Wentzville—The Campaign Created Kingdom?

 

As most educated voters know, Mayor Nickolas Guccione is deeply involved in Wentzville politics. They know of his desire to control the Board of Aldermen and that his campaigns have  had a documented record of using any dirty, mud-slinging, and deceptive tactic necessary to achieve his goal. It's easy to deduce from his unethical election practices when he was pardoned by Mayor Paul Lambi that he has no thought of Wentzville other than to have total control over it by any means necessary. Mayor Guccione is not the sharpest tack in the box as illustrated by his consistant use of deceit, deception, and diversion during any election he's ever been involved in, or one he feels will help him with his control agenda. It is for these reason's he wants to remove two of the top three achieving incumbent aldermen, he cannot control them and he hates both of them.

The election coming in April will be fraught with dirt thrown by Cuccione's camp. This year there are three targets in his cross hairs, Rick Stokes, Forrest Gossett, and The Wentzvillian. I didn't know that The Wentzvillian was running for election but Guccione obviously does, so he'll use any means to discredit it. He is deeply concerned that there are too many facts coming out here that focus too closely on his record and meddling in elections when he should be dealing with the many problems in the city. It's hard to focus on his job as mayor when he has candidates lined up for his support to help him achieve his Socialist ideas for Wentzville. You will see him at the polls in April handing out his city business cards and hawking votes for his anointed few, with a little luck he'll violate the political activity policy as he did in past elections, with a little more luck the aldermen will do something about it this time.

It's unfortunate that candidates in an election can't run on their own merit, especially when it's one of those running in Guccione's stable. When you're going up against two-term Alderman and two-time President of the Board, Rick Stokes, who championed the half-million dollar real property tax reduction in his first term and since brought forward countless initiatives to the credit of Wentzville. It's difficult for anyone to run against that kind of record, but that didn't stop Guccione from lining up Linda Wright to do just that. This race is like David and Goliath but Guccione feels, with just the right amount  cash and discrediting he could have beaten Abe Lincoln with a chimpanzee. Guccione, for the past few months, has been trying to dig up anything he can find, or dream up to unseat Stokes, watch to see the mud start flying at Stokes soon.

Look similarly at trash being piled up on our Sunday school teaching Alderman, Forrest Gossett, as Guccione presses his flawed candidate, Robert Hussey against him. Last time Hussey ran against Cheryl Kross with over $6,000 in his war chest and Guccione in his corner. It's revealing to see him fight so hard to secure an alderman seat that pays $4,500 a year—there's something wrong with this scenario. Guccione's idea of how to win an election is simple; more money and a higher pile of trash will get results. Using this method, he's certain that he could have beaten Lincoln with his chimpanzee. Unfortunately for him, and good for Wentzville, he didn't pile up enough of either to seat Hussey over Kross. Robert Hussey is going to have a difficult time overcoming his record of being fired from Dardiene Prairie, but Guccione will try.

The question is: Why? Why does Guccione want to remove two of the most highly-educated, productive, and informed Aldermen ever to be elected in Wentzville, replacing them with flawed or unqualified candidates who have already proven they were unelectable just last year? This question is complicated but very simple at the same time.

The Wentzvillian has always contended that Nickolas Guccione is all about politics, city business pales in comparison to getting himself or someone else elected, government seems to be a game to him. It has been his goal in the executive branch to have complete control over the legislative branch of government, thus taking away any aldermanic representation of the citizens of Wentzville. Were he able to do this, his "It's my way or the highway" brand of law-making would take away the voice of thousands of Wentzville residents. This is not a government of the people it's a Monarchy, what the King says, goes. Mayor Nickolas Guccione doesn't necessarily want citizens to respect him for the job he's supposed to be doing, but rather wants them to love him, and show that love at the ballot box.

Since being elected mayor, he appears to be using his office to trade favors for votes. You may think this far-fetched, but is it? Last year, Mayor Nickolas Guccione pardoned a private citizen, business owner, for not filing for his liquor license on time. There was no monetary fine attached with his lack of filing for the licence and Guccione stated publicly; "It's kind of an emergency." The emergency was that the service station owner would need to wait 30 days to re-apply for his license and unable to sell liquor until that time. Since when does our government intervene in its process in favor of a negligent business owner who is obviously incapable of running his business without a king throwing out the law. Another incident took place recently when a private citizen got him to order a police escort to drive a golf cart from the golf course into downtown Wentzville. One phone call to a local tow company would have garnered the same result without any cost to the city.

These are not isolated instances of the power he wants to wield over Wentzville, and the way to do that is to throw out any logical-thinking member of the Board of Aldermen and replace them with people who will give him his head. Currently those supporting Guccione on the Board of Aldermen is Michael Hays and Cheryl Kross, he needs to get rid of Stokes or Gosset to maintain tie control but eliminate both for a total kingdom. Should he get his way, the city won't need aldermen and could trade the mayor's gavel for a crown.

The biggest puzzle in this city is Cheryl Kross. She is staying out of supporting either Stokes or Gossett in favor of Guccione and his plot. Kross isn't an unintelligent individual by any stretch, and has always claimed to have conservative values, so why she is going along with this Socialist way of government? It's baffling, especially since she has designs on being Mayor in 2016, and needs to win her seat in 1015. Both Gossett and Stokes have supported her in every election in an effort to keep insanity from taking power over the board, yet it seems that by her lack of support for her old comrades, she's inviting Guccione to impose all sorts of lunacy into city that she will be powerless to stop after the election of Guccione's recruits. She may as well be campaigning for Hussey and Wright when she turns her back on Stokes and Gossett. Two years ago she activly campaigned for Alderman Leon Tow againts "Guccione for Mayor," and now through her silence is advocating Guccione for King. Alderman Kross needs a reality check if Wentzville is going to continue digging out of the many problems facing it.

Mayor Nickolas Guccione hates The Wentzvillian and will use any deception he can to shut it down because he finally realizes that his record, which is being reported here, is damaging his plot to be the King of Wentzville. Fearful, like a rat in a corner he's lashing out trying to frighten someone who will be here reporting on Wentzville politics long after he's a bad memory. Mr. Mayor, if you want to shut me up, start looking out for the welfare of our city rather than control of it. Start acting like a rational mayor of a great city and learn how to make Wentzville a better place, not a palace.

(To my devout readers, and also those of little faith: I've heard about imitators and impostors out there and The Wentzvillian wants to assure you first;—I don't care—and second; the only place The Wentzvillian posts comments or reports is right here on this blog since 2006. The Wentzvillian does not post on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social network so if you want to read what The Wentzvillian has to say, you'll find it here exclusively. The impostors out there are fear driven, by the same folks who will bring you trash-talk about Rick Stokes and Forrestt Gosset—guess who? He used this tactic during the election of 2012, it didn't work then and it won't divert the Wentzvillian from posting the facts regarding the political activity of Mayor Nickolas Guccione and his machine today. The Wentzvillian is flattered to know they are so concerned by this blog that they would imitate it. Everytime you attack it, or refer to it, a larger spike in readership results. The Wentzvillian is encouraged to know that a nerve has been struck. I'll keep up the good work—thanks for your assistance in spreading the message of The Wentzvillian!)
 

Are These the Good-Old Days?

Coming back after a month-long absence has left me with more questions than answers about some of the strange things going on in city government. But, there are some extreme constants sitting on the board of aldermen, and one of them is my appointed anointed elected official; Alderman Michael Hays. Another remarkably predictable individual is Mayor Nickolas Guccione, he illustrates each day just how far under water he really is. These two gentlemen are frightening because their total lack of knowledge of government and non-engagement in governmental matters leaves Wentzville  crippled at the highest levels. Then there's Aldermen Cheryl Kross and Sonya Shryock, They are the complete opposite. Their actions and reactions are so random and unpredictable that they have become dangerous, as illustrated by their drive to remove the city attorney, audit firm, and attack aggression toward our chief of police. Their actions will cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in the coming years.

 

Hays and Guccione are so close and so much alike they could be Siamese-twins. In five years of sitting on the board, Alderman Nickolas Guccione had absolutely no initiatives, and introduced nothing. As mayor for two years, his claim to fame is a double-fine zone experiment and getting the ethic's policy brought back to allow him to take private donations so he can bring more than one basket to the Mayor's Ball. The policy which may will be repealed is what Mayor Paul Lambi plead guilty to, and was consequently fined by the Missouri Ethics Commission.

If Guccione were to put as much effort into bringing city facilities up to code, or making this a Charter City, or fixing employee morale, Wentzville could be a model for the county, instead a lack of humility drives him to seek more stuff to bring to the Mayor's Ball. Feel-good things, these are what our mayor is all about. Budgets, personnel problems, and legal matters are boring, uninspiring, and so fraught with political pitfalls that he steers clear. So, with seven years of pseudo government under his belt, Guccione has put Wentzville on a "double-fine zone" road that leads to his idea of Candyland, where he will go skipping along with his arms full of baskets to the Mayor's Ball. He wants this blog off of his back, but as long as he ignores the business of the city and indulges himself in feel-good legislation, The Wentzvillian will be here to "rat him out."

 

Then there's Hays. This gentleman spent ump-teen years on the Planning and Zoning board doing exactly the same thing he has done for the past year on the board of aldermen ... sleep nothing, but stare blankly at his computer screen. He reminds me of one of those iguanas that sits so still you start wondering if he's breathing, I find myself watching to see if his tongue flicks in and out. This is precisely what his benefactor, Guccione did when he sat in that exact same seat ... sleep nothing. Anytime Hays adds anything to a discussion it's to parrot what someone else already said—don't believe me, just watch him.

 

Hatred and misguided revenge describe best what drives Aldermen Kross and Shryock. Rather than trying getting down to the business of the city, they have focused on upsetting the balance of power in opposing the President of the Board, Rick Stokes. Kross is especially baffling with her voting record, no one knows where she stands, but nine out of ten times when there's a 5-1 vote, she is the dissenter. Last week during the regular board of alderman meeting she was the only one to vote "Nay" to accepting our newest (full-time employee) City Administrator, Mr. Robert J. Bartolotta. Her vote came with the pregnant pause that she has been using with annoying frequently—is she truly just making up her mind at that moment? How is it that Mrs. Kross knows more than the rest of the board, consistently? Some pundits are forecasting that if she continues with her erratic method of legislating into the coming year, her base could diminish significantly making it difficult for her to be re-elected in 2015.

 

By the way, when our illustrious leader, Mayor Nickolas Guccione attempted to read Mr. Bartolotta's name, he stumbled over it all three times and never once got it right. His inability to read the name was nothing compared to the total embarrassment felt for our city when he floundered read a proclamation presented to our Timberland Wolves soccer team after they won second place in the state. Go Wolves! For two years the city has watched Guccione stumble, bumble, and fumble while reading out loud, in public. He should have given it to one of the teenagers being honored and asked them to read it for him. I hate to give him any good ideas, but if he were to let one of the aldermen read the proclamations, it might make Wentzville look better.

Now we come to Shryock, she is running on pure emotion due to her hatred of Stokes and Chief of Police, Lisa Harrison. Surely, she knows she made a huge mistake running for office—illuminated by her withdrawal from the election roll. It's uncertain how she is going to respond backing out of the election, some think she'll throw support via money or campaigning for the long-shot against Stokes, Linda Wright. Others say she cut a deal with Wright and Guccione—support for assistance in getting certain grace with the city. It is a known fact that Shryock and Wright are having conversations, they don't hide it very well.  For myself, I'm really not sure, but I am almost certain that from the dais she is going to publicly trash Stokes and Forrest Gossett—a classless act atributed to only the most petty and hate-driven politicians. Chris Gard may be spared, we'll see.

Shryock is may be going on a witch-hunt to find the phantom who is leaking information to the press from executive session meetings. She's alluded to the her fact that the snitch is Stokes and she may wants him to pay for perceived crimes against the city. I would state under oath that no alderman has given confidential information to The Wentzvillian, wittingly. Carefully worded questions asked of the appropriate individual and a little deductive reasoning is all you need to get the answer you seek. Most people are terrible liars. If she hunts too hard she may find that it was she who divulged the secret location of the new city hall; confidential information that was taken from executive session to The Wentzvillian. The only thing I can say is; when you're in the public eye, quit doing things you shouldn't be doing and maybe no one will find out!

There will probably be very little city business spoken about by Shryock in her last two months on the board, she will could easily spend her remaining days in public office being Guccione's zombie. Guided by the master of trash and Mayor of Candyland, she will could be resorting to his slash and trash tactics for which he has become so famous, he won't get his hands dirty. She needs to talk with some of his past political associates to find out that he blames others and feels no remorse when he throws them under the bus, but she knows that. Shryock will could be doing the dirty work and letting Guccione make a fool of her in the process. I'm sorry for that once "cute little mom" that brought sensitivity to the board, she is showing that politics has the effect of change, even on the nicest of people who get too deeply involved. Shryock entered the political arena for the wrong reasons—personal. Her hope for greatness was thwarted by the gleam in her eye, now it's misguided revenge—in the end nothing will change, no one will benefit, and Wentzville will lose. I would hope she shows good judgment and bows out of political life gracefully and just say "no" to helping Guccione in his quest to destroy any rationality in Wentzville.

I seriously doubt the day will come when Guccione, Hays, Kross, or Shryock are no longer in office that they will have a warm and fuzzy feeling about the time they wasted spent in politics. I know of only a handful of mayors and/or aldermen, even the good ones, who remember their time in Wentzville politics fondly. These are not the good-old days.

 

Election of April 2014

 

It's been a month since I posted here and in that time the goofy things going on with the city of Wentzville has continued. I won't get to those things today, but I promise some juicy stuff will be posted here soon. Right now, since the deadline for candidate registration has passed I want to talk about the coming election and some surprising developments that have arisen. We now know who is running, the question remaining is why some of them are seeking office; I will try to answer some of those questions today.

Unfortunately for our fair city; a few years ago a short-sighted group of aldermen pushed through an election to extend the term of mayor, we could have been throwing out the trash in April, instead we are condemned to endure our current situation for two more years, ugggg! The intent was to extend the alderman's term but that initiative backfired, consequently giving us the privilege of suffering through an appalling two more years of Nickolas Guccione. God, I don't want to think about that development anymore!

Ward 1 Candidates are; incumbent Forrest Gossett, Robert "Rob" Hussey, and Jay Webber. Gossett, who is seeking a second term is well versed in processes and procedures, he continuously tries to bring order to a mayor who just learned to bang a gavel (in all fairness, it only took Guccione one year to master that task). Gossett was difficult to read at first, but I believe he has evolved, and is a legitimate asset to the Board of Aldermen, he has earned a second term.

Robert Hussey failed in his bid for the Ward 1 seat last year against Cheryl Kross, and has come back this year to take another shot at it. A fair-haired apostle of Guccione who tried to slip him into the Wentzville City Administrator job, when that failed Guccione supported him heavily to take down Kross. During that race, Hussey held fund-raisers in St. Louis County and brought a large $6,000 war chest to the campaign. One of his biggest hurdles during the campaign was in trying to overcome his job history which included being fired by a nearby city from his City Manager Job. Guccione, will once again be plunging a lot of effort into Hussey's campaign to unseat Gossett, Guccione needs allies on the board to take complete control.

Jay Webber ran an unsuccessful campaign in 2012 in a two-candidate race against Gossett, he was one of Guccione's hand-picked hopefuls. Jay Webber is a nice guy, I like him, but I'd like him better if he would drop out of the race, because I don't think he can win in this three-way election. I believe Guccione has him running to split the vote, but that could also backfire by taking away anti-Gossett votes from Hussey, but I'm not sure either of them can beat Gossett, alone or in tandem.

Ward 2 Candidates are; Patrick Vining and Michael Rhodes who were initially going to take a run at the incumbent Sonya Shryock. Shockingly, Shryock withdrew from the race leaving her new found political advocate and benefactor, Nickolas Guccione, twisting in the wind. This was a pivotal key-seat for Guccione, Shryock had become his sock puppet right along with Michael Hays and Kross, they had tipped the balance of power. That seat is now lost to Guccione because the rumor mill is saying that both Vining and Rhodes have a very strong dislike for Nickolas Guccione, imagine that.

At the moment I'm not sure who I'd like to see win this race simply because of their feelings about our mayor. Both men have strong points and could be good for Wentzville. Vining filed for the election of 2011 but didn't campaign because he didn't want to run against Chris Gard, who he respected. Rhodes is a well-known and highly-respected businessman in Wentzville, and he could have a large following of voters. I'm very pleased to see a Wentzville business owner run for office here, its been since the 1980s that one has had enough guts to do it, thank you Mr. Rhodes for your courage!

Ward 3 Candidates are; Rick Stokes and Linda Wright. The selection between these two candidates should be a no-brainer, Stokes has two strong terms behind him,  and been elected President of the Board of Aldermen for the last two years. According to The Wentzvillian poll, Stokes is the strongest alderman on the board. His job approval is second to none, although Gard is a very close second. He was instrumental in helping Wentzville get back on the fiscal track.

Stokes record speaks for its self so I'll move on to his opponent, Linda Wright. Wright was a pawn for Guccione in the election of 2013, she was inserted to draw votes away from Darrel Lackey and give Hays an advantage. It worked, Wright gathered 142 votes and Lackey lost to Hays by 6 measly votes, Guccione's "appointment" took the election with a paltry 39 percent of the vote.

There is talk that Linda Wright will become the Donna Sherwood of Ward 3, Sherwood ran in every election for three consecutive years prior to this one. She finally gave up when she drew the lowest amount of votes in the election and being crushed by no-name Sonya Shryock.

In Conclusion: Guccione has stated in public that he's going to throw every bit of dirt he can find (even if he has to make it up) at his arch-enemy, Rick Stokes. It won't work, Stokes is a great alderman and Guccione has a reputation as the 'trash man,' he has an uphill battle carrying Wright up a very large hill. Guccione's only hope to maintain status-qua is to beat Gossett with either Hussey or Webber. He still has his sock puppets Hays and Kross, but he can't be sure with Kross, because she wants to take his office in 2016. I think anytime Kross gets a chance to let Guccione hang himself, she just might do it.

If Guccione cannot beat Gossett next April, he's going to have a miserable year, just like before Kross and Shryock flipped to run with his screwed-up agenda. If I were Kross, I'd mend some fences with Stokes, Gossett, and Gard, and prepare for trying to be re-elected in 2015 before she messes that up. Let Guccione go crazy with frustration, he'll screw up his chances of ever being re-elected—all by himself.

I'll be keeping up with developments of the election of April 2014 and keep you informed.

P.S.S.: Kross is going to be really upset after the election when Stokes is elected President of the Board for the third consecutive year, and Guccione will be going crazy sitting right next to him for two more years. LMFAO!

 

The King Had Only One Basket at the Ball

 

I've had time to look, re look, and look again in disbelief at the Wentzville Board of Aldermen meeting of December 18, 2013 (click here). I've got to tell you something, Mayor Nickolas Guccione said some things that should disturb even his most avid fan. I've always known that he is not the most crisp pickle in the jar, but after the statements he made Wednesday December 16th, I'm concerned that there may be some criminal intent in his methodology when he threatened the Alderman and the City with a lawsuit if he doesn't get his was.

 

Mayor Nickolas Guccione has, and is displaying his arrogance of power and his total disregard for the laws of our city in the exact same manner written about in the book, The Imperial Presidency by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. Everyone knows about his use of the City logo and the GM trademark during his election, everyone knew it was illegal except Guccione, and everyone was shocked when he was allowed to walk via Mayor Lambi's illegal pardon. Only a Governor has the power to pardon the crimes Guccione committed in the way and time he committed them. Now, because his lack of ethics is beginning to pile up, I'm beginning to wonder if Guccione did not know his deeds were illegal, or if he believes it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission, or he knows his actions are illegal and thinks himself above the laws the rest of us must abide.

Wednesday evening during "(I.D. # 4946) Ethics Policy," in a discussion that has been going on for months, Guccione threatened the Board and the City with litigation if the ethics policy was not changed to allow him to solicit private donations for various groups. It must be noted that this policy was modified, and signed by Guccione after the Lambi scandal, but now he wants to change it back to be able to do everything that was afforded Lambi.

At about 2:02 into the meeting Guccione became frustrated, as he does most of the time when he doesn't get his way. "My personal attorneys told me that I was elected by the people, and the Alderman can not hold me to this ethics policy. The people who elected me didn't make this policy, the Aldermen did." WHAT? Does our Mayor really believe that the people write laws and policies? My high school government classes taught me that the legislators write laws and policies, and in this case, that's our Aldermen. The same people who elected Guccione to head up the executive branch of our government, elected our Aldermen to legislate our laws. Guccione does not need an attorney he needs a government class, the problem is, he just doesn't like the system and wants to change it to his more Socialist ideas. "Not one, but two attorneys told me that if I challenge this policy it would not hold up in court. I don't want to do that but." I could hardly believe what I heard. He also said he knew State Representatives who side with him. I wonder who he's talking about, maybe his strong political supporter, Brian Spencer? Our mayor just told the aldermen, and the city, that if you don't change this policy, I'm going to collect donations anyway, and if you try to punish me for violation of the policy, I'm taking the city to court. All of you good citizens who voted for Nickolas Guccione must now see that he does not respect the laws of this city and it's by design, not oversight, it's simple ignorance of government and how it works.

If I were an Alderman and I wanted to get rid of the arrogance and utter incompetence in the Mayor's office, I would uphold our laws as they are written. If anyone of the aldermen bow to his threats, perhaps they believe they are above the law also. At one point during the discussion he said to Alderman Shryock, "If you have to ask, it's probably wrong." Guccione has been asking a whole lot in an effort to get his own way, it's time he let it go and concentrate on being a better mayor, after all, he's not a fundraiser, he's the CEO of a failing administration. He tried this same tantrum when he had Michael Hays appointed to the board, in his mind it worked once, why not again? Guccione is really pushing the envelope and deserves to be slapped around by the legal system. I'd love to watch him defend his actions here in Wentzville's municipal Court. He thinks he's above the law and deserves the opportunity to prove it to his subjects, and Judge Martin.

Dear King Nickolas, Your subjects are leaving like rats from a sinking ship, the city is being buried in lawsuits, and all you want to do is attend the Mayor's Ball. You are correct, the other mayors are laughing at you, but not because you only brought one basket to the Ball.

I'm Ready!

 

There is an interesting thread of discussion on my last post of Thursday, December 12, 2013: The Push Is On! (click here), that I believe needs to be addressed. It revolves around the possibility of Vann Sample coming out of retirement to reclaim his Ward 2 seat which is currently occupied by Sonya Shryock.

 

Sample left his service to Wentzville government due to circumstances with his day job and consequently served only one term. The seat was up for grabs and candidates came out of the woodwork to run against Donna Sherwood who had unsuccessfully run in every election for Ward 2 since 2010, she was Guccione's first choice. At the same time, Sherwood was Nickolas Guccione's campaign manager in 2012 and they ran what many believe to be the dirtiest-mud-slinging event in the history of Wentzville Politics. Her opponents were newcomers, Jeremy Pritchett and Sonya Shryock. Late in the campaign it was found that Pritchett was actually campaigning with Sherwood and Guccione in an effort to split the vote against Shryock to allow Sherwood to win and serve Guccione's wishes on the Board. Voters got wise to Guccione's plan and Sherwood lost the election, gathering fewer votes than either of the political rookies, Pritchett and Shryock. Guccione had underestimated Sherwood's level of public unpopularity.

 

Shryock won the election and was nurtured by a very strong board. There for a while, even though it became evident that Shryock was in way over her head she followed the conservative members of the board; Rick Stokes, Chris Gard, Forrest Gossett, and Cheryl Kross. Progress for the city continued without a hitch in spite of newly elected Mayor Nickolas Guccione's governmental incompetence, and the city sustained a fair level of accountability. Once Kross joined forces with Guccione and schmoozed Shryock to do the same, everything changed. Before long, Shryock began feeling empowered and led the charge (with Kross and Guccione) to remove Wentzville's legal services team. What's worse, she meddled in Chief of Police, Lisa Harrison's private affairs, it's uncertain what level of involvement Kross and Guccione played in this scandal, but I'm sure it will come to the surface. The events of that time were exposed on my post of November 4, 2013, The "Unholy Alliance" Exposed (click here).

 

The Wentzvillian polls say that Shryock's job performance is the absolute worst on the Board of Aldermen.  But I contend it's marginally better than that of the non-existent accomplishments of Ward 3 Alderman Michael Hays (both of whom suffer from delusions of adequacy) if you exclude the removal of our legal services and the scandal she started within the police department. I'm not exaggerating about their records, I defy either of them (or anyone) to publicly announce what they have accomplished since being elected. Guccione is excellent at exploiting a lack of government and political savvy and as a result he gravitated toward Hays and Shryock to do his bidding. The wild card in his goal of Board control is Kross, I had hoped she would have been smarter than him, but obviously she's not lived up to those expectations.

Should Sample throw into the mix next April, there's more than a good chance that he could regain his office and help turn back Guccione's folly. Rick Stokes should have no problem with his re-election even though Guccione will throw everything, and everyone he can find at him. The other question is if Forrest Gossett has earned enough points with his constituents to maintain his seat on the board. It will be interesting to see if Cheryl Kross, one time close confidant of Gossett will assist him with his campaign. Since she had her falling out with Stokes and snuggled up to Guccione she has turned her back on her old friend, leaving some doubt regarding her allegiance to Gossett, we will soon know.

Gossett is very well versed in policies and procedures, and government, calling for a "point of order" more than any other alderman. So much so that at one meeting Guccione sarcastically said to him, "So you're going to play lawyer again?" Guccione hates Gossett, but then again he hates Stokes too, so Gossett is in good company anyway. Guccione will put candidates up against Gossett but probably leave them pretty much to their own devices to beat Gossett by simply splitting the vote. Guccione's main focus next April will be trying to get Shryock re-elected and sling as much mud at Stokes as he can dream up. If Sample runs, Guccione will more than likely bring in a third candidate to split that vote too which could put Shryock in a precarious position. She's trusting the dirtiest campaign designer in recent history, a man who even threw his own campaign manager under the bus. I absolutely know that Shryock will get the short end of the stick because Guccione doesn't care who gets elected, as long as it's one of his recruits and not Vann Sample.

It's unfortunate that Guccione has started politicking during the board meetings already, he's making it so obvious that it shouldn't be a surprise if he's called for campaign policy violations before it's all over, but he'll find someone to blame. I'll be watching closely to see how many times he has Shryock bring up subjects for which Guccione will pick up the sword against Stokes and Gossett. If Shryock thinks Guccione will defend her, she's delusional. I sincerely hope she doesn't get into any more trouble than she's already in, but time will tell. I think the best thing she can do is bow gracefully out of the race before her inevitable legal problems begin and she's right in the middle of attention while in office, the news media is relentless and keen on scandals. Mayor Lambi did it and paid the price, it's good advice to be far from the media while in office, but taking good advice is not her strong suit. When her problems hit (and they will), her good buddies; Kross, Guccione, and Michael Hays will put as much distance between her and them as they possibly can. It's hard to find a political friend when you're under fire.

I had hoped not to get so deeply involved in reporting on the election already, but Guccione has started campaigning from the dais and the truth needs to be told — I'm ready!

 

The Push Is On!

 

I didn't attend the Board of Aldermen meeting of December 11, 1013 (click here) for one reason; I wanted to see how some aldermen acted when I wasn't watching. I did however, watch the streaming live video and I got an eyeful of the mayor, Nickolas Guccione, and certain aldermen politicizing Wentzville Government. The election is just over three months from now, and as Guccione announced before, he went full-bore trying to discredit President of the Board, Rick Stokes.

 

Once again, Alderman Sonya Shryock during her "Alderman Report" led Guccione's charge by talking about "Penalties for leaking information from executive sessions. ...I want it to be impeachment or censure worthy..." She mentioned City Hall so I ascertained she wants to point the finger at some alderman for the leak of the location of the new city hall building. I previously speculated that the new city hall building will be on the yet unbuilt Schroeder Creek extension behind Holt High School, and I knew that the final site would be decided during the regular executive sessions. The words in her report came directly to her from Guccione, how do I know this? When she finished her report Guccione said "You forgot something, I'll handle it in my 'Mayors Report.'" Unless he had scripted her report before the meeting, how could he know she'd forgotten something? Incredible!

 

Back to the point; Guccione is pointing the finger at Stokes and wants to publicly admonish and accuse him of being the leak. Unfortunately for Guccione and Shryock, the information did come to me from two aldermen at different times, and that data was stored until I posted it. The first alderman to give me the location was Cheryl Kross during several of the many meetings we had prior to her flip and subsequent blackout. The second was none other than Shryock who hinted to me about the location, but she said; "You can't tell anybody about this." So, if someone is going to be impeached as Shryock suggests, she needs to put herself and Kross at the top of the list. If you're not going to play nice, I'm going to turn you in.

 

Guccione is a great one for leaks too, I got verification of Lambi's shenanigans from him. He admitted in public meetings that my speculations were all to true by saying "I didn't leak it to the newspapers, the blog did it." Those in the know still laugh at him after giving the information to the St. Charles County Journal and St. Louis Post Dispatch. It's important to know that Kross was instrumental in connecting the dots of the Lambi investigation.

 

Even though Guccione says The Wentzvillian is not a member of the press and not a reporter, I still get it correct sooner or later and make it public for our citizens. Any good investigative reporter using carefully worded questions can, and do get "secret" information from an unsuspecting source, in this case it's Guccione, Shryock, and Kross. These three elected officials have given me more fodder than any alderman currently serving in office, simply because they have no sense of how to act during interviews. I'm certain that given the proper circumstances I could get any one of them to sell out their own grandmothers, but I'm not a reporter. I'm just a delusional conspiracy theorist concerned about what these three newly immigrated individuals are doing to Wentzville, they have no idea of what they are doing to the future of our city.

 



* * * * *

 

I hope you take the time to watch the "Mayor's Report," It's worth the time to see the spiteful vengeance he displayed during his attack on President of the Board, Rick Stokes. Guccione's politically oriented aggression is an outrage, he shows his hatred of Stokes publicly trying any way he can to discredit and keep him from being re-elected.  Mayor Guccione made a total fool of himself and the office he holds.

 

Sock-puppet Shryock started the attack in her report and Guccione escalated it during his. Guccione singles out Stokes as the only alderman on the board who is undermining his office. I've got news for the mayor, he doesn't need anyone to undermine his office, he's been doing a great job of it all by himself for over a year-and-a-half. I have to laugh at Guccione, he doesn't have the mental horsepower to spar with Stokes when it comes to government, or anything other than cutting up chickens for that matter. With the exception of Chris Gard, there has never been a more effective alderman in recent history.

 

Guccione has recruited Shryock to help run interference in taking down Stokes in the coming election and he has guaranteed her his support. I know Shryock, and I cannot believe that she's sold her soul to the devil to keep a job for which she has proven to be so ineffective. Wentzville politics is out of control and I expect that her campaign will be as dirty as any run by Guccione since he's betting the farm on her winning and giving him control of the board.

 

The push is on, Shryock is being pranced all over town just like Guccione did with Michael Hays. In the coming months leading up to the election you will see Shryock bringing things to the board that Guccione wants and they will continue trying to smash Stokes. Take notice when you watch the meeting video that Guccione gaveled Alderman Forrest Gossett saying, "I'm done with you." Gossett is in his sights and Guccione has candidates lined up to deal with him. Guccione is starting to sound like Lambi did after he knew he'd been caught, it's going to be an interesting and dirty campaign.

 

More came out of the meeting of December 11th and I'll get to is soon, but I can't get over Shryock. Out of the mouths of babes comes her betrayal of Wentzville and good, healthy government. I hope my readers vote and when they do, remember the sock-puppet who wants to do more damage to an already crippled city government—Shryock.

 

The Sinking of the U.S.S. Wentzville

 

On October 17, 2013, The Wentzvillian posted; Enough Is Enough, It's Time (click here), in which was listed the directors and employees that left their positions for greener pastures during the previous 18 months. That time frame coincided exactly with the time of Mayor Nickolas Guccione's term in office. Today, just two months later, the list has grown to include Wentzville's Parks Director, the legal services team, and Wentzville's audit firm—all left during the chaos created by Guccione's administration. Now it's my unpleasant duty to announce another flight.

 

Gary Miller, Superintendent of water and waste water has turned in his paperwork for early retirement. Mr. Miller has been with the city for 30 years and knows everything there is to know about Wentzville's water works. The telling fact about his retirement is that he only gave the City two weeks notice. In my estimate, Mr. Miller has become frustrated enough with the unpurposive leadership of Guccione's administration that he decided to get the hell out of Dodge while he still has his sanity. It is further believed that the retirements of Mr. Jerry Hillin, Purchasing Director, and the unexpected early retirement of Ms. Mary Jo Dessieux, Parks Director, were for the same reason.

 

The underlining fabric of Guccione's administration is one of a total lack of leadership skills. It's sad to say, but Wentzville employees just don't trust him and consequently their morale is at an all-time low. One of the city's employees who was fired earlier this year filed a Federal lawsuit for discrimination, and in my opinion the City will probably settle out of court to the tune of around one-million dollars. According to rumor there will be another suit, by another dissatisfied ex-employee filed closely on it's heels. I have also heard that someone has requested all of Guccione's email records for the past five months (probably an attorney) so, King Nickolas had better keep the City's checkbook on his desk. It's times like these that the name Detroit keeps coming to the forefront of my thoughts.

 

I guess Enough is Not Enough. But It's Definitely Time for someone to take action before Guccione's teething on the Wentzville pacifier creates a predicament that will take longer to repair than his new-found teeth will last, but it may already be too late. Every Wentzville Director except one has left the city payroll and now the list of middle-management personnel to leave is growing. Have the "lack of confidence bells and whistles" not been heard by our Aldermen? What will it take to correct a serious problem residing in the Mayor's office? Am I so far out of whack that I'm blinded by a smokescreen of wanting my own words; "I told you so," to be true? Or is there some other reason that the City is being abandoned by an ever-growing large number of Wentzville's most intelligent and talented employees?

 

I've stated before that Guccione has been bailing the sinking U.S.S. Wentzville with a drill—I may have been wrong. The damage that has, and is being done, has to be the result of dynamite. Recently I've been seeing parallels between the administrations of Mayor Nickolas Guccione to that of President Obama. Guccione bears a great number of notches on his gun-butt, something needs to change ... quickly. The citizens need to stand up and ask some very difficult questions like; Mr. Mayor, what have you done to our beloved City of Wentzville, and why don't you resign and go back to North County while we still have our life preservers?