Up before dawn with nothing else to do, I've read the entire 196 pages of the deposition given by former Funkhouser Chief of Staff Ed Wolf in the "Mammygate" lawsuit.
Like I said - a glutton for punishment.
But I'm also fascinated by the goings-on at KCMO's City Hall. Having worked there a hundred years ago, I have been both entertained and appalled by the goings-on since the Funkhousers (deliberate plural) have taken office.
Some observations from my reading:
* Wolf seems only peripherally involved in the day-to-day workings of the office. Lot's of "I didn't know about that" kinds of responses. Even though he states he thought Gloria was a cause of tension in the office, he never spoke to the mayor about it. And, I repeat, he was the Chief of Staff. In title, anyway.
* More: In his deposition, he says he was "stunned" when the Bates allegations came out, that he "did not realize that this kind of communication or tension existed" in the office.
* Apparently, no one expressed their concerns about his wife to the mayor. Not until Joe Miller spoke truth to power and said it out loud: "that Gloria should not be at the office." Miller resigned shortly thereafter.
* Big Brother is alive and well at City Hall. Wolf asked for City phone records to see if Ruth Bates was calling Shawn Pierce. He got the records (which, of course, since it's a piece of City equipment, Wolf's entitled to do.) There were no such calls.
* From his description, the mayor's office sounds like a hellhole for employees. No wonder so many have left...or been driven to tears.
* And, from his description, the mayor is someone who's driven away his best friends and supporters.
What can we next expect? Well, there's the Wall Street Journal article on this whole mess. And, of course, still more depositions.
I'm most looking forward to Joe Miller's....
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