An Ugly, Behind-the-Scenes Look at Willard’s Elected Government

Encapsulated in an email thread

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The email thread below illustrates how poorly things are going between some of Willard’s elected officials.

The February 13th meeting of the Board of Aldermen was cancelled due to not having a quorum, that is, not having the minimum number of aldermen necessary to conduct official business. The emails below are in reference to a meeting scheduled for tonight, Monday, February 27th.

NOTE: HMFIC stands for “Head Motherfucker in Charge”

The board has been without a sixth alderman since June due to the unwillingness of the board and the mayor to come to an agreement over who to appoint to fill the vacancy — the mayor recommended a candidate that the board took no action on; the board suggested a candidate that the mayor chose not to recommend for a vote. The mayor is required under Missouri statute to fill the vacancy with “the advice and consent of…the board.” As the email thread demonstrates, being without a sixth alderman makes absences much more challenging to work around.

As far as I understand it, Alderman Hendrickson is correct in saying they would have enough board members this evening to pass resolutions but not ordinances (laws), while the mayor is correct in saying they do not have a quorum [post-publication correction: according to City Attorney Ken Reynolds, the board cannot begin a meeting with only three aldermen; it requires a quorum of at least four].

But does that really matter at this point when the dysfunction between some of these elected officials is so strikingly apparent?

License credit to Sona Navasardyan

Several of the board members — as evident from past conversations, Facebook posts, meetings, and this email — feel the current mayor is mainly oriented toward a political career, which they seem to believe is the most grievous of possible sins. His prior spotty attendance record while alderman is often brought up as well, particularly by Alderman Hendrickson. The mayor’s inexperience when compared to Alderman Hendrickson is also evident at times.

On the other hand, Alderman Hendrickson (Willard’s former mayor) is still under investigation for allegedly embezzling from his former employer. He also, from my observation, wasn’t living in his ward at least some of the time since being elected in April of 2022. And the person he appeared to be living with outside his ward is now running for mayor against incumbent Mayor Snider.

This email thread quickly takes a very serious turn. My only advice for those reading the emails below would be to notice who is, and who is not trying to be helpful. Hint: The former are both leaving in April.

NOTE: HMFIC stands for “Head Motherfucker in Charge”

Addendum

The last few emails above were each sent before noon on Monday. I waited until late afternoon to see if Mayor Snider would respond to Alderman Hendrickson or Alderman Baird. I thought it best to give the mayor the opportunity to respond before publishing this article. He hadn’t done so as of 4:45 p.m. on Monday.

A Monday Night Update

Though the mayor and three alderman were present and ready to begin the planned meeting at 7 p.m., City Attorney Ken Reynolds advised the board that they could not start the meeting with only three aldermen; it requires a quorum of at least four.