OZARK, MO — If you weren’t at Ozark City Hall last night, you missed a good puppet show.
The Puppet Mayor Don Currence paced back and forth, as the City Aldermen waited. The official city meeting was supposed to start minutes ago. But the Puppet Mayor’s Puppet Handler wasn’t there to pull the strings. Whatever would the Puppet Mayor do?
Finally, 20 minutes AFTER the meeting was supposed to start, the Puppet Mayor got the Puppet Handler on a Zoom call. The image of the Puppet Handler looked less than well. Obviously, the Puppet Handler wasn’t feeling up the job. He was supposed to back up the mayor and make everyone want to appoint the mayor’s new crony to the Board of Aldermen.
Awkward.
Only two aldermen stuck to their guns and voted against the puppet and puppeteer. The others wanted to keep the peace, and shrug off any concerns voiced by the other two. One of the opponents to the puppet show, Cousin Eddie, shook his head in disbelief.
“Can you believe this?” he said to a pack of reporters after the puppet show. “They get this guy in, just like that, without regard to the city ordinance that calls for a consensus.”
Camera’s flashed and popped as Puppet Mayor Don Currence ducked outside, holding a hand up to shield himself from the cameras.
What happened and what it means
To sum things up, Mayor Don Currence wanted to appoint Chris Aiken to the Board of Aldermen to fill the vacancy left when RJ Flores moved out of Ward 1 on the south side.
He couldn’t get that done without Bruce Galloway, who showed up on screen late to make the motion to appoint Chris Aiken, an assistant county prosecutor, to the city aldermen without the wishes of the people.
Galloway was out sick, and the quorum was already in place at council chambers for the vote. But the Mayor wanted Galloway there. He didn’t want to lose his favorite pick, despite the fact that Ron White was already interviewed, a qualified alderman candidate without the baggage Aiken has.
The mayor made an arbitrary decision to postpone calling the meeting to order as posted on the agenda without the consent of the Board.
Before calling the meeting to order, Puppet Don made an informal comment that Bruce Galloway would not be in attendance. He continued to postpone calling the meeting to order and paced back and forth.
Apparently, Mayor Don began to second guess the ramifications of having a meeting to vote on his appointee without Galloway to back him up.
The Puppet Mayor began making attempts to contact Galloway and, low and behold, 20 minutes after the meeting should have begun, guess who joined them on a zoom screen?
Galloway didn’t look or sound well at all. (Looked like a certain presidential candidate in a recent debate!)
Opponents to the appointment maintain that because Aiken is an assistant county prosecutor, his dealings on the city (which contracts with the county for legal cases) would be murky and feel like a conflict of interest. Additionally, Aiken has never voted in Ozark. He’s a newbie to the area. Furthermore, Aiken lives in an area the mayor is trying to develop against the wishes of several aldermen.
It’s a great divide. It’s a conflict of interest. It’s a dirty shame.
Ozark voters, wake up and watch council meetings, go to them. Voice your opinions. It’s your city! Don’t let the Puppet Mayor Don Currence and his Puppet Handler Bruce Galloway run the show.
Ron White is a qualified patriot. He interviewed for the alderman ward 1 position. Why not him? Why a controversial figure? Why another buddy of the mayor?
Next April, please vote Don Currence out, if he has the guts to run for re-election. Thank you, Cousin Eddie Campbell and David Snider, for having the courage to vote your conscience against this sham appointment.
Shame on Jean Ann Hutchinson for going with the flow and trying to bring unity after listening to the city attorney’s drivel. Bruce Galloway, Jim Metcalf, and Jean Ann Hutchinson should be held accountable by voters and not get re-elected. They aren’t helping the city at all.