I Am Not ELVIS!

I'd like to address a question that was asked by a reader who commented on my last blog. I believe it is an important issue that could negativly effect Wentzville should Nick Guccione be elected Mayor: Guccione seems to be a slider, he very seldom says anything in the city meetings. I watch them on the Internet and started noticing it several months ago. He hardly contributes anything, why do you suppose that is?. After observing Alderman Nick Guccione at almost every meeting during his four years on the Board of Aldermen, I have noted his actions and will offer my opinion in an effort to answer the reader's question but it will take a short history lesson first.

The sequence of events may be a little out of order but that's not important, the results are what count in this history. Aldermen; Nick Guccione, Bill Schuette, and John Luby were recruited by Vickie Boedeker during her last bid for a fifth term as Mayor of Wentzville. They were told then that all the matchbook covers are true; "You too can become an Alderman, no experience, knowledge of government, or concern for Wentzville is necessary" unfortunately they bought it. Peggy Meyer (good friends with Boedeker) was currently on the Board and in the group conspiracy. All of them were advised to take Boedeker's lead and vote with her choices. En masse, they had many secret meetings before and after the election forging their agenda driven direction for the City, allegedly in violation of "Sunshine Laws." Then the unthinkable happened; Boedeker lost her election vs. Lambi but her group of Flying Monkeys all won and took their seat on the Board. Having no leader telling them how to vote, loudmouth Lurch Schuette took the lead and his fledgling aldermen became the Lurchettes (translation: sock puppets). Guccione and the others took orders and all created a voting block which frustrated Mayor Paul Lambi as well as strangling the economic welfare of Wentzville. Their grip on Wentzville cost our city millions of dollars in unnecessary spending and pointless ordinances which set the stage for our current bloated bureaucracy and budget problems.

Over the next three years, John Luby lost to Rick Stokes; Lurch Schuette lost to Chris Gard: Leon Tow retired and Cheryl Kross came in; Peggy Meyer retired and in walked Vann Sample. Guccione unopposed, was re-elected and has been whining like a puppy in the rain for the past year because "no one on the Board of Aldermen will listen to me." He has had no one to tell him how to vote and it's made him miserable trying to keep up with this new energetic, fast-paced  hard-working board. In his Mayor campaign he is desperately trying to recreate a board using the Boedeker Model but he has a campaign manager (Bananas Sherwood) who doesn't have near the charm, expertise, or insights of her idol; Vickie Boedecker. The only thing she has in common with Boedeker is an over active penchant toward treachery and she will do nothing but bring shame to Guccione along the way.

In my opinion, Nick Guccione like most people, is hard-working (two jobs) with a nice home and swimming pool and two or three vehicles. He has a nice family; wife, children, and grandchildren. Between working two jobs, taking care of his family and home, going to meetings for the city, reading ordinances and city business (sometimes 1,500 pages) every week, answering phone calls from constituency, and drumming up support for his election hopes, it doesn't leave much time for living. Frankly, I don't think he ever read any city business for the last few years except those things that pertained to his special interests. He followed the lead of others who supported each other and relied on their knowledge of subjects, but those days are gone now and he doesn't do homework. I think it's reflected in his Board behavior and lack of participation unless it's something he wants.

It is also my opinion that Alderman Nick Guccione has no business being in office and it disturbs me that he represents my ward 3. Nick should drop out of the Mayor race that he cannot win, serve out his last year with integrity, start surrounding himself with people who care about him, and distance himself from people like Bill Lurch Schuette and Donna Bananas Sherwood who will drag his legacy through the mud just like they did with theirs, and then flip on him. I believe he would be a lot happier with his life if he were to get out of a political arena for which he has no time or passion. I'm sorry that I've lost a friend over politics but I love Wentzville too much to let it go down hill. There comes a time in every man's life when he finally admits to himself that no matter how much he tries, he'll never be Elvis.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012

The new year holds great promise for Wentzville, not only economically but politically. With General Motors adding a new assembly line and the possibility of Ranken Technical College bringing a satellite school to town, things are looking up. With the growth of Wentzville, our citizens have brought a new sense and logic to our city hall and slowly uprooting the "good ole boy" political party. I have held vigil, watching and reporting on city hall for the better part of 15 years and can say that the ball is over the crest of the hill and beginning to roll.

It all began about eight years ago with the election of Mayor Paul Lambi. I had hopes for a better life for Wentzville after Vickie Boedecker was dethroned, but the political rubble of our city was firmly implanted. Lambi worked with the support of several good aldermen to clean up city hall but the cancer was deep and it would take two more years for Boedecker to get over the fact that her second defeat was not just "voter apathy," her style of "good ole boy" politics was no longer wanted by our growing population. A huge blow to Wentzville was the retirement of three outstanding aldermen: David Hoekel, Dave Billing, and Darrel Lackey who all left the same year leaving an opening for Boedeker's flying monkeys to take over.

During attempts over the next two years to regain the throne she brought in three successful candidates to run for aldermen, John Luby, Ward 1; Nick Guccione, Ward 3; the ultimate Vickie-clone, Bill "Lurch" Schuette in Ward 2. Even though Boedeker lost the election, her flying monkeys continued the reign of terror in Wentzville. Lambi became frustrated in his second term toward restoring sanity as it entered its blackest days. "Lurch" became the "man behind the screen" who led the fledgling "Lurchettes." They met frequently in private (the Boedeker system) to determine their strategy of taking over Wentville's political system, a clear violation of election law.

In 2009, a glimmer of sunshine appeared on the political scene; Mrs. Cheryl Kross, new alderman in Ward 1 was elected, but even she, Lambi, and Alderman Tow couldn't break Boedeker's grip on the city. Then "Lurch" made the ultimate mistake and opened the door for sanity to come to the city, he decided to run for Mayor. Unfortunately for him and the Lurchettes, Guccione decided it was also his time to make a move. What happened was Lambi beat them both by a small margin sending "Lurch" back into the spectator's seat and left Guccione all alone on the board as Luby lost to Cheryl Kross. In 2011, things started to change and when Guccione's attempt to plant a candidate in Ward 1 to replace Kross failed, and Lurch's unsuccessful bid to regain his Ward 2 alderman seat, he watched as a new order came to Wentzville; Kross, Stokes, Sample, and Gard. These four aldermen have the opportunity to close the book on the 155 year "good ole boy" brand of politics in Wentzville.

It is my belief that in the election of 2012 voters can take back the city with two clear choices LEON TOW for mayor, and the re-election of RICK "Bulldog" STOKES in ward 3. There is more to the equation and I will give that on a later blog but I think I can predict a date of the overthrow of the old order (Boedeker system), April 2nd, 2013 when Nick Guccione is not re-elected alderman in Ward 3. Guccione should have paid more attention to what was going on in Ward 3 and a little less on his upward political aspirations.

Things look very good for Wentzville but we must always keep guard, people like; Lurch, Nick Guccione, Donna Sherwood, and a host of flying monkeys will always be looking for the chink in our Wentzville good-government armor.