Praise the Lord

This is why I think the charter needs to be redone to do away with the city manager type council and return to a strong mayor type council. We never heard of problems like this when the mayor actually ran things years ago before the charter was changed.

OMG! Can you imagine if Shearin actually had REAL power? Sounds like a Stephen King novel.

There was never any danger Mayor Kenny would run for reelection AS MAYOR after Bill Falkner announced his candidacy. Both of these guys running for mayor would split the Bozo ticket which, from their view, would be a bad thing. Of course, there is the persistent rumor Kenny is planning a run as an at-large councilman.

What I find hilarious is the Mayor unbraiding the City Manger for airing the city’s dirty laundry in public. “Hello pot? This is the skillet calling!!” That Kenny is a hoot! I wonder what color the sky is in his world.

Southside_ citizen,
I agree with you we need to go back to mayor council type goverment.I would say good riddens to the both of them our mayor and our city manager.

if i remenber correctly,we went to a charter and city manager to get away from the good ole boys club. our problem is the pepole we have now serving as mayor and city manager,not the charter.

a city manager is still the best option. cities are a busines and should be overseen by someone who is supposebly neutral in local politics. i myself don't want to see pepole being rewarded with jobs for their connections to city hall.

i myself don't want to see people being rewarded with jobs for their connections to city hall...chara i agree completely..thats how david jones got his all mighty job at heartland..which is the reason i voted against him when Shearin ran..but..who knew his term would be all about fighting like cats and dogs every other day with the city manager..i say start over all brand new with completely new people in our city hall..we can come back together as a city..just need "Grownups" helping to run it..

A simple solution to this feud: a good old-fashioned cage match! Yes, let them at it and sell tickets! It will provide true entertainment and fill the city coffers from the ticket sales. In addition, the revenues will continue to pour in as I'm sure there would be endless rematches. While the rest of the country slides into finanacial chaos, we will be a bright shining light! Really! I wouldn't lie to you!

So let's all pull together and go with St.Joe or some other catchy slogan!

libertarian1955,
I know I do not remember this so I must have been to young to remember but I will take your word for it.I cannot argue against it. I would say if he lived in Wathena I bet the people of St Joesph was pretty upset about that.

I would agree they are acting like children in our great city hall. But I must admit I would vote for Ken before that pompous city manager. How did he get his job anyway *Vince* and how do we get him out of his position? Can that be on the next ballot?

Vince is way out of line its time this stopped. What kind of job can you bad mouth your boss and get away with it. This is embassasing. Vince needs to get fired. If he has a problem the radio isnt the right place to air your dirty laundry. City council this needs to be taken care of.

V.C. came across as articulate, intelligent, and well-reasoned on Barry's show. For Mayor Ken to call his performance an "uncontrolled and unsubstantiated rant" is laughable. I'd hate to see where this city would be today if Vince Capell wasn't working for us.

A very wise person once said, it is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

I have no doubts about either of these two, and I want to thank them both for clarifying that.

It would be interesting to see if mayor Ken runs again, but I think that he would not want to be humiliated when the ballot counts are released and he has exactly three votes.

Example after example of why changes need to be made in the city charter and restore appropriate authority to those elected in supervising the affairs of city government.

The purpose of a city manager is to supervise the day to day functions of the city. It is not a position intended to set policy or otherwise do anything beyond serving in an advisory capacity to those elected in conducting the business of the people. There is no structured environment that permits subordinate individuals to address the public on policy or other subject material matters without prior approval.

It is time for the City Council to conduct the affairs of their elected positions as intended and end the deferring of authority to any non-elected position.

Libertarian, I believe Gordon Wiser lived on South 41st Street, south of Mitchell Avenue. When he filed for bankruptcy, this house was sold at auction, if memory serves. It's a two-story home on the west side of the street.

Henry Allison, I believe the more prevalent rumor is that Kenny will run against Joyce Starr in her council district. He has changed his voting address from the Bartlett Park area where he lives to his downtown office. That puts him in Joyce's district.

it is just as much of a violation for the CM to criticize his council in public as it was for the mayor to have made some of his own legendary comments. these two should stop this. if you ever take the time to go downtown and peruse the email communications you would see that VC needles the mayor constantly.

it is outrageous that the CM called for the mayor to resign, and even more outrageous that he invoked the city charter when he himself is also in direct violation of its directives.

they are both equally culpable and should knock this off. ENOUGH ALREADY.

if i didn't want to see this city dragged through the mud i would be sorely tempted to put this garbage on youtube. for sure it would go viral.

Mr. Falcon,

I heard that rumor too, months ago now, but I put even less faith in it than the other. While it would certainly be satisfying personally for Kenny to defeat Joyce in her own house, I’m sure even Ken, with his limited vision and intellect, can see what a tough row that would be to hoe. Having said that, I hope Ken does run against Joyce. She would punch his ticket and we would be done with the Kenster.

This mayor and city council has done absolutely nothing positive for this community since elected. The only sound and reasonable voices on the council are Robger Baker, Donna Jean Boyer, Mike Bozark, and Joyce Starr. It is time for the voters to correct the mistakes of the last election. We need people who are interested in the betterment of the city and not those who have their own agenda's of revenge.

This mayor has disrespected city staff and embarrassed the public with his off-the-wall comments and stupidity. His latest comment that he appointed himself chairperson of the council's personnel committee is another display of his personal agenda. Lets wait and see who sides with him,my money is on Barbara LaBass and Bill Falkner.

This mayor will go down in history at the least productive and worst of all time. The thought of Mr. Falkner running for mayor is just as scary as the thought of Mr. Shearin running for re-election. Mr. Falkner too has his own agenda and not the betterment of the community at heart.

I pray that we have good ethical qualified individuals to select from in April.

What are considered grounds for termination of the city manager? Do we even know who is running for mayor next time? Which council members are up for reelection? Who is the assistant city manager, do we have one?
Why can't ken & vince just keep their mouths shut? Is it illegal to tape them with duct tape or would we have to talk to the prosc atty?

If we lived in KC we would all be treated to the Funk's Frontporch antic behavior of Hizzoner Mark Funkhauser and the lovely " mam-e" Gloria Squirito. Give me the childish verbal tussle of Vince and Kenny..their squabbles cost the taxpayer less money and provide some comic relief in an otherwise boring city political scene.
I guess we could take up a contribution and send them to the Dr. Phil house.

If we were to return to a strong mayor governement and he did get out of control, we then could as citizens ask for a recall. The way it stands now, we have a city manager who is way too full of himself and we have council memebers who are either too scared or too uninformed in the processes of removing him from his position. Even though Ken has displayed less than perfect reactions to Capell, I understand his frustrations. I am not sure most of us could completely restrain our frustration with the CM and his elitist attitude. Even if he doesn't really have one, it is perceived as though he does. Unfortunately, public perception carries more weight than whatever the actual case may be.

momof3.... this city holds elections for the full council every four years, so the entire group is up for re-election. strike one against the charter committee for not rectifying this situation in their quest.

there is no assistant city manager.

GO FOR IT KEN ! WE NEED ANOTHER SHAKE -UP...

I honestly don't know which of these two pinheads scares me more, BUT...the bottom line is the city government reflects the voters who put them in. Arrogant? Inept? Petty? Clueless? Look in the mirror, St. Joseph.

70,000 against two is lousy odds. Don't like 'em? Get some real people to run for office and vote the b*******s out. Of course, that requires the people of this town to grow a set and not act like sheep. I'm not holding my breath.

Almost forgot...the only thing Ken Shearin should run for is the state line.

Don't be surprised if Dick Sipe, involved in a lot of community activities, runs for mayor. Dick beat incumbent Tom Archdekin five years ago in the Democratic primary race for eastern county commissioner, then lost to Republican Dan Hausman in the general election. With Bill Falkner in the race, I don't expect any other city council members to run for mayor.

Mr. Falcon,

It seems we’re listening to the same low-level chatter. Like you I strongly suspect Dick will be the GOB candidate for mayor come April.

As I recall, before ever seeking office, KEN SHEARIN was busy trying to give downtown St.J the adrenaline boost it so desperately needed. If there's an elephant in the room, it's the only gray surrounding KEN. He is black or white, no nonsense approach. DrPhil could take lessons from
"TELL IT LIKE IT IS KEN!"

At the very least,
Ken has made some of the sheep, howl like they are wolves.

Going against the grain is not always politically correct but IMO, and Thomas Jeffersons...

"One Man With Courage IS The Majority!"

Ok then people, if going back to a strong mayor type government isn't the answer then what is? I am honestly on the fence. I see it both ways. Having one person in charge would be ideal one would think but having a professional manager sounds good as well. I have had a few experienced politicians from here in town tell me they believe that we are on the right track with the Mayor / CM type of council we have now. Do we just need to draw in the reins of both the Mayor and the CM? Perhaps a coalition of citizens taking up a petition telling both people that they work for us and to get that in their heads or else might be a step in the right direction. I don't know. I am just tired of all this drama. The past two councils have been pretty much a joke with the exception of maybe two or 3 members.

so the old ken vs capell goes on. definitely keep the separation of the two branches....the presidential branch "mayor" needs to be kept disparate from those that actually make the "on the ground decisions". since mayor kenny is supposedly to be a part of the 101st, he should know that the command goes to those that have the most information. kenny keeps on winging it. capell is the person that follows the orders of the charter, but kenny doesn't know what orders to give because he is not a professional at governing a city...I certainly can't run a city either, that is why we hire the experts.

What would the people of saint joseph think of voting for a person for mayor who thought of saint joe as a home, but wasn't from around here? Someone who has good common sense, was from a rural community in southern missouri, hauled and shoveled asphalt, shoveled dirt, ran scrapers to move even more dirt, then got a PhD in science. I've only been here for 6 years, but it seems my city could use an intellegent person to communicate to cappel.

Oh-no. I hope the next mayor is as entertaining as this one. Just kidding!

Who keeps giving me thumbs down and how do you do it. I want to start doing it as well!

So the mayor is like the queen of england, a little pomp and a lot of a$$ and the cm is the prime minister. Who is really in charge?
In the next election we can have a q&a session and quiz them on the city charter. I'll take pay matrix for $500, downtown for $100 or who's the boss for $122,000

Pompous, arrogant, belligerent,rude and obnoxious and listens to no one. These would be great qualities of Capells to get a job at Heartland. He would be a shoe in.

i think its time the public stood up united as "one" strong and ask for vince's resignation its time to rid city hall and this city of this kind of vidictive behavior he displays over city hall and the st. joe citizens he over paid and over bearing he needs instant removal as far as ken goes heck i bet if he did run for re election he would get it hands down then if we went back to the old administration maybe then the city would be taken care of as it should be instead of a bunch of bickering squawking empty promises that we have gotten since capell was appointed to his current position why wont he leave? its simple! why would u leave when the entire city gives him huge raises for doing nothing more than being a unreasonable dictator and causing trouble... get rid of the bad apple .... enuff said

moody, you have to have a professional run the city, not some rube....a masters in business administration should be a requirement for this size of a city....hence the change from a "simple town" mayor based government that occurred over time to a "professional based" city management that occurred as the city grew.

I don't know if kenny has a MBA, but maybe its from one of those online services where you can get a PhD by clicking on the spot with the right money. I don't know. Otherwise, he could be city manager, not someone slapping people in the face with steaks and having other people read for him.