St. Louis Post-Dispatch Joe Holleman columnist is reporting online, Nov. 29, 2023, that Maplewood’s search for a new city manager is being kept under wraps, with no evidence of an exhaustive search, or of a large field of candidates.
Not long after Nikylan Knapper was elected mayor, in 2021, Michael Reese was chosen to be city manager following a 20-month search. Reese left the city in September 2022. Reese and no one from the city will say (or respond) if he resigned or was fired.
Holleman says he’s been trying to get a response from Knapper and all six city council members for the past three weeks on the subject.
Read Holleman’s article here: Maplewood remains tight-lipped on search for new city manager
See also, from 40 South News:
“Also, vilifying the media for reporting on possible corruption within our government is straight out of the Trump handbook.” ^^^^^ Allll of that. These Knapper sycophants would be setting themselves on fire if an old YT guy was doing this.
Also-it’s so telling that this page and the Maplewood FB page are eliciting mostly negative reactions from the community…but if you stroll over to The MRH Village, you will be deafened by the silence or shocked by the occasional declaration of undying loyalty to our mayor. The MRH Village that boasts “inclusivity” (LMAO) and values “diversity.”
Uh-huh…sure.
And now we find out the city manager was paid 130k to leave quietly according to the STL post dispatch. What on earth?
I too am glad we don’t have transparency in our city government. That way, I cant get upset about cronyism.
That nothing has been said at all from any party on this abrupt resignation/termination is proof positive that there is some type of ongoings here that might not look so great if the citizens of maplewood were totally aware. It’s so easy to provide a statement if there is nothing to hide from (ie retirement, family health situation etc.). The mayor/council should be transparent about whatever has occurred here and the longer they wait, the worse it looks.
I once supported the Mayor but this is cronyism. Where is the transparency for the people? The people of Maplewood deserve better.
I for one am glad that no one on the council is talking….this is a personnel issue and should not be public. Additionally, didn’t we elect these council members to represent us? Let them do their work. They are all very smart people that will make the best decisions for our community. I would much rather have someone that knows our community and has a vested interest in our community as our city manager. It would not be the first time we had a city manager from Maplewood. Better than someone from the other side of the US. Joe Holleman knows all this and is clearly trying to sensationalize the issue for attention.
Disagree, a statement should be made. Why did Michael Reece resign? Why did a close party to the mayor receive the position? All details don’t need to be public, saying nothing doesn’t look good either.
This makes absolutely no sense. The city is using a large chunk of our tax money from an already tight budget to keep someone quiet about the terms of their resignation and you’re ok with that? We deserve to know what’s going on and why this is being handled so poorly.
Also, vilifying the media for reporting on possible corruption within our government is straight out of the Trump handbook.
I disagree, while the public doesn’t always need to know everything. The people of Maplewood deserve transparency in this regard. Why did Reece resign & why again was someone so close to the mayor hired? City Hall appears to be a toxic place environment.
Your comment is nonsensical-it’s about transparency on the PROCESS and not a popularity contest. Trust is earned when transparency and ethical behavior exists. It’s not granted automatically.