Thoughts on the Cauthen Interview
Thursday, February 19th, 2009
City buses plowed through the white blankets thrown over the streets by a suspicious morning snow. Defying predictions, the front lasted into the afternoon and held on overnight, dumping several inches of temporary purity onto the downtown area. By morning, salt spread by street crews along with thick bus wheels had turned the fresh white layer into narrow canals standing in the gutters. This is how I found 12th Street in mid-January when I interviewed City Manager Wayne Cauthen for the story in which he was named Urban Times Person of the Year.
Aside from the sitting mayor, Cauthen is probably the most contentious official in city government, but the controversy has been an aura or mystique moreso than reality. His detractors tend to be faceless, fearful, and willing to make charges that cast filthy soot over the city the same color as day-old snow coughed on by car exhaust.
Cauthen was already silhouetted in an office window, posing for photographer Phil Peterson, when I made my way up to his office. The city was recovering from a soft snow that was unrelenting and gradually ground the city to a near halt. I parked in a cold garage and trudged through a crosswalk through security up to the council level of City Hall.
Behind Cauthen and in the shot was the Sprint Center rooftop and the Power & Light District buildings still white at the edges. He spoke seldom and in a hushed voice when he did. He wore the familiar stern look, but he was cordial. From the windows, the shoot moved to his desk, and he sat with his hands crossed while Phil shot his reflection in the glass top.
Then, with the photos done, he directed us to a long desk the city communications officer, Mary Charles, joined us. He told us he’d participated in two interviews already that week: one with The Pitch just before we walked in, and another the day before with The Kansas City Star. His face broke from stone cold into a broad smile once my questions moved from the basic – about his path from Denver to Kansas City – to his life downtown. Early on, he was made a hero when an attempted outster by an unpopular mayor failed, then a year later, became the apparent villian with the city facing budget shortfall and the council and the general public demanding improvements in city services. And during the interview, I began to form my own opinions about a man who has been thrust in and out of the limelight in the last few years:
Wayne Cauthen is a man who has no apologies for who he is or what he believes. The City Manager’s role is a job to him – a public one, for certain – and yet it is also a lifestyle he has chosen to lead. In 2003, he was hired by Mayor Kay Barnes. He moved into a loft in the Library District to observe the city from the inside out and, at that time, to gauge the buy in on its eventual turnaround. Since then, he’s been taken by the city’s history and involved with the area’s youth. He imparts wisdom in a fatherly way, and he can talk as though he cares as you, a complete stranger, and he does it with a sincerity that is more than believable – it is actual.
I could also see how his straightforward approach could seem condescending to some. Directness always has a tendency to be misinterpreted. And he can easily keep the emotion hidden in his face.
While conducting further research, I determined that there are two kinds of people in Kansas City (minus from the ones oblivious to city government): those who support Cauthen and those who absolutely despise the man, but can’t seem to formulate a rationale argument to condemn his performance in office or criticize his management style. The comments I found posted about him on local blogs were shameful and are so dramatically slanted opposite him, that they couldn’t be interpreted as anything more than slander. Of course, there were the usual anonymous racist remarks. But nothing substantiated with facts or … information. I was also disenfranchised with local news coverage, which seemed to put its own angle on stories involving the City Manager. I found many suggestions as to why its reporters and opinion columnists might have those viewpoints, but those, too, were unsubstantiated guesses.
Cauthen’s real story hadn’t been told. My piece was a shot at telling it and while I think it works in its own way – as a piece that presents a level-headed view of the man – the article is still intended to laud him, so it would be possible for another thoughtful reporter to come along and attempt an even a clearer vision of the man at some point. For now, my story will hopefullly stand as a fair take. My hope is that it has worked to move some people to finally decide about the man, and at least consider the issues from his perspective.
The city buses running in the snow storm were an affirmation that the city could function well even in unrelenting weather conditions. Keeping the service online means breaking up the beauty and the stillness that follows a new snow. Likewise, roles in public positions are seldom left untarnished, either by the people in office or by the few detractors who want the good ones to resemble the worst kind. But the people in those roles have to push on and making a living for themselves, hopefully in the purest ways possible.
