By DAVID MARTIN
Mark Funkhouser's experience can be a burden. His 18 years as a tough-minded city auditor make it difficult for him, as mayor, to get away with nonsense.
A recent newsletter appearing on Funkhouser's blog makes the latest point. Embattled first lady Gloria Squitiro closes the newsletter with a "personal note," informing readers that the mayor's office received approximately 80 e-mails in response to the ordinance, directed at her, prohibiting elected officials' family members from volunteering at City Hall.
For Squitiro, the quantity of e-mails "speaks to to the fact that the 'volunteer' situation within the Mayor’s office was a non-issue to our residents." At the same time, Squitiro took comfort that 80 percent of the e-mails supported the mayor's "choices." (Funkhouser threatened a lawsuit after his veto of the ordinance was overridden.)
Squitiro goes on to quote from one such morale-boosting e-mail: "Please believe me when I say there are many Kansas Citians like myself who are thankful that you are leading the city. Stay strong and thanks for standing up against the bullying you have been encountering."
Politicians often cite the calls, letters and e-mails they receive. The problem for Funkhouser is that he's always searched for better data.
As auditor, Funkhouser reported the results of citizen surveys. The surveys asked residents how they felt about streets, public safety, parks and the overall quality of life in Kansas City. In presenting the results of a phone survey of 1,210 households in 2004, Funkhouser emphasized the importance of "accessible and reliable information about government performance."
Funkhouser continues to prize the information. (The city hires an Olathe company, ETC Institute, to conduct the surveys.) As mayor, he has made improving citizen-satisfaction scores a priority.
And yet, here's his wife, using to a tiny, highly nonrandom sample to justify his actions.
Funkhouser the auditor would likely call 80 e-mails flimsy evidence. Presenting the citizen survey results in 2005, he noted the change from a phone to mail survey. Funkhouser wrote that the 3,800 responses could represent "the views of people who chose to respond" and "may not be representative of the overall view of citizens."
Kind of like the folks who wrote to Squitiro, encouraging her to keep her chin up.
Damn, 80 comments? Don't you wish The Plog got that?!?! Do you think if you got rid of your own Squit-Funk, you might hit those sorts of numbers? Can you do a poll? Override a veto?
Posted at: October 9, 2008 11:06 AM