Let's See How Much $ I Can Waste Today!

 

I'm trying very hard to respect the mayor of Wentzville, Nickolas Guccione, but every day I am presented with more and more challenges to that endeavor. I'm sure I hold the office of Mayor in great esteem, however King Nickolas is killing me with his constant ideas on better ways to waste city time, resources, and tax-payer dollars.

 

This past Sunday I wrote a piece that has yet to be posted because I was waiting for some information about his wasting city money. The information has come now, but I won't post it until after I relieve myself of a more recent burden King Nickolas has placed on my mind and the tax-payers pockets. This guy, who calls himself the CEO of Wentzville is in reality the most inane, unlettered individual to ever claim the honorable position of mayor.

 

It has been stated numerous times that Guccione has an inability to communicate or literate in any capacity of the office. Today, I learned that our mighty Potentate has a problem with his memory, which I suspected for some time. He cannot remember what was said in the meetings he has with his staff. I always figured that he couldn't read his own notes, but in actuality, he doesn't take notes—he relies on his memory, which has undoubtedly begun to fail him.

 

When one of his staff tries to remind him of what he said, or was said to him, he sometimes doesn't believe them. I don't know why, but he went to our celebrated City Attorney, Paul Rost to see what he could do about his new-found problem.  Rost advised him to take his Administrative Assistant, Ms. Lisa Etling to the meetings to take notes for him. I'm sure Rost was referring to his weekly, Thursday morning staff meetings, but Guccione has decided to take Ms. Etling along with him to take notes anytime he drops in the offices of his staff or visa-versa. If you wanted to jog your memory, wouldn't it be cheaper for you to buy a pocket recorder, Mr. Mayor? Hell, the City might even pop for one if you ask nicely. I'd even buy you one if you would agree to release your Administrative Assistant from her shackles and let her do her job.

So here we are, Mayor Guccione has Ms. Etling following him around city hall writing down every word he utters or that is uttered to him, during all of his conversations with the city's directors. It might not be as bad as it sounds because he's only at city hall one day a week and he's out campaigning half of that day. He has dumped all of the tasks of the city administrator on the directors and now he's taking away precious time from Ms. Etling. A word to all city employees, don't stand around in one place very long because Guccione will pile some more of his duties on you. When you have a man like Guccione in power who has the corporate mentality of a gnat, there's never enough slaves to satisfy the overseer.

With everyone in city hall doing Guccione's work, and that of the city administrator (which was assigned to him), what is left for him to do but strut and puff? Every initiative he's brought to the Board of Aldermen, has or will cost the city money, and now he's taking more time away from city staff to do another job he should be doing.  C'mon Nickolas, at least make an effort to take your own damn notes.

I'll be back real soon with more of King Nickolas' spend, spend, spend trend way of doing business at city hall, stay tuned.

 

Biased Toward Good Government

 

I've had readers criticize me for "being biased" or "Picking on Mayor Nickolas Guccione and/or Mayor Paul Lambi." I assure my readers that I am biased, but on the side of good government, and I believe most or all of our elected officials would agree with that statement. Any time a mayor or alderman does anything unethical, stupid, or is not looking out for the good of Wentzville citizens, they will cross swords with The Wentzvillian.

Personally, I like Guccione and Lambi, and was friends with both of them, the problem with our friendships came in when they displayed unethical behavior in office and I disclosed proof here on this blog—I cannot stay silent. As a patriot of the United States of America, the State of Missouri, and Wentzville, It is my constitutional right, and my duty to  inform my fellow citizens of the wrong-doing of any elected official—if these officials dislike me for what I say here, maybe they need to change their behavior—not my reporting.

Lambi started disliking me when I discovered and reported on his unethical partnership with Mr. Ed Watkins, both have admitted and agreed with the ethics violations brought down by the Missouri Ethics Commission. It's unfortunate because I think Paul Lambi is a good and compassionate man and for the most part, one of Wentzville's best mayors, I truly believe he was misled by his former co-conspirator, it saddens me that we are no longer friends.

I was friends with Nickolas Guccione and his family for a number of years, but when I reported on his conspiratorial campaigns and his unethical method of getting elected, that all changed. He tried numerous times without success to discredit me personally yet never once thought that maybe I was correct and that he needed to change his approach to elections. The Aldermen thought my facts were in order and Mayor Lambi stepped in to pardon Guccione, saving him some hefty fines. He didn't learn anything from that because there were no consequences and he continued his unethical campaign tactics when he got Michael Hays elected. He violated the "Political Activity Policy," but the aldermen went after him for ethics violations covered under the "Ethics Policy," and failed, why they did that—I'll never understand. So where are we; Guccione and Lambi both dislike me for reports appearing here but The Wentvillian will continue as long as there is corruption in our City government.

I've reported about Guccione's inability to run City meetings and in the past few months he has improved. Under the tutelage of Lambi, he's learned to use a gavel and he even displayed sack enough to shut down Alderman Cheryl Kross last week for her side-bars, something has changed with her, she didn't used to be like she is today. Guccione is learning to control public meetings, congratulations. It may take another year and a half to master looking like a mayor, but that's not all a mayor is supposed to do.

Guccione is near sighted about his vision for Wentzville's future and I'm not sure he can fix that by himself. Issuing pardons for convenience store owners because they were late applying for their liquor license is not a good start, I can see a rush of bar owners lining up to get equal treatment. Guccione needs to talk about what he wants, and he needs to express a means of accomplishing his goal if he wants to be a successful mayor.

PSS: I'm bettin' it ain't happenin'.

 

 

Give 'em The Old Razzle Dazzle

I loved the musical Chicago, and I can easily understand why it won six Academy Awards, including best picture. One song in particular; Razzle-Dazzle, was brought to mind after watching the award-winning performance of our Board of Aldermen during "(ID 4498) Ethics Discussion."

The subject was to deal with Mayor Guccione's use of his office to campaign for an Alderman during the past election. The topic was placed on the Agenda of April 24th and pulled off prior to the meeting; it was then placed on last night's agenda. Tension ran high when three citizens spoke in open forum during the meeting of April 10th, when Ward 2 Alderman, Sonya Sryock, brought it back up during her Alderman Report. It was stated that the subject being discussed by the Board was not on the agenda and should not be taking place. Ward 1 Alderman, Cheryl Kross, asked that it be placed on the agenda as a discussion item.

OPENING CHORUS:

Give 'em the old razzle dazzle

Razzle Dazzle 'em
Give 'em an act with lots of flash in it
And the reaction will be passionate

Give 'em the old hocus pocus
Bead and feather 'em
How can they see with sequins in their eyes?
What if your hinges all are rusting?
What if, in fact, you're just disgusting?

Razzle dazzle 'em
And they'll never catch wise!

Now for the cast and performance: (We hope you enjoy the show)

ACT ONE:

Opening the curtain the scene begins. After all of the important Bills and Resolutions are voted on, Shryock will be excused for personal reasons, subsequently not present for the discussion she inspired. Exit stage left.  This leaves on stage, but silent through the discussion, the following:  Mayor Nickolas Guccione, plus the Aldermen of Ward 3, Michael Hays and President of the Board, Rick Stokes rocking in their rocking chairs. Curtain closes.

ACT TWO:

Give 'em the old Razzle Dazzle
Razzle dazzle 'em
Give 'em a show that's so splendiferous
Row after row will crow vociferous

Give 'em the old flim flam flummox
Fool and fracture 'em
How can they hear the truth above the roar?
Roar, roar, roar!
Throw 'em a fake and a finagle
They'll never know you're just a bagel,

Razzle dazzle 'em
And they'll beg you for more!

Curtain up, enter Kross, stage right:  She speaks for the now-absent Shryock and begins a cryptic and lengthy question to the City Attorney, never once addressing the actions of the Mayor or his violations. The audience is disappointed in her poor acting performance.

Enter City Attorney, Paul Rost, stage right: Rost talks about the "Ethics Policy" and explains why there are no violations. He is the only member of the cast to read the mind of Kross by saying, "I assume you are talking about the campaign brochure using the office of the mayor endorsement." No one responded so then Rost says, "However there is a 'Political Activity Policy.'" He gave a lawyerly speech carefully outlining the intent of the policy and finally says, "The board could take action." The audience rises to their feet to cheer the news. Both Kross and Rost exit stage right.

ACT THREE:

Give 'em the old double whammy
Daze and dizzy 'em
Back since the days of old Methuselah
Everyone loves the big bambooz-a-ler

Give 'em the old three ring circus
Stun and stagger 'em
When you're in trouble, go into your dance
Though you are stiffer than a girder
They'll let you get away with murder

Razzle dazzle 'em
And you've got a romance

Enter Alderman Chris Gard, stage right: Gard starts his "We are not the Judicial Branch," speech saying how they cannot pass judgement on anyone. The crowd is stunned; they cannot believe that Gard actually said it. Gard exits stage right.

Enter Alderman Forrest Gossett, stage left. "I am a firm believer in the First Amendment, and I will fight to the death any one's right to freedom of speech." The audience cheers and waves flags, but they don't know why. It's reminiscent of a George M. Cohen play. Curtain close.

CLOSING CHORUS:

Give 'em the old Razzle Dazzle
Razzle dazzle 'em

Show 'em the first rate sorceror you are
Long as you keep 'em way off balance
How can they spot you've got no talent

Razzle Dazzle 'em
Razzle Dazzle 'em
Razzle Dazzle 'em

And they'll make you a star!

CRITIC'S REVIEW

City Attorney, Paul Rost, gets rave reviews, but the actions of our Aldermen last night were a well-rehearsed choreography of smoke and mirrors the likes of which has never been seen in Wentzville City Hall. Voters should be up in arms about the precedent they set last night. Mayor Nickolas Guccione was just pardoned a second time, and I hope the citizens of Wentzville won't forget it. I'm sure that Guccione will come on strong with his dirty politics next year as usual, when he works hard to replace Gossett, Shryock, and Stokes. I think our regular board went camping, and the board that was present last night were all actors—every one of them. This was a display of pure politics, not justice.

This morning I have to say; I'm truly ashamed to say, I live in Wentzville!

Article Interruptus

It is with guarded excitement that I await the Board of Alderman meeting this Wednesday, May 8th. The reason I'm looking forward to it is because the "Ethics Discussion," which was originally posted, and removed from the agenda of April 24th has been placed on the upcoming agenda. I'm apprehensive because here lately when I hear things, they haven't necessarily come to be. So, I'll be there to listen and see what happens.

This discussion item was placed on the agenda to address the  questionable ethics of Mayor Nickolas Guccione and Ward 3 Alderman Michael Hays during the election this past April. Remembering back to the election of 2012, during Mayor Lambi's final meeting as Mayor of Wentzville, the Board was going to have a similar discussion about Guccione's unethical behavior. Lambi's last official duty was to issue a pardon for him. I always thought it unfortunate for citizens of Wentzville to bear the shame of having a Mayor sworn in who was just pardoned by the outgoing mayor. And now, citizens of Ward 3 are represented by an alderman who won by only 39 percent of the vote, who would not have been elected if Guccione hadn't gotten involved.

Guccione must not have learned anything from Lambi's pardon because he continued along with his old campaign strategies this past election by using the mayor's office to promote the seating of Hays. I can only hope our Aldermen impose some drastic spankings.

NEWS FLASH: The body count rills up under Mayor Nickolas Guccione's administration. Ms. Petree Powell, Interim Wentzville Finance Director was fired Friday night about 8:30  PM by City Administrator, T. Michael McDowell. It was reported to The Wentzvillian that Ms. Powell and Mr. McDowell may have had some bad blood between them. Powell was hired January 10th of this year to replace Dennis Walsh who had served as Wentzville Finance Director for many years. Ms. Powell sent a blistering email to the City, which I will do my best to acquire. The Wentzvillian has been told that a new interim Finance Director will be present at the meeting this Wednesday.

Guccione was directly involved with the firing of four directors in Wentzville, so much for being in favor of the employees, huh? I have never seen such a turnover in the City as that created by Mayor Nickolas Guccione. My suggestion to City employees is: if you have a position of any responsibility with the City, duck! Do what your leader does; hide, pass the buck, lie, accomplish little or nothing, and always have someone you can blame.

I'm off to do some research, see ya later!

Do We Pay A Mayor To Campaign Against Us?

The St. Louis Post Dispatch headline this morning read: "Ellisville Council Ousts Mayor." First year Mayor Adam Paul of Ellisville was removed from office for a number of items, interestingly enough one of the charges was; "the council found Paul guilty of failing to control meetings." Does this sound familiar to anyone, does anyone know a Mayor who consistently fits this description?

I'm wondering if our Wentzville Mayor Nickolas Guccione read the paper this morning during his smoke break? If he did, I'm sure he couldn't help but feel there may be some similarities between himself and the "ousted mayor" of Ellisville, but maybe not. In my opinion, I don't think he sees anything even remotely similar to his Ellisville counterpart. I believe Guccione feels himself bullet proof when it comes to being removed from office. I feel bad for Mayor Paul and his family, but if the charges for his removal are supported by what will now be a court challenge, then he'll just have to live with it. It all boils down to ego now and how far he wants to go to get what he wants.

I brought up this whole mess in Ellisville this morning to illustrate some of the similarities between him and our own Mayor. I found it interesting that he had just completed his first year in office, the same as our Mayor. And obviously, Mayor. Paul was incapable of running meetings, same as our Mayor, but that may be where the similarities end.

As my readers know, one of Mayor Guccione's difficulties is in the illegal usage of our City logo on campaign literature. You also know, Guccione was pardoned last year for the exact same thing he did this year, using the City logo on campaign literature, this time on a flyer supporting Alderman Michael Hays. Some may say: "Oh it's barely noticeable," but both men knew it was there and both men made no effort to remove it. In the photograph, Hays was cropped in in front of Guccione but the placement of the mayor was such that they made sure his Wentzville logo pin was obvious. If indeed the board wrote law to prohibit the unlicensed use of the Wentzville logo then both men are in violation of Wentzville law, and both should pay the price.

Some may say that Hays wasn't here and he didn't know about the law, unfortunately, you or I would be told, "ignorance of the law is no excuse." Guccione did know about the law, it was written for him, so his illegal use must be considered chronic and untreatable by a slap on the wrist. This is reason number two for his removal.

The third, and I believe the most serious was the use the office of Mayor, and the City of Wentzville to endorse a candidate in a different branch of Government. I am a voter in Ward 3 and I feel disenfranchised when our Mayor uses the office of Mayor, the Executive Branch, and the City of Wentzville to endorse an unpopular candidate in the Legislative Branch. Ward 3 citizens don't pay taxes to pay a Mayor in Wentzville to have the Mayor bringing the force of his elected office to campaign for an Alderman candidate who won by eight votes and elected by only 39 percent of the voters of Ward 3. Every Mayor in the history of Wentzville knew better than to openly do what Guccione did—the voters of Ward 3 need protection from this sort of unethical behavior. Every voter in Wentzville should complain about this—it is guaranteed that if nothing is done, next year you will see our Mayor Guccione, his office of Mayor, and the City of Wentzville helping him elect an unpopular candidate in the Legislative Branch of our Government, and this time in your ward.

It should be the opinion of every disenfranched voter of Ward 3 and any voter in the City of Wentzville who believes in our free, fair, and impartial form of Government to stop the insanity in the Mayor's office. We the taxpayers do not pay a Mayor a salary to campaign against us. I urge our Aldermen to do the right thing; let Mayor Guccione join Mayor Adam Paul of Ellisville in the unemployment line. There are people who are just not cut out to be leaders, Nickolas Guccione is one of them, Guccione won't quit, he needs to be stopped, and after all—it's in the air.

2 Days to the Election, and...

Every year at election time, things get crazy. This insanity has been going on in Wentzville since I can remember and it's always the product of some strong-willed narcissist trying to influence, or manipulate elections. I won't go into previous administrations other than to say; after talking with the old-timers in town, none of them have ever seen a Mayor actively support and campaign for Aldermen candidates until Nixkolas Guccione. No one has ever seen flyers sporting a candidate with a picture of a Mayor supporting him. I cannot fathom that there is not some State statute or Federal law protecting citizens from this type of election manipulation. Personally, I can't imagine any candidate wanting Guccione's support especially after seeing his track record of election ethics.

Nick Guccione has been recruiting and actively supporting candidates in the last two elections. I've checked my list and found that in the last two years he has actively supported seven candidates, four last year and three this year, which includes one Municipal Judge. Of the four last year, none were elected and most of them have a bad taste in their mouths after Guccione lied and turned his back on them, in fact one of them was his own campaign manager. I can only hope that Robert Hussey and Michael Hays are prepared for Guccione blaming them for anything they did under his inept and unethical tutelage. I haven't seen Hussey's campaign flyer yet but I do know that Guccione is already back-peddling on the ethics infractions on the Hays literature.

Michael Hays could be in for a big surprise when the Election Commission and/or other City and State agencies come down on him for his flyer. His problem could easily be something every other disgruntled candidate fell for, being lied to by Nickolas Guccione. Guccione could easily say that he had no part in the content of the flyer (never saw it) and only gave him a personal endorsement letter and say that he didn't know Hays would stick the word "Mayor" on it. Tricky Nicky would have plausible deny ability leaving Hays to take the hit, I hope he has proof of Guccione's involvement or he'll take it alone leaving Guccione to move on to the next sucker.

Guccione is never going to change his campaign tactics or manipulation of our election process unless our Aldermen and City Attorney get more involved. The only thing we, the citizens can do to protect Wentzville is to identify those unsuspecting candidates of Guccione's choice and make sure they do not win the election. Those people are Robert Hussey and Michael Hays who are running for Aldermen, and Michael Carter for Municipal Judge. In this years election, the most damaging mistake could be the election of Carter. It has taken Judge Steve Martin two years to straighten out the Judicial budget mess left by Carter.

For the reasons stated above, it is imperative that Wentzville voters choose the right people to represent us in our Government:

Ward 1

Cheryl Kross

Ward 3

Darrel Lackey

Municipal Judge

Steve Martin



4 Days To The Election, and...



I can't let go of just how important this election is, we have only four days left and every vote counts.

Ward 1

Cheryl Kross

Ward 3

Darrel Lackey

Municipal Judge

Steve Martin

Today I'll write about Mayor Nickolas Guccione's goals and objectives presented at the Strategic Planning Session March 23rd that I watched via a City provided DVD, thank you. In my opinion, his goals and objectives were the same as last year and by his own confession based solely upon a few citizen's suggestions. Nothing revolutionary, nothing new, just the same old feel good rhetoric.

1. Four New Police Officers: Exactly the same as last year and a safe one to say that will always garner support from everyone, paying for it is an entirely different question. I have to give you a direct quote credited to our illustrious mayor, "I want to have the best police department in the city." I have to ask; how many police departments do we have in Wentzville?

2. Lower Retail Sales tax: This is a noble statement made by every politician seated or campaigning since taxes were invented. A lengthy discussion followed this goal regarding just how it could be accomplished and from my interpretation of the debate, it can't be done. CIDs, NIDSs, TIFs, TDDs, and a plethora of other tax incentives to businesses just can't be renegotiated, but it was a good try, maybe next year.

Five of the six Aldermen weighed in on lowering personal and real estate taxes as an option. Guccione couldn't offer that one because it's been too well advertised that this has been the objective of the Board for the last four years. It would be difficult to steal that idea since everybody knows who is and has been doing that very thing. Guccione made a statement against the reduction of personal and real estate taxes to the effect: "The personal and real estate tax reductions have only averaged a savings of about $25 or $26 to residents so far." I can't believe that a Mayor would minimize a tax reduction to residents suggesting that the City shouldn't have cut these taxes.

I mentioned that one of the Aldermen said nothing during the half-hour discussion and that one was Guccione's appointed buddy, Alderman of Ward 3, Michael Hays. He has been truly a disappointment in his lack of desire to engage in any debates by the Aldermen.. Hays is running against Darrel Lackey for the Ward 3 seat and when Lackey wins it will be the first time Ward 3 has had a full compliment of Aldermen in six years. Some of you may puzzle over the length of time but it's simple, Guccione took up space in that seat for five of them.

3. Better Snow Removal: Guccione wants a new truck that can dispense a chemical agent that will be actively melting snow for 72 hours. Great idea, we can always use another very expensive vehicle in the stable that will be used four or five times a year. My question is, how are you going to pay for it?

4. More Entertainment: Guccione wants the Economic Development Director to more aggressively seek out "bowling alleys, teen-towns, or other events." Another feel-good request that will get the respect of citizens and has been asked of every mayor since 1872. Our mayor must have forgotten that the taxpayers have just paid for a new $20 million dollar park system that has yet to be completed, but that's another story.

5. Pearce Blvd. Beautification: He is requesting amenities i.e. park benches, lights, and new signs for Pearce Blvd. I think I know where this request came from but my question is; don't you think repairing sidewalks, or even putting sidewalks in areas along Pearce Blvd. that don't have them might be nice first?

6. Beautification of the Overpass at Hwy 61 and Pitman Ave.: The mayor wants to repaint the overpass that belongs to MODOT (Missouri Department of Transportation). He may also want to paint the railroad overpass which belongs to the Norfolk Southern Railroad. I don't think I need to Comment on this request.

That's it, Mayor Nickolas Guccione's vision for 2013. Alderman Shyrock said it best; "I agree with all of these Mr. Mayor, but how do you propose to pay for them?" To this Guccione responded with a classic; "That's why we have a staff." I'm still shaking my head trying to figure out what the hell he was talking about. President of the Board Rick Stokes said; "I don't see how you can dump this off on staff to pay for this. Everything here costs money."

The Goals and objectives portion of the meeting was ended with a statement by Alderman Stokes; "Mr. Mayor, I thank you for presenting your goals and objectives. I look forward to seeing your proposal on how we reduce revenues by reducing sales taxes and manage increased spending to accomplish them." Me too!

Parks—February 27th, 2013 Board Meeting

"(ID # 4369) Peruque Valley and Heartland Park Project" was discussed at length last Wednesday evening under "New Business". Several of the bidders were in attendance and spoke during "Open Forum," including one who was contesting the selection process.

At the onset, Mayor Nickolas Guccione recused himself at the advice of the City Attorney and left chambers until the discussion was completed.  The selection committee comprised of city staff had chosen the top three companies, of those they recommended C. Rallo Construction Co. Interesting to note here, the owner of C. Rallo Construction Co. is a member of Mayor Guccione's family. The Wentzvillian is not suggesting improprieties but in government just the appearance of the lack of ethics should be avoided at all costs. In this instance, not only does the mayor have a family relationship to the recommended supplier but the people on the selection committee work directly for him. By appearance alone it would be easy for someone to correctly or incorrectly deduce that this combination meets the criteria for a conspiracy, either intended or unintended. To make things even more sticky, Guccione has a family relationship with the owner of the cleaning service company contracted by the city.

During "Open Forum," representatives of Gundaker Commercial Construction protested the selection process. Apparently they had several blanks on the bid form filled in with "Later" and those blanks excluded them from being an approved bidder. Gundaker stated that other bidders who were approved had left blanks yet were approved. In support of their argument to be an approved bidder they added; "Gundaker was low bidder across the board."

Now for the problem: Parks construction has been pushed and pushed to "Start digging" by the Park Board, Friends of the Parks, and Mayors Lambi and Guccione to the point that cost overruns on the Splash Station are projected to far exceed its budget. The latest estimate for opening day is August 24th 2013 plus two weeks which ends up being one week after its scheduled closing for the season. This information should make it a little easier for Guccione to make his decision whether or not to open in 2013, but you never know.

Because they are going to be so far over budget on Splash Station, the Aldermen have been placed in an unsavory position—robbing Peter to pay Paul. To tell how deep to cut Splash Station amenities and/or from the budget of Heartland and Peruque parks, they need an accurate accounting from staff just how much Splash Station will cost. Questions were asked; "Why Splash Station was chosen first and why its location was chosen. Very good questions if they want to start pointing fingers (which I'm sure will come sooner or later and I'd bet those fingers are attached to the arms of Lambi and Guccione), but it won't help the situation. After a lengthy debate and deciding that the obvious result of cuts to Heartland and Peruque would change their design criteria it was decided to rebid.

The only thing left is for staff to provide the numbers asked for, evaluate the depth of the cuts to each of the parks, and send it back out for bid. I would be surprised if there are any blanks left on the forms this time around.

Turnip Truck 101

Before I get into more of last Wednesday's Aldermen meeting (click here) I wanted to mention that The Wentzvillian poll has Mayor Nickolas Guccione's job performance down one point from last week to 20%. If you haven't taken the time to vote in this poll, please do so.

I found it interesting that Guccione said in the meeting; "Mike (Hays) and me are going to various venues around town." He is prancing his ponies Hays and Hussey everywhere, giving them all the free face-time he can get for them. It's pretty disgusting to watch him use the mayor's office to drag his candidates out and endorse them at functions of the mayor. I urge my readers to lend support to the reelection of Ward 1 Alderman Cheryl Kross and Ward 3 Candidate Darrel Lackey.

Now what I promised: The Mayor is responsible for appointing members of the various boards, e.g., Board of Adjustment, Planning & Zoning, Parks, etc., the ensuing discussion during his "Mayor's Report" was comical. He needed to appoint a member to the Board of Adjustment who's term expired that day and he waived around a list of 20 applicants for boards. These applications were for different boards and dated back to 2009. Why he didn't tell the board that he needed board members before they expired was a mystery to the Aldermen.

Guccione explained that he needed several positions filled and only had two recent applications. The Board of Aldermen are trying to approve individuals from the wards with an equitable distribution of representation and it's the Mayor's responsibility to offer them the candidates. Ward 3 has a shortage of representation and Alderman Rick Stokes stated that he would like a resident of Ward 3 to be appointed to the Board of Adjustment. Guccione looked at his list and said that he wasn't sure how accurate it is anymore since some applicants had been on it so long. Alderman Cheryl Kross asked the Mayor; "Can you call the individuals and ask if they are still interested in serving?" Guccione paused, looking at the list and then back at Kross. I could see in his eyes the committee putting out a cigarette butt on the floor of his mind clouding his thought process, then he said; "I don't have time to call all of these people, I can't do it." He held out the list toward Kross and said; "You can do it if you like." The mayor is trying to get the Aldermen to do that job for him too.

This job should have been done before he brought the outdated list to the meeting. It's the Mayor's responsibility to have current volunteers lined up to be appointed but for some reason Guccione doesn't know that. I'll tell you, at that moment I had visions of Guccione sitting on the back of a turnip truck heading down Pearce Blvd. toward City Hall. Here we have a Mayor with an Executive Assistant who handles tasks just like this one and Guccione doesn't know to give it to her to make the calls and update the list, instead he says things like: "I don't have time," and "You can do it." I wonder if he knows he has an assistant and if he does, does he know her name? This is basic management, use the staff for the day to day activities of the city but Wile E. doesn't understand it.

Almost one year as Mayor and the things Guccione doesn't know about the job is overwhelming. He doesn't know that he is supposed to give the Aldermen his goals, not only to be budgeted for the coming year but to announce his goals to them so they could work together toward making them happen. Now we find that he doesn't even know that he is responsible for rounding up applicants to be appointed to the citizen's boards  This one in particular baffles me especially since he is so practiced in saying; "It's my appointment, it's my appointment." Here we have a Mayor with a 20 percent job approval rating and he wonders why. This is the same man who is endorsing Michael Hays, Robert Hussey, and Michael Carter in the April election, Guccione's performance should tell you everything you need to know about his sock-puppets.

I'm sorry I didn't get to the park projects discussion but it will be addressed in full in the next edition of The Wentzvillian.

The Nickcompoop

It's two-hundred and fifty-five days into Mayor Guccione's term of office and it's time to evaluate his accomplishments. I'll admit it's going to be tough simply because so much has happened that he's taking credit for. Of course, most of the advancements in Wentzville were well under way long before he came to the throne, but never the less he expects to take the credit.

Guccione is proud to have Rankin Technical College in town but he conveniently seems to forget that  Alderman Guccione said "NAY" every time the issue came up for a vote. Even more interesting he tried unsuccessfully to postpone the final vote until after the election when he became mayor. But today, he tells everyone that he loves Rankin and takes credit for bringing them to town.

It's a frightening place you enter when you delve into the mind of our mayor, don't go in there alone. Sam's Club is open and Guccione takes credit for bringing it to town. Being the good union butcher he is, he opposed Sam's through all the City talks, he had too, or risk losing all the money donated to his campaign by the various unions. He even pushed off Sam's Club's dedication and grand opening asking the President of the Board of Aldermen, Rick Stokes to represent the city at these events. But today, he's taking credit for them being here even though every vote made by Alderman Guccione was "NAY." There are many very intelligent union men in Wentzville, they must be embarrassed by the Nickcompoop who is now representing them. It's unfortunate that he is more dedicated to politics than the well being of our city.

Michael Hays is now an Alderman representing Ward 3, the same Michael Hays that this board denied several months ago. Being a resident of his ward, I opposed him being my Alderman but it doesn't matter when Guccione says: "It's my way or the highway!." When his appointment of John Luby walked out of the job a few weeks ago, back came the Hays appointment. I was disappointed when Alderman Cheryl Kross flipped on her vote and allowed Hays to serve. I think she was counseled a little too much by Alderman Forrest Gossett because her decision was purely political and not one that was necessarily good for  the citizens of ward 3. She should have listened to our other Alderman of Ward 3, Rick Stokes, when he voted "NAY" to the appointment of Hays. Stokes is a good alderman and has served his constituents well. Maybe the Aldermen of other wards should keep their noses out of Ward 3 and concentrate more on their own wards. Ward 3 is not a political football and I doubt if the residents appreciate what the other aldermen have done.

So here we are, nine months into Nickcompoop's term and what has he accomplished? Other than throwing a hand full of papers in Alderman Stokes' face in a public meeting and continually crying "It's my appointment, it's my appointment," he's done very little. He moved his office and inconvenienced our City Administrator, took credit for every business that has opened in Wentzville during his term, and riled up the NAACP. On his watch, employees are allowed to take scrap metal owned by the City and sell it with the gains going somewhere other than back into the City coffers. Isn't this criminal, or have they changed some rules? I know Guccione likes to make his own rules but come on!

If you watch the meetings during the budget talks, Mayor Guccione can be caught dozing off through most of them. On his watch, $38 million in City investments were unaccounted for, if you ask him where they are, he hasn't a clue. This is our Chief Executive Officer we're taking about here, and he knows nothing about our budget or investments? All in all, he's accomplished nothing! I take that back, in the footsteps of his idol Obama, he is extremely involved in the homeless and give-away programs, it's all he knows about. The things he's supposed to know, he doesn't know, the things he's not supposed to be involved in he's all-knowledgeable. Oh, did I mention that he wants to ban the sale of guns and regulate the sales of ammunition in Wentzville?

"We have a problem Houston," our Mayor is incompetent and in my opinion he's derelict in his duties as Mayor. He needs to be removed from office but these Aldermen keep doing his job in order to keep the city from failing. It's time they let him fall on his ass, let him screw up and impeach or have him recalled. Public trust is fading on our Mayor, I'm hearing more and more people questioning whether or not he is able to lead our city. In my opinion it's a no-brainer, he should have stuck to cutting up chickens, instead of carving up our city, he is a complete Nickompoop!

You Can Tell An Idiot...

I'm going to do my best to explain a situation that took place in city hall a couple of weeks ago without getting overheated. Normally, I wouldn't care one way or another about seating arrangements or assigned work stations in city hall but in this case I need to make an exception.

As everyone knows, Wentzville has been without a City Administrator for the better part of a year and Finance Director, Dennis Walsh has filled in during that time. Last Wednesday, an interim City Administrator was selected and he will be unveiled at this Wednesday's meeting of September 12th. In preparation of his coming, Mayor Nick Guccione made an executive decision about how best to prepare his new accommodations.

Five Wentzville Mayors, spanning thirty-five years have had an office in the current facility. Since the mayor position is a part-time job and the office is mainly used for signing documents, making a phone call or two, and the occassional spanking of a rowdy employee, it accommodated the needs of the mayor quite handily. It is situated just directly behind chambers, next door to the mayor's assistant and other essential clericals who may be neccessary for the support of the mayor's office. The office contains a desk, credenza, small conference table, and the many assorted plaques, photographs, and a few personal items—more than enough room and amenities for any part-time mayor to accomplish his or her duties.

Just to the east of the Mayor's office is the office of the City Administrator. It is larger with corner windows, bookcases, file cabinets, a larger conference table and numerous chairs for staff, All in all, an impressive and perhaps somewhat intimidating setting to vendors or complainants. This is a working office with enough amenities to tell anyone entering; it's occupant is important and in charge. In Mayor Gucciones infinite wisdom, he believes that he needs this office and let the day-to-day city administrator cope with a more humble setting, so he switched offices—the new king has a new thrown room befitting his stature and regal ego-driven authority.

I can think of no other reason for this illogical action other than ego! Our fat-head of a mayor isn't concerned with the assessments of his predecessors, by allowing the city administrator space to conduct everyday business of the city. The city administrator runs the city and puts in more hours a day in city hall than the mayor spends there in a month.

As you may, or may not know, I have issues with this mayor and not usually surprised by his frequent screw-ups but I didn't see this one coming. He believes that his job is so important to the city that he's willing to sacrifice the ability of his city administrator to conduct the business of the city. I used to call the previous mayor "The All Mighty Potentate," but Guccione is putting him to shame in his drive for power to fit his ego. I say to Mayor Guccione: You are a joke! You have no idea what a mayor does or the image one needs to put forth.

You can tell an idiot, but you can't tell him much.

Pigs Cannot Fly

Lewis Carroll, creator of Alice in Wonderland wrote a book in 1872 (the year Wentzville became a town) titled; Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, where he included the poem; The Walrus and the Carpenter. One verse that stuck out and has remained in my memory for all these years since I first read it is:

"The time has come," the Walrus said,

"To talk of many things:

Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."

I began this way because the time has really come to talk of many things.

Half way into the fourth month of Mayor Nick Guccione's office is not much different than his first week. I wish I had better things to report but I don't, he just does not understand that he is in a position of leadership and if he does, he hasn't shown any signs of it, he has yet to lead a meeting. This past Wednesday evening, once again the President of the Board of Alderman, Rick Stokes took charge to keep the meeting moving or their short agenda would have become another midnight affair. Guccione is a union man and must think he's on the clock because he makes no effort to control or move a meeting along. During a discussion of the Board of Alderman, a member of the audience butted in to speak at least on four occasions, not once did our Mayor ask him to be seated until called upon. The simple fact is that Nick Guccione is not doing the job the taxpayers hired him to do. Executive sessions have become a frequent occurrence again and just like in Lambi's final days, it tells me something big is going on.

Wednesday night after the executive session, I noticed something very strange indeed; a meeting was held in the closed door office of the Mayor which included: Mayor Guccione, Aldermen Rick Stokes and Chris Gard, and City Attorney Paul Rost. I can only guess what was going on but for my money, I'd bet it has to do with Guccione's lack of leadership. With any luck it was a shape-up or ship-out lecture but time will tell.

I am convinced that Guccione wants employees to love him and treats them like friends not employees, which makes it tough if he ever has to direct or reprimand. He does not direct, he doesn't know how, his day job management training obviously hasn't worked because it's more than likely called; seniority. It has been my observation that Mayor Guccione is derelict in his duties and I'm confident that it's not only on the surface where the public can see.

Now for an even more serious problem: As I've reported, Guccione's political principles will not allow for a replacement of the vacated Ward 3 seat, "it's my choice or it will remain vacant." To complicate having a hole in the Board of Aldermen, Chris Gard and Rick Stokes are both running for State Representative and if both of them should win and Guccione does not name acceptable replacements for the three vacated seats, the City will shut down because it takes four aldermen to have a quorum in order to vote on legislation. If only one of them should leave, if any of the four remaining Aldermen are absent for any reason, the city shuts down until the April election. Guccione needs to name an acceptable candidate now because if he doesn't, he's placing the City of Wentzville in jeopardy. This is a serious problem that I don't believe Mayor Guccione understands or even cares about, He really does not know the responsibility that goes with the title; Mayor. Mr. Mayor, the sea is boiling hot, either start bailing or jump overboard!

Nick Guccione reached his level of competence before he was elected alderman, five years ago. Today he's a Mayor with no skills to run a city other than to say he has five years as an aldermen. Looking at his record, there's nothing to indicate that he's accomplished anything in politics other than be elected. To Guccione, his job was not being an alderman, it was getting elected and re-elected. I can only guess what he thinks a Mayor is suppose to do but I guarantee it's not what a Mayor should do. Mr Guccione should admit that he can't handle the job and resign as Mayor before he gets himself and the City into serious trouble.

Should Nick Guccione continue driving the City over the cliff, his joyride will be stopped. It won't be pleasant for him or the City but it will be stopped. What he didn't count on is a Board of Aldermen who care about Wentzville and its future they will not stand by and allow an incompetent Mayor butcher the city. If he thinks this Board won't take action, I can assure him they will. Pigs cannot not fly and if you want to butcher something stick to chickens.

I am truly concerned for Wentzville, admittedly, Wentzville has had questionable leadership for the last sixteen years but they did have leaders. Today, we have a man who cannot comprehend the severity of his situation and given enough time he will destroy everything our community has worked toward for the past 157 years. I implore Wentzville voters to contact your Mayor and Aldermen, urge them to fill the vacant Ward 3 seat before Mayor Guccione forces a shut-down of our government.

If Guccione does not appoint an acceptable replacement for the Ward 3 seat before the November national election he risks the shut-down of the City. There would be no permits issued, no legislation passed, no bills paid, no road construction completed, and no one to complain to because city employees would be sent home for four months until the April election. Don't let politics destroy a city that has been the envy of St. Charles County for many years. Mayor Guccione needs to throw aside his political agenda and make an appointment that will work for our city. If the appointment is not made and Guccione puts the city at risk, he should be impeached, it is no longer a political statement, it's dereliction of duty! Pigs do not have wings and cannot fly Mr Mayor.

The Mimesis

It's been a while since I've posted a report and after much prodding from my personal advisor, mentor, friend, and critic, Mr Skip Sanchez, I am now prepared to report what I've seen and heard in the past two weeks involving what's going on in City Hall. There's a lot happening, most of it confusing but much of it is crucial to the future of our city, so here goes:

I'll start out with the Aldermen work session of June 6th. The City invited the Public Education Director of the State Attorney Generals Office, Mr. Tom Durkin to give a presentation on the Sunshine Laws. Mr. Durkin spoke for approximately an hour and I found it most interesting and revealing. One segment he addressed was city emails and the fact that they are public record. I watched the Mayor during this presentation and when the subject of emails was brought up it was like catching a weight watcher with a half-eaten Twinkie in his hand, Guccione's deportment changed.

Guccione was so visually shaken when he found out that emails are a matter of public record I immediately assumed he had something to hide. I have the feeling he was asking around about how to delete those emails from the City system so, I immediately put in a request for information to obtain copies of all emails, to and from Guccione from July 2011 up to June 6th, 2012. I have a hunch that our mayor, Guccione, has been indiscreet during his use of the City email system. I'll get back to you on that one, he he he!

Before I get to the meeting of June 13th, I want to discuss something that has been puzzling me since the famous evening of April 25, 2012 after which I wrote "A Poke In The Eye" when Mayor Lambi gave the Aldermen an eye-poke saying: "'I'm ordering a pardon,' and with a crack of the gavel, 'This matter is closed.'" I've had time to think about this deal and I'm not so sure that the pardon Guccione received from Lambi was legal. I have put in another request for information asking for the signed and dated document that gives official pardon to then Alderman Nick Guccione. Something tells me, it doesn't exist.

The meeting last Wednesday was another marathon event. I finally left at 11:10 pm with three more items on the agenda. During the ten years I've been following Wentzville City government I can't remember a single meeting lasting until after 11:30 pm, and now we've had two with the first adjourning after midnight. Gooch needs to get his shit together and learn how to move a meeting along or this will become the norm rather than the exception. Surely, the Aldermen will grow weary of Guccione's lack of leadership skills. Our Public Works Director Scott Smith announced that housing was picking up, the City received 168 applications in the past month which equates to having longer agendas, consequently meetings in the near future will be going on into the wee hours of the morning if something isn't done. I can see nonuniform chicken parts going on sale at Schnucks meat department after a bleary eyed butcher tries desperately not to cut off any of his fingers.

There were many important items discussed but a few stand out: The recruitment of a new Major on the police department is first on my list. The Acting City Administrator Dennis Walsh stated that they have the money for this new position this year without impacting the budget. It's interesting to me that they have 100,000 unallocated dollars laying around, but OK. My problem is next year and the years after that. Adding this new layer of personnel is going to be a budgetary problem that will create a quandary for the taxpayers and budget manipulators. The budget has been hammered for three years by this Board of Aldermen and frankly it baffles me how quickly they folded on their premise.

Another item that has me scratching my head is bill #3392, concerning the consumption of alcohol by persons in a moving vehicle which was under consideration for the first reading. No one wants drinking while driving or drunk driving but this bill doesn't address that, it pertains to a passenger with an open container in their posession. Ward 1 Alderman Forrest Gossett spoke out against this at least twice yet when it came to the vote, Ward 1 Alderman Cheryl Kross was the only one to vote "nay." Personally, I don't understand the need for this ordinance and can't figure out why it is being brought forward.

One thing I saw at the meeting that is disturbing; A lady came forward to complain about a contractor and the City Code people siding with it. After she finished, Mimesis Guccione stated; "This is the first time I've heard of this." To this I say; bullshit! Guccione served on the Board for five years before his current mimenic activity and during that time I have seen this lady at least two other times in open forum with that exact same complaint. I knew he didn't pay attention in meetings but why in the hell would he lie about something like this? The Mimesis likes to pass the buck, and he's good at it.

On Thursday, June 7th, at about 2:00 pm, the Alderman received an email from Acting CA Walsh, in which he wrote that the Directors were no longer to talk with the Aldermen without first going through the Mayor and/or himself. This email was directed by Guccione to set his "chain of command," which he said over and over during the ensuing discussion. Mayor Lambi did the same thing with then CA Dianna Wright, it didn't work for him and it ain't working for the Mimesis.

Alderman Gossett read a statement which called Walsh on the carpet saying; "this is poppycock!" He will have nothing to do with funnelled and filtered information. After some discussion, Walsh admitted he may have written it incorrectly. Guccione jumped in to admit that it was his words to set his "chain of command." General Guccione has started his regimented and orderly disruption of the staff, by the time he's done, there will be chaos looming large in Wentzville government. Every Alderman spoke on this matter and every one of them respectfully said to the Mimesis: Up yours!

There was much more to report on but this will have to do for now, I'll be back in a couple days, this is my vow to Ms. PSS.

Reductio Ad Absurdum

I've been thinking about the appointment for the vacant Ward 3 seat, the appointment process ordinance, and Mayor Nick Guccione's stand on both. It's been two months since the election and only last week, did our "people's" Mayor name his appointment. Obviously, things aren't going the way he'd hoped for but the question is; what the hell did he expect.

"It's my appointment! It's my appointment!! It's my appointment!!!" OK, enough already, this is all that has been heard from "the People's Mayor," Guccione since taking office. It's his appointment, I get it, the Board of Aldermen get it, everybody gets it, so what's being done? The Mayor's hard-line stand on naming his hand-picked replacement is being met by the Alderman with a process that is supportive of open and transparent government—"for the people, of the people, and by the people," yet Guccione, "the people's Mayor" is thumbing his nose at it.

My problem is this: Here is a man with no practical experience in managing people, has a head scratching and frightening lack of knowledge about government and how it works, yet for some reason (known only to him) he believes himself to be above the people. This man has taken his less than 50 percent of the vote as some sort of mandate that the people of Wentzville have given him carte blanche to rewrite not only the policies and procedures of Wentzville but the constitution of the United States.

"The People's Mayor" should embrace the people who want to apply for the open seat rather than say "I don't care how many names you put in front of me, I won't accept them. It's my appointment and I'll place who I want." There is a name for this reductio ad abserdum and it doesn't conform to any sort of representative republic / democratic government I've ever known. "The People's Mayor" needs to apologize to the city for having an agenda which does not consider the citizens who would like to serve. You cannot claim to be the people's voice and on the other side of your mouth tell them to go to hell; "it's my way or the highway."

Another subject that has been a burr under my saddle is the discussions had by the Aldermen at the retreat regarding the new city hall project. I asked and asked that the meeting be video taped to be seen by all citizens and was assured that it would be. This year's retreat work session was off-site and as usual, it always seems that the new city hall project is one of those subjects that is talked about at an off-site location. At any rate, the retreat was held Friday May 18th and Saturday May 19th and I had full intention of attending the meeting of the 18th just to hear the discussion about the new city hall. When I learned that it would be video taped, I decided not to go and catch the discussion at a more convienient time. Low and behold, the meeting of the 19th was taped but the meeting of the 18th was not. What pisses me off most about this is that I had the word of the City Clerk, the IT Department, the President of the Board, and two other Aldermen who guaranteed me that it would happen. I should have known better!

Subsequently, I was told that I could read the minutes of the meeting but any one who reads minutes of meetings who attended a meeting knows that minutes are not verbatim and on numerous occasions I've found them lacking in content. It's been almost two weeks since the retreat and I've been told that the minutes will be posted after the Board approves them at the next regular meeting. Wonderful, we only have to wait three more weeks to see the abridged version of the meeting of May 18th. The City has no business taking discussions of such an important nature off-site to a remote location, it needs to be discussed in our City Hall chambers!

A Lesson In Bufoonery

I'm pleased to say; last evening's meetings was (un) conducted almost entirely by our Mayor. For the first time in his mayoral career Guccione had the chance to strut his stuff without the President of the Board of Alderman, Rick "Bulldog" Stokes taking charge. Stokes did need to redirect him occasionally, prodding him back on topic or asking the City Clerk for roll call, but other than that, it was Guccione's shining moment. Mayor Guccione should be proud, he turned a meeting with a relatively short agenda into a free-for-all that ended this morning at 12:05, (six hours and twenty minutes) and then they went into executive session. As predicted the open forum and discussion items were out of control and other agenda items were unfocused.

The regular meeting was prefaced by a special meeting and it's sole purpose was for Guccione to appoint a replacement for the Ward 3 vacancy. Almost two months after taking office he finally gets around to naming the person he wants sitting next to him; Mr Michael Hayes. Those of you who followed the election may remember that Michael Hayes, who was recruited by Guccione to run against Rick Stokes, filed early in the race but withdrew his candidacy December 19, 2011. The only person getting pissed off was Guccione, he was being irrational, making a fool of himself, and the appointment was going nowhere. "Bulldog" Stokes finally had to jump in and asked the city clerk for a roll call to close the discussion.

A vigorous discussion ensued revolving around the process in the "Filling Vacancies in Elective Office" ordinance which was on the regular meeting agenda for its first reading. Thank God the ordinance was discussed toward the end of the meeting or I would have awakened in City Hall this morning. The appointment discussion at the beginning and ordinance debate at the end were the highlights of the evening. Mayor Guccione made a total ass of himself denying an open government process which he perceived would preempt "my appointment."

"The blog" is ingrained in him, he is obsessed with what is written here, he talked about it again: "The blog said; the Aldermen would not accept any of his appointments." Guccione takes speculation and turns it into reality, it's a very strange place between his ears. He has his musk oxen defense on high alert and no amount of logic or reason is going to break through it. He claimed on two occasions; "Not once since I was elected has anyone on the Board worked with me," po po him. He didn't go into how many times he's worked with them, it's all about him. In his head, he is Wentzville. he da man, he be the almighty, great, and powerful wizard of Wentzville, while in reality, he is the pathetic, illogical buffoon behind the screen.

The Aldermen argued for the citizens of Wentzville who may want to apply for the open seat, calling for transparency in government and opening up the process to any registered voter in Wentzville, not just one hand-picked candidate. Guccione would have none of it, he said "it's my appointment," and if it's not his choice, the seat will remain vacant. The "Peoples Mayor" said: "The people elected me and trust my decisions." What an arrogant narcissist, more people voted against him than for him yet he truly believes that the 1,224 citizens who voted for him are the only citizens in this community. The 1,664 residents voting against him, and (in his mind) the 26,182 residents who didn't vote are suddenly discarded or transformed into worshiping their new Caesar Guccione (beware the ides of March!), It's easy for most people to understand that in a democracy when you are the only one against everyone, maybe your thinking is somewhat skewed and it's time to compromise, but that word is not in Guccione's vocabulary. Guccione said: "I lost my power to vote when I became Mayor and this appointment is all I have left," is it only me, or does anyone else see the flaw in his thinking? He should have thought about that before he put so much effort into being elected to his fairytale dream job.

Mayor Guccione is on record saying he's against the open government process and any applicants who may come forward during the process. He is convinced that his choice is the best qualified person in Wentzville and the absolute best candidate for Ward 3. I disagree, he needs to step back, take a look at his narrow-minded thought process and what he's doing to our city government.

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.

Two Stooges Minus One

Another very good friend of mine, Ms. PSS was complaining to me last night that I need to start writing two times a day. She said that yesterday's A Poke In The Eye was great but she wanted more, so this half is dedicated to her. After watching the meeting of April 25th, I can say to her; have no qualms or trepidations, the vicissitudes you'll encounter will elevate you to a lofty understanding that the frivolities have just begun to actualize.

To continue: Nervous as expected, Mayor Guccione took the throne. It's a hard job speaking to a large group of people and he made his share of mistakes. In time he'll get the routine of chairing a governmental body, at least for the sake of the City, I can hope. His first order of business was to hold an election for the Board President, Alderman of Ward 3, Rick "Bulldog" Stokes won the honor, this is going to be an interesting challenge for Guccione to work closely with the Bulldog. Guccione's campaign committee filed an ethics violation against Stokes that cost him some heavy cabbage, I'm not suggesting that Stokes is not going to forgive Guccione but reaching into someones wallet is hard to forget, I wish them well on their liaison.

Mayor Guccione read his "Vision for the City speech," and the audience listened intently. He talked about wanting growth and keeping up with it. He wants a larger police department and more employees in his bureaucracy. As he stumbled through his oration, I tried desperately to figure out what his vision was. The things he said have been said by every mayor of Wentzville for the last 157 years—"where's the beef?" Our Mayor has no ideas for the future of Wentzville, everything he said was merely status quo and maintaining.

After really fumbling through the process of approving the "Consent Agenda," it came to appointments. I'm going to cut to the chase here and skipping the committee appointments to slip right into the Ward 3 vacant seat appointment. I'm puzzled here, Guccione said he's not going to announce the name of his choice until May the 9th, after he gets approval of each Board member. It is my understanding that he wants the Alderman to approve his appointment without knowing who his candidate is, what the cornbread-hell is that all about. How can they possibly give a blind nod to someone without knowing who it is? That doesn't seem like good government stewardship to me.

The discussion went on for quite a while and Guccione called on City Attorney Paul Rost on numerous occassions about "my appointment," he used that term at least a dozen times. I've never heard Rost talk that much in a meeting, it was as if Guccione was using him as his Assistant Mayor. Rost was busy that night, but when you have a Mayor who knows nothing about procedures, I guess he has no other recourse than to use the City's mouthpiece to carry him through the meeting. This isn't the end of Guccione's ignorance of governmental procedures, Assistant Mayor Rost will be in power until his contract expires and if last night is a preview of things to come, Guccione should sit on his lap and let Rost work his mouth. God knows somebody needs to.

I've heard Guccione talk about his candidate to fill his vacated seat and have picked up on a few things. He mentioned that there are at least three Aldermen who know him and that they like him. At the meeting he said something that gave it away for me; he said it is someone with experience. I can think of three names right of the top of my head; Darrel Lackey, Bob Smith and John Luby. After looking at this short list, Lackey is a big NO, Smith was on Leon Tow's campaign committee and that's more than likely another NO, and that leaves Luby. He was one of the original Lurchettes, served with Guccione, and is one of his close friends. This may be a no-brainer! I know Luby, he's one of the kindest people I know but he's not a representative of anyone. He was a follower on the Board of Aldermen and voted with the Lurchettes on some of the lousiest legislation ever to become law in Wentzville. Have I missed anything? I do not want him representing me in Ward 3 again and urge the Board to tell Gooch to appoint a legislator, not an indecisive sock-puppet.

Guccione stated that he will look at a list of names suggested by the Board but will not under any circumstances appoint one of them. It's his appointment and if the Board doesn't approve his choice, "We are dead-locked and the seat will remain empty until next years election." He is not going to compromise and will punish the citizens of Ward 3 in his personal vendetta. So much for being "the candidate of the people." This is pure Guccione the narcissist, hateful, unthinking, not caring, and totally unreasonable!

The meeting started promptly at 6:00pm and lasted until after 11:00pm, I left when they went into executive session, I'd had enough fun for one night. Lambi presided over 26 agenda items and seven or eight people speaking in open forum. The total time was less than two hours. Guccione, on the other hand, presided over 14 agenda items and the elapsed time was over three hours. I can see some late night meetings in the future when the agenda is full. Guccione will become flustered, use the staff attorney more than necessary, and need to be constantly reminded how to chair the meeting. Guccione lost control of the meeting and it resembled a round-table discussion at the United Nations, total anarchy. This will not change, Guccione has a control problem and he really believes he has the power to do anything he wants in City Hall, his power trip is going to get him in some deep problems. He'd better start working with the Aldermen, representing all the citizens (even those in Ward 3) and not just the little over 1000 voters who put him in office!

I see something coming to the Board of Aldermen meetings, I think they will become very Jerry Springeresque. This is bad for our City and reporters around the county and City of St. Louis will have a field day at every meeting. Mayor, don't make us ashamed to admit that our hometown is Wentzville! The things you say and do now are heard and seen by multitudes of people in the state, so please close your hole and try to act like you got some smarts!

Twisting In The Wind

I've been thinking about the appointment for an Alderman to take the vacated seat of Nick Guccione. Who could he possible appoint that would be approved by this conservative Board of Aldermen? They know Guccione and they know about his associations and their agenda, after this past mud-sling election it's going to be difficult for him to get one of them through.

Guccione put three candidates against "Bulldog" Stokes: Michael Hays, Rodney Stratmann, and Curtis Davis in his effort to achieve a power block. Hays dropped out of the race early for some unknown reason but I don't necessarily think that elininates him from Guccione's list, of Stratman and Davis, we'll see. Stratman got the most votes against the "Bulldog" with 258 and Davis took only 67, combined they didn't come close to the winner who had 419 votes. So Stratman is the most likely to receive Guccione's appointment. The problem is, I've polled the Aldermen and in my unofficial poll, they will not approve Stratman because the voters didn't want him representing them in Ward 3.

Mayor Guccione needs to come up with a name that this Board will approve if he wants one of his appointments accepted. I've heard a number of names thrown around by the Aldermen but it's Guccione's appointment and if he can't find one there's the distinct possibility that we may have a vacant seat on the Board until the election of 2013. In my opinion, that is unacceptable, we need a second Alderman representing us.

Being a voting resident of Ward 3, I'm uncomfortable with only having one representative in my Ward. I think "Bulldog" Stokes is a great Alderman and I believe he represents Ward 3 with integrity but, I also believe Ward 3 would be at a great disadvantage on the Board if Guccione can't find an acceptable compromise. I urge Guccione to do the right thing for the residents and listen to the Aldermen when making appointments. He's reached his goal, he will be Mayor, it's time to put away his politics and work for the city. Appoint an acceptable candidate to the vacated seat.

The Problem (as I see it) for "Mayor" Guccione is that he will need to pull a rabbit out of his hat if he wants this Board to approve any one of his own personal and politcal choices. It will be interesting to watch Guccione during this process, will he meet in the middle or will he leave his Ward 3 constituents twisting in the wind? The first question of order when he becomes Mayor is; will he do the right thing—will (Mayor) Guccione serve the people or will he serve his political agenda?

Final Countdown

As I write this last chance appeal, only 24 hours remain before we go to the polls to elect competent Aldermen and a Mayor who will lead Wentzville through the coming years. We can either build upon the good work of the last two years or take a huge step backward into chaos and partisan squabbling in City Hall.

Today, with the exception of one Alderman, we have an outstanding Board who are dedicated to make Wentzville a better place. That one Alderman is Nick Guccione, he has fought this Board to side with small interest groups at every turn. As we all know, he is running for Mayor and in that effort is doing his best to replace three of our Aldermen with like-thinking drones who know nothing of the challenges facing Wentzville nor care, they are running to be Guccione's pawns in his drive to control our city.

One of my readers gave an assessment of Nick Guccione and I think he or she hit the nail square on the head: "He will identify with whatever groups he believes will help his political ambitions. He has no reason, beyond ambition (and maybe power) to be a candidate." Mark my words, if Guccione is elected, Wentzville and the future of our citizens (and their families) will feel the negative effects long after he is gone. Look at the problems of the last decade and the efforts of our current Aldermen to bring sanity and order back to the city after being saddled with a Board dominated by unthinking people who knew nothing but special interests. It wasn't until just two years ago that Wentzxville elected a majority Board that dug into the problems and began rooting them out of our City. That process and progress will stop if Nick Guccione is elected to be our Mayor. Nick Guccione has dedicated himself to rebuild that Board of unthinking zombies who's sole purpose was, and will be, to follow the lead of their master.

Nick Guccione's recruits are:

Ward 1: Jay Webber

Ward 2: Donna Sherwood and Jeremy Pritchett

Ward 3: Rodney Stratman and Curtis Davis

His plan is to:

Ward 1: To beat Forrestt Gossett and fill the vacated seat of Leon Tow who is running for Mayor with Jay Webber.

Ward 2: Beat Sonyia Shryock with Donna Sherwood (two time loser in Ward 2) and he put Jeremy Pritchett in the mix to split the vote to hedge Sherwoods chances of victory.

Ward 3: Run two opponents against incumbent Rick Stokes who is one of our most productive Aldermen. His plan here is to have Stratman beat Stokes and appoint Davis to Guccione's vacated seat.

If his plan works, he will have recruited a majority of the Board of Aldermen with people who have had no inclination to ever run for office, have no knowledge of government, and whose sole purpose is to be his sock-puppets. This plan is disaster for Wentzville and the voting citizens need to get up on all fours to fight off Guccione's conspiracy.

To avoid this convoluted deception, the voters need not do anything more than vote for:

LEON TOW or DARREL LACKEY

FOR MAYOR

FORREST GOSSETT

ALDERMAN WARD 1

SONYA SHRYOCK

ALDERMAN WARD 2

RICK STOKES, Incumbent

ALDERMAN WARD 3

This slate of candidates will insure that Wentzville will avoid the devious plot of Nick Guccione and continue to cut spending and taxes while bringing back representation to the citizens of our City. We are truly at the crossroads and this election is more important to Wentzville than any in recent history. Put Guccione, Sherwood, and their band of recruits back in their caves where they belong. The future of Wentzville is in the hands of our voters, I hope to see you at the polls tomorrow!

Candidates Night 2012

There were probably between 150 ant 200 people attended the Chamber of Commerce Candidates Night, last night at the Holt High School auditorium. I was disappointed to see that the radio station wasn't there but life is full of little trade offs. Only two of the candidates didn't make an appearance; Ward 1 candidate Forrest Gossett, who had a confirmed medical emergency and; Rodney Stratman candidate for Ward 3, who insiders said; got cold feet, everyone else was there. I was also disappointed in the quality of the questions asked, many were just lame, as a matter of fact I didn't hear one question that was hard-hitting—you know, it was all generic, "oh, by the way" kind of stuff. Questions could not be addressed to individual candidates and I think that was a big mistake. The Chamber of Commerce could have done a much greater service to the City without this touchy-feely event, but that's another story all in itself.

Each Candidate had an opportunity to give an opening statement and some were revealing while others were just downright laughable. I'm going to start with Ward 1 and run through all the Wards before I get to the Mayor Candidates. I have to warn you, Nick Guccione was running true to form, blaming everybody else for his problems, claiming everything that was good was because of him, and flipping on subjects, he needs a new script writer. Here was some of the questions asked and responses of Aldermen candidates.

Ward 1:

Forrest Gossett, absent. I wish Mr. Gossett had been able to attend because I've heard him speak on the subjects regarding Wentzville and believe he could have given his opponent a lesson in government and the problems facing Wentzville's future.

Jay Webber: Mr. Webber was asked two questions, the first was: "What specifically would you do for the downtown area?" Answer: "There are things that can be done." Second question: "How would you cut taxes?" Answer: "Repeal the sales taxes on the Parkway." Since the Wentzville Parkway and infrastructure was built using TIFFs, CID's, TIDDs, and other tax incentive vehicles on the various developments in securing the coming of  businesses like; Wall Mart, Home Depot, Target, and Lowes, anyone with a third grade education in government financing should know that it can't be done. Mr Webber was a well spoken gentleman who was recruited by Nick Guccione so it's easy to see why he didn't know this, he simply had no intention or self initiative to become an Alderman.

Ward 2:

This ward has three candidates running ; Donna Sherwood, two time loser of this seat; Sonya Shryock, and Jeremy Pritchett, Guccione recruit. They asked these candidates questions and I'm just going to give the highlights. It was interesting to note that in their opening statements, Jeremy Pritchett declared his political affiliation; "I'm Republican." Obviously Mr. Pritchett either didn't know, or didn't care that candidates at the City level do not declare political affiliations.

The first question was: "How would you cut spending?" Sherwood said: "Get rid of unnecessary equipment and stop buying it." Ms. Shyrock said: "locate and reduce waste spending throughout the City." The moderator asked: "What's the most important problem facing Wentzville today?" I was disappointed in all of the candidates answers but one stuck out in my notes: Jeremy Pritchett said: "Parks." I'm no real fan of newspapers and don't read them but I do know that it's been all over the news that a half-cent sales tax was approved by the voters to the tune of 20 million dollars and they are breaking ground on three new parks in the City this year. I guess that "important problem" was solved.

Ward 3:

Three candidates are vying for this seat: Rick Stokes (incumbent), Rodney Stratman (absent), and Curtis Davis. It was noted that Nick Guccione was on the phone with Mr. Stratman asking him to come to the event. He was heard to say: "There's still time, they won't get to Ward 3 for awhile." Sounds like his recruit broke ranks and ran, good for you Rodney. The other Guccione recruit was Curtis Davis a seemingly very nice old black gentleman who introduced himself as the local president of the NAACP and husband of his lovely wife of 57 years. He stated: "I see none of my peoples' here and I want to see more blacks involved." Unfortunately for Mr. Davis, he knew little about City issues and gave the impression he's a throw-back to another generation in time. I truly felt empathy for him as he addressed the assembly trying to answer the questions.

The first question set the tone of the rest of the night for Ward 3 candidates: "Name the one goal you'd like to attain if you are elected." Rick Stokes answered: "Enhance transportation and maintain our current roads." Mr Davis: "The school system. And to make the neighbors in my subdivision cut their grass" He does not know that the school system is a separate entity and Wentzville has absolutely no control over its activities. The other questions were answered with the accuracy of a learned Alderman by Mr. Stokes but Mr Davis when asked about tax incentives such as TIFFs, CIDs, and others he admitted that he didn't know what they were.

Mayor:

Bill Schuette didn't show but that was expected, Leon Tow, Darrel Lackey, and Nick Guccione were there and all but Guccione answered all of the questions. Guccione instead, campaigned on the strangest thing: "I made a mistake voting for Ranken Technical School," he  voted for it three times, attended all of the talks over several months and participated in the writing of the resolution to have Ranken come to Wentzville. Obviously he was either asleep or just following the group (his specialty) rather than listen to these non-existent protesters. "I voted for it but I made a mistake, people don't want to give them an incentive to come to Wentzville." Guccione made this speech twice in answer to two unrelated questions. He went on to say that he'd only made two mistakes but didn't elaborate on the second. He said he voted against Sam's Club because citizens didn't want it. If the truth be known, the unions that are financing his campaign told him that if he voted for Sam's Club, they'd pull their support. Talk about a special interest group having an Alderman in their pocket, Nick, your it!

If I had to pick a winner of the evening, it would have to be Darrel Lackey. He seemed to have a better command of the audience than Leon Tow and (the campaigning instead of answering questions); Nick Guccione. Both Lackey and Tow answered all of the questions and did a very good job of it but Guccione got a "D" on the questions. In my opinion, the only thing Guccione did right last night was find his way to the school. All of the candidates running for office missed a biggie: the unified new city hall and the economic engine it would start if it were in the downtown area.

One other point of interest, Nick Guccione reiterated in public that he was solely responsible for bringing the GM expansion to Wentzville, He said: "They called me, not the city, they called me." He truly believes that GM would not have expanded if it weren't for him. He claims to be responsible for bringing about a whole shift of employees to GM. I think that talking with the UAW and asking for a campaign donation is a stretch and a far cry from convincing decision makers in Detroit to expand their Wentzville facility—and using the GM logo on his literature is still illegal.

The Alderman candidate winners of the night were: Forrest Gosset (Who was in the hospital), Sonya Shryock (who answered all of the questions with sound conservative answers) and Rick Stokes by a landslide.

This has been a dirty campaign season and Nick Guccione and Donna Sherwood led the pack slinging mud rather than campaigning on their merits or qualifications. Should they be elected, it will be a gray day in Wentzville but I'll still be here reporting on their lack of leadership and crazy antics. It should be fun, at least for me.