Mistrust pushes Knudtson, Purcell to silence

Mistrust over secret recordings made by Cape Girardeau County 2nd District Commissioner Jay Purcell has prompted Cape Girardeau's mayor to say he will never talk to the incumbent again.

Purcell and Knudtson both acknowledge the lack of communication has little consequence as Knudtson meets often with Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones on overlapping issues. But the mayor's words highlight a growing divide between two of the county's most outspoken politicians, both of whom have been elected to represent residents of Cape Girardeau.

Purcell, a Republican, is seeking his second term as commissioner. He is opposed by independent candidate Rock Finch.

"If in fact Jay Purcell is successful in being elected for another four years, Cape Girardeau's representative on the county commission is rendered useless because this mayor will never talk to him again and no elected official in their right mind will ever speak to him again, especially if they can't speak candidly without fear of being recorded and on the nightly news and in the newspaper," Knudtson said.

Knudtson is opposing Purcell because of the secret recordings and because he believes the disruption Purcell is causing in county government is misdirected and immature.

But it also raises the question of how county officials communicate with leaders of the county's largest city. The 2nd District commission seat represents most of the residents who live within Cape Girardeau city limits.

Purcell and Knudtson never had a friendly relationship, a frostiness that extends back to when Purcell sat on the Cape Girardeau City Council and Knudtson was elected mayor, Knudtson said.

"I have never asked Jay Purcell for anything in my life," Knudtson said. "I don't anticipate ever asking him for anything. My meetings and interactions with Jay Purcell from our time on the council were limited to meetings that had to occur because they were meetings he was in at that particular time."

Purcell said he and Knudtson have never spoken more than three or four times a year since he was elected to county office in 2004. Knudtson has appeared to favor speaking with Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones, Purcell said. The lack of a relationship won't hurt the city's interests.

"I am going to concentrate on fair and open government like I have been," Purcell said. "What Mayor Knudtson may choose to do is his own business."

Knudtson and Jones have lunch at least once a month to discuss issues requiring cooperation between the city and county, Jones said.

"We've been doing this for years," Jones said. "We just try to make sure that we know what one another is doing and we don't do something that might adversely affect the other. It makes for a lot better cooperation than to have to hear about it somewhere else."

Examples of city-county cooperation that required finesse and trust include the tax incentives for Kohl's, Sears and NARS to locate in Cape Girardeau, Jones said.

Currently, the city and county are trying to work out their differences on the bills for overhauling the heating and air conditioning in the Common Pleas Courthouse. The city owns the courthouse; the county rents it from the city for a nominal fee. The heating and cooling system overhaul was funded in part by a grant, but additional costs must be covered. The issue is how to divide the expense.

"There are a lot of things you have got to do to work together," Jones said.

But having a strong relationship with the 2nd District commissioner would help by increasing the communication between both governments on mutual issues, Knudtson said.

"Common sense will tell you that people that have good relationships have a more likely chance of achieving success than those who don't," Knudtson said.

His professional relationship with Jones works because it is based on trust grounded in experiences that show the trust is well placed, Knudtson said. "He has been forthright with me and always in an honest and honorable fashion as he has represented the county."

The communication issues created by the bad atmosphere in the county commission doesn't stop with the county's relationship with city leaders, Jones said. Within county government, he said, Purcell isn't trusted.

"He has disrupted so much it is unbelievable," Jones said. "No other officeholder wants him around. I have never called him. I only talk to him when I have to."

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126

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