A lot of topics came up for discussion at last night’s mayoral forum at Central Presbyterian Church, 35th and Campbell. Crime, education, the earnings tax, city services, the Plaza, urban blight, subsidized housing. And others.
But the undercurrent of the night — the palpable feeling that wove around, under and through all the talk — was the burning desire of the six challengers to see the incumbent, Mayor Mark Funkhouser, turned out of office.
Funkhouser
I think it’s fair to say that not only do the six challengers — Mike Burke, Deb Hermann, Sly James, Jim Rowland, Henry Klein and Charles B. Wheeler — want Funkhouser out because they want in, but because they think Funkhouser has poisoned the well at City Hall.
Not only was that the sense of the challengers; it carried over into at least one prominent audience member, Fourth District Councilwoman Jan Marcason.
Marcason sat in the second row of the audience, listening closely, eyes studying the people on the stage.
It might seem odd that Marcason, a first-term council member, has become a flash point for the election, but that’s the way it is.
Through her dogged battle to boot Funkhouser’s wife, Gloria Squitiro, out of City Hall — where Squitiro was a pesky and unwanted presence in the eyes of many residents and city employees — Marcason has become the face of the oust-Funkhouser movement.
For her perceived impertinence, Funkhouser reciprocated by tossing Marcason off the council Finance Committee (where she was vice chairman) and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
And, so, against that backdrop, a question arose last night about what was at the root of the “disdain” that some council members have exhibited toward each other, and about what it might take to get a semblance of “civility back to City Hall.”
Burke
Burke went first. A former councilman and a former chairman of the city’s Public Improvements Advisory Committee, he talked about the importance of team building — of the implied need for the next group of council members to build a rapport so they could work together effectively.
Then it was Funkhouser’s turn. “I’m not sure it’s a lot less civil than it ever has been.” As an example, he recounted an incident when a former councilman came close to physically attacking longtime City Hall baiter Clay Chastain.
When the stakes are high and the issues are large, Funkhouser said, “There’s going to be an argument; there’s going to be a fight. Some people call it drama.”
Rowland
Using the word “drama” could well have been a jab at Rowland. Twice Tuesday night, Rowland, executive director of the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority, noted that he had overseen the $700-million renovation of the sports complex “on time, on budget and with no drama.”
As the candidates went down the line, answering the civility question, Klein turned the thermostat up several degrees. It’s time, he said, “to take some of the egos down.” One person, he said pointedly — without specifying who but leaving no doubt who it was — had “usurped all the attention.”
Then it was Rowland’s turn. He stood up, made a complimentary comment about Marcason’s service on the council and then asked her, “How many (council) committees are you on?”
“None,” she said.
To which Rowland rejoined, “There has been four years of distraction and dysfunction.”
It was a square shot to the Tall One’s teeth, and everyone got it: Because she dared to take on the mayor, Marcason is not on one, single committee.
Marcason
A few minutes later, the forum ended, and I went over to get a word with Marcason.
“How strong is your desire to see the mayor turned out of office?” I said.
“I think we deserve new leadership,” she replied. “Positive leadership that can help move the city forward.”
I asked her if she had endorsed any of the other six candidates. No, she said, but added that, in her opinion, there were four strong candidates — Burke, Hermann, James and Rowland.
We returned to the subject of Funkhouser having denied her a spot on any council committee.
“It’s unprecedented,” she said. “He’s just a mean-spirited person.”
JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC 
Well, this is certainly going to be an entertaining city-wide election, if nothing else. I’ve tracked most of the “drama” at City Hall through the KC Star, and now we get to hear “the rest of the story,” straight from the people who were there.
The real question in my mind (not that I expect to get an answer) is who really runs the city? Is the mayor this petty, or is Gloria pulling his strings from the front porch?
I am very eager for new leadership. I voted for Funkhouser instead of Alvin Brooks and I knew Alvin’s contributions to KC better than Funkhouser’s. I thought at the time KC really need the financial know-how that Funkhouser brought to the election.
Boy, do I feel like I wasted my vote. Funkhouser’s shenanigans with his wife (which are completely incomprehensible to me) made KC look foolish on a large scale.
Now, the real question is… which candidate? Wheeler is only one I know of my name, but I’ve learned my lesson and will dig deep to find the best, next mayor of KC.
I think you perfectly expressed the feelings of a large number of Kansas Citians, Bryan: We feel taken. Funkhouser took office with an immense trove of voter goodwill, and he proceeded to deplete it faster than just about any politician ever has — except, perhaps, those caught committing felonies.
This is an extremely important election, as your comments suggest. I think two candidates are head and shoulders above the others — Mike Burke and Deb Hermann. Burke for his vast knowledge of city government and experience in just about every facet of it, and Hermann for her ability to get along with her council colleagues and her proven experience as chairwoman of the council Finance Committee.
For what it’s worth, I’m voting for Burke in the primary. If he doesn’t make it to the general, I’ll go with Hermann, who, I think, is virtually a lock to get to the final pairing.
Jim
Let’s also remember that one of the first big decisions that Funkhouser made was appointing Frances Semler to the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners. This is arguably one of the city’s most prestigious appointed boards, one that oversees the zoo and the city’s many parks and boulevards. People with long records of civic service have served on this board. Semler, however, had no civic experience except for showing up at some public meetings in the Northland to complain about illegal immigrants. And let’s not forget her association with the Minutemen, a group known for its vitriolic, anti-Mexican rhetoric.
Semler also had complete disregard for the public. When I was still working in The Star’s Northland bureau, I remember my colleague Bill Graham, who wrote a column for the weekly Northland, Platte County and Liberty “Neighborhood News” editions, calling Semler after all the controversy arose over her appointment. Bill wanted to write a column about her. He was not out to editorialize about her ties to the Minutemen; he simply wanted to give readers a chance to see who she was and what kind of commissioner she strove to be. Semler chewed Bill out for having “the audacity” to want to talk to her. How a mayor could appoint anyone with that type of disregard for the public does not deserve re-election.