(TKC NOTE: This blog is getting too big to just contain my bias. That's why I'm happy to post an alternative perspective from Puck who is earning quite a reputation in Kansas City politics for challenging perceptions regarding the people who run this town.)
Puck Ponders… and ponders some more
While everyone is sleeping off their tryptophan, Puck has been doing what he usually does… pondering, trying to make sense of the world around… Wayne’s and everyone else’s. And it’s been exceptionally difficult these past few days. But Puck, ever the little Boy Scout (or Boy Scout wannabe, LOVE the neck scarves!), kept reading and reviewing, attempting to cipher the removal of Wayne Cauthen and the outcry that has been heard as of late.
Here are the five questions the members of the Concerned Clergy floated to the media on Wednesday:
1.The "unprofessional manner" Cauthen was suspended.
2. The fact that Cauthen was escorted from the building by a member of the City Hall security staff.
3. Whether or not "the process followed the rule of law."
4. That Cauthen's dismissal, according to a press release "was done 'in secret,' without discussions with the other six members of the City Council."
5. They want a reason why Cauthen was suspended.
Let’s take them one at a time, shall we?
Cauthen was not suspended in an unprofessional manner. Au contraire, mon ami… it was Wayne who was unprofessional. When informed that the Mayor was suspending him and that six other councilmembers were prepared to vote for his ouster, Wayne refused to leave. Any self-respecting man (or woman) would have left with dignity. Not our little Wayne. He threw a hissy and called his friends to fix his predicament. Alas, it was too late.
Security staff are used frequently to show former employees the door. This is a common occurrence during RIFs and other times. And let me refer you, cherished readers, to the paragraph above… Wayne REFUSED to leave. What should an employer do when an ex-employee refuses to vacate… you do what the City has ALWAYS done… you call security. Simple enough.
The third point hardly bears addressing, but since the Clergy are so concerned, Puck will try to assuage them. Lawyers checked and rechecked… Wayne’s dismissal and its process followed the rule of the law. Now relax. Get over it. Please.
The idea that Wayne’s dismissal was done “in secret”, as the preachers portray, is laughable at best. In fact, Puck almost burst a vein over THAT little notion. As everyone knows… there are NO secrets at City Hall. This is simply sour grapes on the councilmembers who weren’t in the loop. Ask yourself, dear readers, why they weren’t? The reasons are varied… some are simply too simple to grasp why Wayne needed to go. Others oppose everything the mayor does, regardless of what it is. Still another takes her direction from Steve Glorioso, who is perhaps Wayne’s biggest fan, who would no doubt have given Wayne a jingle upon hearing the news (it’s bad enough he texts his Council cutie during meetings to give her direction on what to do, it is reported).
The last point of all is the weakest of them all… the Clergy want to a REASON Wayne was ousted. Put aside your legitimate concerns of discussing an employee’s termination, let alone in public, for a moment. Let’s keep this easy, so everyone will grasp the simple facts. Wayne couldn’t balance a budget! Two years ago, Wayne missed the budget mark by $46 million. Last year it was $87 million. This year we are on track to outspend our money to the tune of $62 million. Look back in time, older readers, to the time when former manager Larry Brown was fired over a mere $5 million shortfall. (In fact, one of our current council retreads, Ed Ford, was instrumental at pushing Mr. Brown out the door at the time.) Combine that with insubordination and poor management and you have more than enough reasons to fire Wayne. The mystery is only why didn’t it happen sooner?
Speaking of Mr. Ford, (could “Ed” be short for “Edsel”, I wonder?)… Puck just has to pontificate on a comment Mr. F. made to the press… he said “supporters of Mayor Funkhouser” had cost the city nearly a million dollars, due to Wayne’s severance and the “Mammygate” settlement. Hmmm. Puck certainly remembers WHICH councilmembers REFUSED to SETTLE the Mammygate case when the settlement number in play was a mere middle five figures, and Mr. Ford was the leader of that pack. Another point… given the lousy way Councilwoman Circo and Councilman Johnson were treated by the Mayor over their committee chairmanships, does anyone with half a brain or a lick of sense truly think those two officials follow the Mayor? No… the answer is they did what was right. It’s truly that simple.
One last tidbit for your most likely over-filled tummies, dear readers… Wayne the Professional, has YET to turn in his CITY PAID FOR CAR, or CLEAN OUT HIS OFFICE, or RETURN ANY PROFESSIONAL PHONE CALLS, even from HIS OWN LAWYER! Methinks on this holiday of Thanksgiving, Wayne should be grateful… thrilled that he could fool so many people for so long, pleased that he could enrich so many of his buddies during his tenure and blessed that Ed Ford, Terry Riley and his other friends on the council negotiated such a great contract in 2007, allowing him a big severance to live off for a long, long time.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Links:
Very good.
ReplyDeleteNobody cares about Wayne's World.
ReplyDeleteHe got pushed out the door but his platinum parachute saved his ass. With that kind of jack I could pay off my house and all my bills and still have enough to quit my job and sit around watching Oprah and Judge Judy all day for a couple of years.
Wayne was a hell of a player in the game, but the game has changed and he's out of the league.
I'm sure he'll pop up somewhere in a winter league or maybe he'll get the hookup in Greece or Lithuania.
As for those so-called Preachin' Activists...I must say that their actions were reprehensible. They go for the gold while walking away from their flock. I doubt if they'll pass through the eye of the needle when their time comes. I really don't see how their God will sit by and let them pass while they worshiped the false idols in the time they spent on earth.
Dr. King would be ashamed to be associated with them and they know it.
Actually, that was a legit group of preachers for a change. As for your other points:
ReplyDelete1) Wayne is taking over the lease on the car as was in his contract.
2) Wayne has returned phone calls especially those to his lawyer. That was just a stupid statement.
3) Funkhouser knew Wednesday night he had the votes allegedly so he could have told him don't come in tomorrow.Rather he and Jeff Roe decided to sensationalize the moment which will cost the city more money.
4) All those budgets you spoke of were put together by Troy. It is impossible to balance Kansas City's budget because of the flight out of the city to the suburbs.
5) If he quits with almost two years left on his contract he gets no compensation. It would have been stupid to quit.
6) Shulte sent everyone home before wayne was suspended and before he was ratified as the new city manager.
7) He is not obligated to pick his things up until after the hearing.
Excellent journalism like this will take the spin off of events such as this. Via point and counter point comes clearity. Maybe the KCPD is next. Lack of law enforcement, rampent crime (15th worst in US in yesterdays Netscape rating), the Chief's lies about crime (a high school soph with a $29.99 program from Best Buy could keep KC crime stats)- (KCPD Chief in '60s was fired for telling the same lies, San Diego's Chief just this year... liar liar, pants on fire!). Wayne was bad and crooked so get over it folks. His support came from people who had "the fix" in and the race carders. The city is down the crapper anyway so spend your time in trying to find somewhere move to.
ReplyDeleteSteve Glorioso's defense or explanation of Wayne's unprofessional and undignified behavior is specious at best. When presented with letters from 7 council members he should have vacated in a dignified manner as did his predecessors. Since he refused he had to escorted out. There is nothing dehumanizing about that. He has no right to the city vehicle or the office. If he continues to possess both, the city should seize the car and remove his personal property from the office asap. The notion that he is entitled to occupy an office until his hearing is as ludicrous as feckless ministers demanding an apology and belated explanation for the permanent discharge of the city manager.Moreover it is almost as silly as making idol threats of retribution to people who will cast countless votes, many of which will affect their parishioners, and whose support they will undoubtedly need prior to the next election. If these council members have no chance of getting any political support from the black community in the next election because they fired Cauthen why should they be responsive to the black community now? Altruism? Get a grip, black folks. As the saying goes, the king is dead, long live the king.
ReplyDeleteMore Puck!
ReplyDeleteAnon 5:37, (Hi Steve G.!),I'm not sure where you get your information, but you should check because it is flawed to the extreme.
ReplyDeleteIf Wayne is taking over the lease, he has not communicated that with anyone. Taking over the lease is not in his contract, so that woudl have to be worked out with the City. He is indeed not returning calls to anyone from City Hall and has also not returned calls from his lawyer. Every call, maybe not. But none from City Hall.
The votes on this issue weren't solid until just after noon on Thursday... nothing was set Wednesday night, so the Mayor would have grossly erred in asking Wayne not to come in (not to mention Wayne would have dragged out his buddies en masse and turned the deal on its tail). Wayne "sensationalized" the moment; the City will pay, but not in dollars and cents, but in image. Thanks, Wayne.
Troy put together balanced budgets as was his job, but as the City Manager it is Wayne's responsibility to carry out those balanced budgets and reflect the wishes of the council, and he failed to do that. The city would have had a balanced the budget if Wayne would had made the cuts he was directed to make several years ago. As late as this spring and summer, he was "borrowing" funds from the health levy and other places to shore up his friend's programs... programs that the council directed be cut.
You're WAY incorrect on his contract; his generous severance was designed to protect him no matter when he quit; his own attorney confirmed this in today's paper. Also,Wayne has six months vacation and six months sick leave (though he called in sick at times), so that is a YEAR of payment he has coming to him. And we all know that Wayne took vacations on the City's dime; this was reported in The Pitch and verified by City receipts. PLUS, his contract specifies that if Wayne is terminated at ANY time, he is entitled to full severance.
If he had acted like a grown-up and left when the Mayor suspended him, he could have avoided this entire mess, plus the council playing the race card at Thursday's legislative session.
Schulte did not send everyone home before Wayne was suspended. That is just plain wrong. And people were sent home, not because they were fired (because they weren't) but because Wayne had alerted the media and they had descended on City Hall. No one at City Hall, save for Wayne, wanted the employees put in a bad position.
Wayne was actually obligated to pick up his things when he left, which he refused to do. The hearing does nothing to change the decision that he is gone; it will be a weak attempt at him to clear his name. And something to think about here... those hearings and the information in them could be public. All of the misdeeds that anyone decides to trot out might be public and will no doubt end up on the web. Any prospective employers can read them. Wayne is only hurting himself with a hearing.
Maybe the putrid Cauthen is tying one on! We will see whether he pops up DUI in the Star or more likely, if it happens, in TKC, the Blogger King.
ReplyDeleteAs to dragging him out the door... the only thing they left out was taping it. Both for legal reasons and for the entertainment of us all, including lamely and sadly the Gruesome Twosome who but a few short months ago were slated for the same treatment by Cauthen but for a few hundred missing/ineligible petitions.
The only sideshow left will be when the Funk and Co start to examine his computer at work (if you can call what he was doing and getting paid for work). Porn, graft or who knows what else they might find. For the sake of us, I hope that all Cauthen is/was is a putrid butthead and that he doesn't have porn on his computer and he didn't steal or knowingly allow himself or his subordinates to steal.
Cauthen moved $250 thousand from Parks and Rec to save Thalia Cherry's job when she failed to locate funding for the youth program that she oversees. Cauthen also moved money to keep AIM4@PEACE, the antiviolence prpgram that is being poorly ran by Tracie Mclendon Cole. He hired former Councilman Chuck Eddy and Former staffer for Terry Riley and Claire McCaskill, Kimiko Gilmore at a time when the city was laying off hundreds of employees. The councilmembers who voted him out were simply fed up. They fired Cauthen because they hated him, not because they love Funkhouser. If they had their way he'd follow Cauthen out the door.
ReplyDeleteInteresting, no one was concerned the way department directors were fired and escorted out by Wayne.
ReplyDeleteFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov. 12, 2003
City manager announces personnel changes
City Manager Wayne Cauthen announced today some senior staff personnel changes. Cauthen said, “I am exercising my right as city manager under the City Charter and City ordinances to make the changes.”
Stanley Barrett will no longer hold the position of director of the Housing and Community Development Department. Barrett has the option of asking to be reassigned to another position. Cauthen appointed DeBorah Williams as acting director of the department. Williams currently serves the department as lending program manager.
Larry Frevert will no longer serve as acting director of the Public Works Department. Frevert has the option of asking to be reassigned to another position. Cauthen has appointed Stanley Harris as acting director of the department. Harris currently serves the department as city engineer.
John Thigpen will no longer serve as director of the Human Resources Department. Thigpen has the option of asking to be reassigned to another position. Cauthen appointed Gary O’Bannon as acting director of the Human Resources Department. O’Bannon currently serves the department as deputy director.
Russ Widmar will no longer serve as director of the Aviation Department. Because the director’s position is the only position Widmar has held with the City, he does not have the option of asking to be reassigned to another position. Cauthen appointed Phil Brown to serve as acting director of the department. Brown currently serves the department as deputy director of operations and maintenance.
Cauthen said, “The senior staff members that I have appointed to serve as acting directors of these departments will keep things running smoothly to ensure a seamless transition. It is now time to move forward and look to the future as we work to improve city government.”
THANK YOU PUCK!!!!! We who know the truth love you!!!!!!!! BTW, Steve Glorioso, lame attempt, you need to retire.
ReplyDeleteAnon 7:16... excellent point. Had forgotten that moment in time when Wayne treated the directors he canned horribly. Stan Barrett found out he was being fired by Dave Helling!
ReplyDeleteTo Funk is Next... the Parks and Rec money Wayne tried to steal is a good point and indicative of the way he did business at City Hall. Good riddance to bad garbage!
ReplyDeleteWe know about you FUNKY.
ReplyDelete