KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser vetoed the second ordinance passed by City Council designed to keep his wife out of City Hall, the council failed on Thursday afternoon to override the veto.
Council members passed the revised volunteer ordinance last Thursday. Last month, a judge struck down the first revision of the ordinance, passed earlier this year.
The dramatic battle over the latest incarnation of the ordinance had the council nearly split in half.
The council needed 8 votes to overturn the veto but only managed 5. Those who voted to override the veto were Ed Ford, Melba Curls, Cindy Circo, John Sharp and Terry Riley.
Even after sharply criticizing the mayor, Beth Gottstein was among those who voted to sustain his veto. That's a complete change from her vote last week, in favor of the newly revised ordinance.
The others who voted with Gottstein to sustain the veto are Deb Hermann, Bill Skaggs and Russ Johnson.
Hermann's backing of today's veto contrasts with her support of the first revision of the volunteer ordinance, restricting volunteer family members, which the council passed last year.
Sharon Sanders-Brooks abstained from the vote. Cathy Jolly and Jan Marcason were not at Thursday's meeting.
Failure to override the veto means the mayor's wife, Gloria Squitiro, could return to volunteer in his office on an unlimited basis. She would only be required to undergo training to be in compliance with the volunteer ordinance currently in effect.
Funkhouser had previously vetoed the first revision of the ordinance, but city statute allows the City Council to override a mayoral veto, which is what they did.
This whole process began when a lawsuit, settled out of court last month for $550,000 was filed by former city staffer Ruth Bates, who claimed the mayor's wife used discriminatory terms like "Mammy" to address her.
