Mayor Nick Guccione has made his position clear -- "I unequivocally endorsed Sonya Shryock for Wentzville's Ward 2 Aldermanic Race." So, does it matter that the other Ward 2 candidate wants Wentzville voters to think differently?
When Larry Tucker resigned as Economic Development
Manager for the City of Wentzville, the Mayor politely sent him the standard farewell
and good luck letter one would expect. That letter resurfaced recently on a political
website for now candidate Larry Tucker which he calls a "letter of
commendation" from the Mayor. Mayor
Nick Guccione has told The New
Wentzvillian that the letter is not an endorsement nor letter of commendation,
but simply a letter of goodbye on Tucker's exit from city employment.
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| Sonya Shryock |
What makes it all the more ridiculous for
Tucker to be using the letter in this way, is that the Mayor is supporting the opponent, Sonya Shryock.
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| Mayor Nick Guccione |
Tucker left his job with the City of Wentzville to take a
job promoting economic development for Lincoln County. Putting the letter on a political website could
fool voters into thinking Tucker has the Mayor's support. Tucker also chose to post city press releases
on official city letterhead and using the city logo which many say violates city rules
against using the logo for political purposes.
What also struck us as strange at The New Wentzvillian
was Tucker appearing to take credit on the web site for every business that
came to Wentzville or job that was created when he worked here. Private industry makes decisions on where
they want to be based on a multitude of factors including location, taxes,
construction costs, work force availability, transportation, where their
customers are, the overall livability of a community, and its political
stability. None of these factors did Mr.
Tucker have any control over.
Taking credit for all the good economic news that has
happened in Wentzville probably helped Mr. Tucker land his job with Lincoln
County, but his career move raises questions about potential conflicts of
interest were he to be elected to the Board of Aldermen. If he were to learn information about a
business or industry wanting to locate in Wentzville, would he try diverting it
to Lincoln County or vice versa?
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| Larry Tucker |
Ex-employees have a long history of trying to get elected
in the jurisdictions of their former employers.
The ex-Fire Chief of the O'Fallon Fire Protection District recently
filed to run for the O'Fallon Fire Protection District Board of Directors. While there may be a strong motivation for
wanting to become the boss of your ex-boss, these situations often lead to
recrimination and hostilities.
In fact, according to State Representative Brian Spencer this has already begun. Spencer tells the New Wentzvillian that when Tucker recently disagreed with Representative Spencer questioning Tucker serving in both Wentzville and Lincoln county simultaneously, Tucker took to contacting other elected officials, resorting to name calling and other anger-motivated tactics. "I was floored," said Spencer.
Ward Two voters are right to have questions about Larry
Tucker's candidacy. Mr. Tucker would do
better to focus on his new job with Lincoln County and move on.