By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist
Mayor Mark Funkhouser is locked in a battle with the City Council over who’s going to control City Hall’s agenda.
For the long run, I’ll put my money on Funkhouser.
Mind you, that’s not because he’s the world’s greatest politician. In an interview Tuesday, the mayor said he’d give himself a “C-minus, D-plus on the political side” of his 16-month tenure.
Too many snafus have nipped away at his credibility with his City Council colleagues (led by the controversy over wife Gloria Squitiro’s volunteering in his office) to give him a higher grade.
But there’s a simple reason Funkhouser has the best shot at controlling the agenda: He’s a strong-willed mayor who eventually could earn support from a council majority.
That counts for a lot in Kansas City, as history shows.
Former mayors Emanuel Cleaver and Kay Barnes had some difficulties getting their councils to follow them in their first terms. But both had far more successful second terms, with usually obedient council members.
Barnes in her first term had a council that, as I wrote in 2001, was composed of “12 lone rangers” who had “contributed to the general malaise that now grips City Hall.” But her second term included a strong and effective push to rejuvenate downtown.
Now along comes Funkhouser, who has had a positive start to his term when it comes to the policy side — the things that actually matter to residents.
A quick list:
Voters passed a capital improvements sales tax and renewed a tax for better buses.
The City Council backed Funkhouser on a new, stricter policy on handing out economic development subsidies as well as a new policy to rein in city debt. And the council approved a more realistic, belt-tightening city budget.
Funkhouser on Tuesday gave himself an “A-minus, B-plus grade” on following through with his campaign’s priorities.
With caveats — the development policy could have been tougher, the city budget leaner — I’d pretty much agree with his assessment.
Now let’s look at the council.
The 12 members held an unusual news conference last week. Stung by Funkhouser’s criticism over trying to push Squitiro out of his office, the elected officials sounded defensive, saying they were still working on the public’s business. True, this council has been active, if not always productive.
The worst mistake: Rashly and without much public debate extending the contract of City Manager Wayne Cauthen to spite Funkhouser, who had clumsily tried to oust him.
Another council mistake: Passing a weak smoking ban, which voters overrode with a tougher law in Apri.
The council does have some hard workers. On substantive issues that have received lots of public attention:
Russ Johnson led placement of a light-rail initiative on the November ballot, correctly putting off a regional transit plan backed by Funkhouser.
Jan Marcason has been a tireless advocate of better sewers and finding a good way to pay for them. She helped Deb Hermann promote good budget changes this year, with Funkhouser’s backing.
Cindy Circo worked with Johnson to help put together a reasonable capital improvements campaign, backed enthusiastically by Funkhouser.
Cathy Jolly promoted the smoking ordinance (with little help from the mayor).
Sure, Funkhouser’s relationships with council members could be better.
While he has staunch allies in Hermann and Bill Skaggs, he’s irritated others such as Marcason and Johnson in recent days. And he must work on building other alliances.
The mayor has a policy-wonk approach to government. He still has many attractive ideas — on a slimmer budget, economic development, better infrastructure — that would make him a valuable leader.
Funkhouser has the biggest bully pulpit and easily gets the most public attention. To make the most progress for Kansas Citians, though, he’ll need cooperation from a council majority.
It’s something he needs to earn in the future.
Editorial Board member Yael T. Abouhalkah can be reached at 816-234-4887 or at abouhalkah@kcstar.com. Read his blog postings at voices.kansascity.com
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Funkhouser vows to rise above pettiness of Council
I tuned in to see what I believe was a defining moment for our city Government. Our Mayor, Mark Funkhouser humbled himself to apologize to the council for their less than optimal working relationship. He stated that this extraordinary effort to ban the First Lady from City Hall is a personal attack and that it takes away his authority to run his office as he pleases. I agree.
What happened next is the defining moment. Riley makes a statement to the Mayor not to punish them after rejecting his outstretched hand.
Sharp states that the amendments protect everyone but the Mayor’s wife so he feels it is ok, which for the first time reveals the true intent of the ordinance.
Johnson stands to say that he will disgrace the Mayor today but let’s be friends afterwards.
They all ask the Mayor to be a bigger person than they are today and rise above the pettiness they have demonstrated by their actions.
Marcason stands to give a long winded speech about nothing to hide her motive.
Funkhouser nails her on who is affected, just his wife. Marcason can’t answer this but tries with another long winded nothing. Finally admits that only one person is affected
Every council member rejected his offer and expects him to honor his to them anyway. I hope he doesn’t. That’s not Christian, but that is how I feel.
Funkhouser may or may not earn my vote for his reelection. That is yet to be determined
The twelve council members have lost one vote for reelection today. Big deal, it is only one but it is certain.
rebuttal
Okay, top of the morning to you Mr. A. Rebuttal time:
1) Mayor Mark Funkhouser is locked in a battle with the City Council over who’s going to control City Hall’s agenda.
This latest permutation isn't about the City Hall agenda. It is about conatining a madman and his wife (who is perhaps equally if not more insane). ANything to the contrary is pro-funk spin. And since it comes from you, it is a certainty that this is just spin.
2)For the long run, I’ll put my money on Funkhouser
We already know that you are going down on the Kansas City version of the Titanic... the USS Smart With Nothinghouser. Keep arranging the chairs Captain Abouhalkah.
3) Mind you, that’s not because he’s the world’s greatest politician. In an interview Tuesday, the mayor said he’d give himself a “C-minus, D-plus on the political side” of his 16-month tenure.
How about an F or a D minus. He has shown no political skills.
And as a decent human being? A zero... which is below an F.
He has lied, humiliated and otherwise shamed us all with all too many of his actions. He did this to himself as well but doesn't seem to care. I suppose as long as his grand adventure goes on and his bills get paid and he can continue to take more money from the development lawyers and other assorted interests that he raved against when he was running for Mayor and use those same funds to support his personal life (such as chiefs tickets, iphones ets.) he will be happy. Like Nicolae Ceauşescu from Romania, the Funk doesn't appear to have a bright future once his run as Mayor is over.
4)But there’s a simple reason Funkhouser has the best shot at controlling the agenda: He’s a strong-willed mayor who eventually could earn support from a council majority.
He's not a team player and he thinks he knows more than any and all of them combined. Additionally, one of the reasons he ran for Mayor was to get even with any and all of the people who belittled him when he was Auditor. How is this consistence with a chance to eanr their support?
He's already tried to bully Cauthen with a disastrous result. And he's done such a good job irritating the Council Titans that they are now planning for a second time another truly historic act (the first being the Cauthen contract)... wiuping his wive off the 29th floor.
Last on this point... he is not strong willed he is just a big and now exposed to be stupid bully.
5)Now along comes Funkhouser, who has had a positive start to his term when it comes to the policy side — the things that actually matter to residents.
You just have to be kidding. The budget isn't balanced we are still running at a deficit. COnveniently, this didn't stop the Funk from getting a raise... a raise which he rubbed in all of our faces by arrogantly and stupidly telling us was needed and well earned and deserved. The streets are worse than when he started... the money promised for infrastructure repair didn't increase and accounting for inflation (a big % in this category for things like concrete and asphalt) is much lower than when he got here. Do the citizens not care about being humiliated and the City made into a laughingstock? Well, the Co-Mayors have brought that upon us. Semler, racial divisivness and the Christmas Card debacle as well as the humiliating spectacle watching the world's greatest auditor run his campaign account like a foreign dictator and actually having to pay a fine for not complying with the law.
6) Voters passed a capital improvements sales tax and renewed a tax for better buses.
And this has to do with the newly elected at that time Mayor how? And what has he done in repsonse to this.... try to put a light rail initiative, one that even he has publicly stated to be awful and one that the voters will turn down up our collective caboose.
7) The City Council backed Funkhouser on a new, stricter policy on handing out economic development subsidies as well as a new policy to rein in city debt. And the council approved a more realistic, belt-tightening city budget.
You are just out of touch with reality Yael... the City is still running in the red (didn't stop the raises to the Funk and Council though) and these new tighter rules for devlopment goodies haven't worked at all. In fact, the Funk approved the Neal Patterson Super TIF even though he conceded that the project would lose money for the City even if everything went right. Additionally he approved the Boley Building TIF giveaway for Andrews McNeil which additionally helped one of his developer contributors. A TIF that clearly increased the purchase price and was otherwise unneeded.
8) Funkhouser on Tuesday gave himself an “A-minus, B-plus grade” on following through with his campaign’s priorities.
Again... he is in la la land just like you. We can focus on initiative #7... crime. We are fast becoming the murder capital of the world. And do you give him an A- for not producing the agreed upon, promised and already taxed citizens 20 extra cops??? This is an F... and in Funkhouser or more accurately, Smart With Nothinghouser.
And the Oranage Revolution promised us an open government which used the money wisely.
The money wisely part speaks for itself. An F
Putting himself into the pocket of the development lawyers... something he ranted against and promised never to do... well he's done it (we don't need to print out a list, do we?). An F.
And the open government promise... why don't you ask the Waldo Dog Park people who at first weren't allowed a hearing, then got shut out of speaking by the new, non-elitist Parks board and were finished off at a town hall meeting when Smart With Nothinghouser told them to stop complaining about not being listened to rather than having him take their side and have the government listen and respond positively to their pleas. This is on tape and without any possibility of a doubt a big fat F.
Oh and by the way, just in case you want to respond... what ever happened to the Dog Park???? I hope I am wrong but I think the answer is a big fat ZERO.
9) as to the council... who cares? Except for their raises, they have shown the people who have elected them almost nothing.
????
You are just plain deluded. I will post a line by line rebuttal later in the evening or tomorrow. Hopefully by then, you can catch up with Bill The Banana Drummond for support.