Station site. Does this mean they will go over the $290,000 built in pad?
ReplyDeleteHope they dig it up and dump at the Planning & Zoning doorstep. They knew it was there since the school was built, the park and baseball field was going to be built there but P & R couldn't because of the rock. P & Z probably have shredded all the old docs so they could justify saying the rocks were " an anomaly" in the Board meeting back in January.
DeleteCan someone on the Alderman Board take up the gauntlet on this? How about Mr. Hays leading the charge but he won't since he was on the P&Z board for all those years and had to know what was under the topsoil.
Is $290,000 all they spent over the padded ceiling? Can we get the accounting firm of Dewey, Cheatem,& Howe check the books?
DeleteYou are not the only one crying in darkness. Several folks on our street could not believe that 2 time Mayor and 3 time Alderman Mr. Darrel Lackey lost the race by such a squeaker vote count. There had to be something foul smelling lurking in the dark. Ms. Wright was seen flat footed at a Mayor's town meeting a while back. You could tell by watching what she was doing something strange was underfoot by saying how much she liked Mr. Hays. If you liked him why run against him??
ReplyDeleteShe is just another Guccione pawn. Her day will come when the Mayor falls off his throne and he leaves her out in the wind by herself.
Too bad, soo sad!
In spite of all the false things about Chicago politics and those things may have been somewhat true a long, long time ago , The Daly's did not play a political game like Mr. Guccione. They were straight and upfront about the politics, the city they loved and made it into the showcase city it is now.
I hope Alderwoman Kross sticks tom her guns about the Splash Station, Parks & Recreation , and the Finance book juggling to account for where the $$ comes and goes. Keep digging 'LadyBug'( or should you be called BULLDOG) and expose the shellgame that has all the taxpayers' money slip-sliding from one pocket to another in a 'catch-me-if you can' dance. Hope this is the year when we catch 'the fox who has been guarding the hen house'.
ReplyDeleteYou are a liar or someone has lied to you. I never said I didn't like the mayor's politics. I say let's submit the parties who have spread this evil nonsense to a lie detector test. I will pay for mine and you and whoever you are quoting can do one as well. Bring it on! You will not lie about me because I WILL prove you wrong!!
ReplyDeleteMs. Wright, someone up the string posted a good question. "You always liked Hays. Why would you run against him." The answer is: you were in collusion with Mayor Guccione and Michael Hays to manipulate the outcome of the Ward three election. I'm sure that everyone who reads The Wentzvillian would like to hear the answer to that question. The ball is in your court.
DeleteMs. Wright sounds like the Mayor complaining anytime someone points a finger at him.
Delete"And the cheese stands alone".
I don't understand why, if Ms. Wright likes Mayor Guccione so much, she would run against his favorite candidate, Michael Hays. She should have been canpaigning for Hays, instead she runs against him. She had to be a plant in the election by her beloved Tricky Nicky and that makes her a crooked politician.
DeleteIf the Mayor's plan is to control the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of Wentzville government wouldn't that make him king, dictator, or Czar. Oh, he already acts like he is all of those. He already has his own gestapo and secret police.
ReplyDeleteThis blog is a total joke. A blog that stirs the political pot, by putting info out there that is out of context in an effort to sway the vote. In particular, your name throwing of Wright is gross. I have known Linda for a very long time, she's honest, has an education that is beyond, not to mention a business background that will blow your socks off. She runs our HOA at Villages Of Stonegate and she has done a great job, lowering our fees and getting our monthly reduced. This is how she actually got to know the Mayor, through trying to help slow people down in our neighborhood. Lets keep it things honest. She has not taken ONE SINGLE CORPORATE donation, the SINGLE BIGGEST problem facing politics now, they always want a payoff. She's run strictly on her own funds with the exception of individual donations by citizens given at meet and greets, often to her surprise. I don't think her opponent can say that. Anyone who takes money for their campaign and those who vote for them are just continuing to push politics in an unethical place, just like in big Gov, seen throughout on a state and federal level. Wright has my vote. No need to comment back, I won't be back to this blog. I like real facts and unbiased news, not the case here.
ReplyDeleteWRIGHT for Alderman, Ward 3! April 8th!