Ken Waller has been county executive for eight years – the first eight years of Jefferson County’s home rule, or charter, form of government, which voters approved in 2008 and which fully took effect in 2011.
In the midst of what seemed to be nearly constant conflict with the Jefferson County Council, Waller, 57, a Republican, decided in mid-2017 not to run for a third four-year term as county executive. He eventually opted to run for county clerk, a position he won against Democrat Randy Holman, whom he defeated for county executive in 2010 and whom he appointed to fill a vacancy for county clerk.
With days left to go in Waller’s administration, the Leader’s Steve Taylor sat down with him and talked about his time as the county’s top elected officer.
You’ve been the county executive for nearly eight years. Have you thought about what it’s going to feel like not to be the county executive?
Waller: It will be quite an adjustment, for sure. It’s kind of a 24/7 kind of a job, and every job I’ve ever had I’ve put 100 percent of what I have into it. It will be an adjustment both physically and mentally.
Do you think moving down the hall (in the Jefferson County Administration Center) will make it easier?
Waller: On the last day of the year, I plan to have a videotape made of me walking, what is it, 20 steps, down the hall. I’ll close the door of my old office and leave it behind and walk down the hall and open the door to my new office. I don’t know that I’m going to put the video on Facebook Live or anything, but I want it to symbolize that as one door closes, another one opens up. I also want it to remind me how fortunate and thankful I am that I have worked in public service for Jefferson County and will continue to do so.
What letter grade would you give your tenure as county executive? Why?
Waller: I’d probably give myself a “B.” I think I’ve learned a lot in eight years. Given the ups and downs of setting up a new charter government, working with seven new County Council representatives, that’s a learning experience. But in this job, you’re going to make mistakes from time to time. I would think it would be difficult for any county executive to truly earn an “A.” You’re never going to do everything right in this job. You’ll make mistakes. But I think I have learned from many of my mistakes.
You have been criticized by some for being a “bad” Republican. You hired a Democrat, Steve Stoll, as your first director of administration. You stood up for (Democrat) Jim Kasten when the council would not reappoint him to the Port Authority’s Board of Directors and bucked the council on the PDMP (opioid drug registry).
Waller: I stuck with Dennis Kehm Jr., who is a die-hard Democrat, as my first county counselor.
Right. And you appointed Randy Holman as county clerk when it would have been easier to go with someone who might have been less electable. How would you answer the accusation that you’re a “bad” Republican?
Waller: I’d rather be labeled a bad Republican than have people think that I’m a strict partisan to my party and in the end, didn’t do the right thing for the county. It seems like partisan politics rules not only in Washington, D.C., but in Jefferson City, too. It doesn’t matter what side of the aisle you’re on, you’re expected to stay with your party no matter what. I think that’s unfair in so many ways. When I made the decision to hire Steve Stoll, support the PDMP and bring Randy Holman in as county clerk, I felt I was doing what was in the best interest of the county, not necessarily the best interest of my party. If I had to do it all over again, I would do the same things.
You have said you came in with a list of goals to accomplish while you were in office. How much of that did you accomplish and what are the highlights?
Waller: When I considered running for office, I came up with a list of capital improvements that I thought the county needed, and I tried to accomplish them one by one. With the exception of one, I did all of them without leaving the county in debt. We now have a new emergency management center in Herculaneum, two new fleet service buildings in Hillsboro, and we’ve bought the building and started the planning on a new animal control facility in House Springs. I wish that could have been completed on my watch, but we’ve laid the groundwork. This will be a facility that all of Jefferson County will be proud of.
I’ve done my best during my eight years to reward the county’s employees, some of the best employees you’ll ever find anywhere. Most of our employees have received raises or cost-of-living increases of 20 percent over my administration, and they have better insurance benefits as well. I’m proud of that.
What is your assessment of the people you have hired to work immediately under you? A few who come to mind are Steve Stoll, Wes Yates, David Courtway, Warren Robinson, Jason Jonas and Eric Larson.
Waller: You are only as good as the people you hire. I’ve always believed that you hire good people, you let them do their jobs without micromanaging and let them know that when the tough times come, you’ll have their backs. I think I have a record of hiring the very best, the most qualified people available. No one can accuse me of running a patronage system. I’m thankful for the people who have worked for me, and I’m very proud that they know that I have had their backs.
What item or items on your list are you leaving unaccomplished?
Waller: The biggest task of all on my list of what I wanted to get done – a new, state-of-the-art courthouse and jail. I knew that that’s a big item, and while it would have been nice to have checked that off my list, it would not have been financially responsible to commit the county to a lot of debt. It will have to be done in the future.
As the county executive, you are Jefferson County’s primary economic development officer. How have you done in that regard?
Waller: I think this was an area that I could have improved upon. When I took office, the economy was just beginning to recover from the 2008 collapse, or whatever it was called. There are just so many factors when it comes to a company deciding whether to locate in your county, what they’re asking for, that are out of your control. But I do believe that the county is poised and ready for economic development, and I see signs of that, particularly in some areas of the county. Dennis Gannon (the new county executive), with his business background, might be the person who can do a lot in economic development. I know I’ll be rooting for him hard.
As the first county executive under the new charter form of government, you and the County Council had to establish a new way of doing county government business. What unforeseen problems came up in those first few years and how did you address them?
Waller: I think the biggest unforeseen problem was distinguishing the powers of each branch of the government. The executive branch needs to be the executive branch and perform executive duties and responsibilities, and the legislative branch – the County Council – needs to do the legislative work of the county. It’s been hard for all of us to get our heads around that.
For years, the County Commission did both functions. The framers of the charter clearly wanted a separation, but there hasn’t always been agreement on how to separate those functions. There have definitely been times where the executive branch may have been more involved in the legislative side than we needed to be, and there have been many times when the legislative side has tried to take executive responsibilities and duties.
Our charter government will work best when the executive branch and the legislative branch do their respective jobs.
I’ve been told that the framers of the charter fashioned it as a “weak county executive” form of government. Do you agree? How has that limited you and what might be done in the future to fix that?
Waller: I believe that some executive powers were watered down to some degree, but I guess the charter framers had a good reason to do so, or they wouldn’t have done it that way. Knowing that, I had to do my job as it was laid out to the best of my abilities.
What would I change? Well, in the budget process, I believe the county executive should have the power to have a line-item veto, rather than have to accept or reject an entire budget.
The other area that comes to mind is that the county executive should be able to break a tie of the council when it comes to an ordinance. The charter only allows the executive to break a tie in the case of a resolution. Nearly all other government bodies – local, state, federal – have something like that in place.
Adding your name to the so-called pay lawsuit (brought by a group of former and current officeholders to determine whether they have been underpaid under the charter): Why did you do that and in retrospect, do you regret it?
Waller: I’ll answer the second part first. In retrospect, it was a bad decision that I’ll have to live with the rest of my life. But when the suit first came up, it was considered a ‘friendly’ suit that was brought to clarify a part of the charter that is unclear. It should have been decided in weeks, or maybe a couple of months. Not years. It obviously has turned into something much bigger. I had wished that the suit was something that we could have cleared up before a new county executive comes on board, but it was not meant to be.
Note: Waller eventually withdrew from the lawsuit.
What do you think is the underlying cause for the rift between you and the County Council? Given the luxury of hindsight, is there something you could have done to head that off?
Waller: Given that this was a new form of government and that adjustments had to be made as we went along, there were inevitably going to be issues and disputes that would arise from time to time, especially in the early years. Understandably, our roles as the executive branch and the legislative branch would have disagreements occasionally.
Of the original County Council, only two members – Cliff Lane and Kelly Waymon – had any kind of previous experience serving on any kind of board, and I certainly didn’t have experience running a government body, either.
I didn’t always disagree with all council members on issues, but dealing with the leadership of the council over the last few years has been somewhat difficult. If I could pinpoint one area that led to a lot of dissension between myself and the council, it would have been lack of communication between us. I would say that I have been as guilty in that area as they have been.
Would you characterize that rift as being more personality driven or more policy driven?
Waller: The majority of it – not all, but most of it – has been personality driven, I’d say. I think that politically and philosophically, most of us have similar mindsets. But personalities in any relationship – business or otherwise – can and do differ. It’s how you deal with those differences that is important. We haven’t always done the best job at that.
How would you answer people who, noting that rift, say that the county’s change to a charter form of government is a failed experiment?
Waller: I don’t think you can take an eight-year sample in any situation – government or otherwise – and make a broad statement that something worked or didn’t work. In this case, implementing a brand-new form of government, you have to give that at least 10 to 15 years to let it run and then see what adjustments need to be made. But charter government is here to stay.
What adjustments do you think should be made?
Waller: I think an amendment needs to be made to the charter to institute term limits for the county executive and County Council. I’ve said this since
Day 1 – actually, before, since I said it during the 2010 election. Every governing body needs new and fresh ideas and philosophies.
As you consider the last eight years, do you have anything you’d like a do-over for?
Waller: Well, we talked earlier about the pay lawsuit, and I wouldn’t do that the same way if I had the chance. But really, the concept of a do-over isn’t real. In real life, you don’t get a chance to do things over. Do I wish my relationship with the County Council would have turned out better? Do I wish that maybe I had communicated better or done or said something differently? Sure, we all have moments in our lifetimes like that. But we don’t get that chance. Once you make a decision, you have to live with that decision – good, bad or indifferent. So no, other than the pay lawsuit, I haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about doing things over, because it won’t happen. That’s life.
Early in your administration, some criticized you as too passive. Over the last couple of years, particularly in your dealings with the council, you have been perceived as too combative. Was this a conscious change and do you feel that it was effective? Do you have any regrets in your dealing with the council?
Waller: Early on, I was probably a little passive in my dealings with the council and with other issues, but that had to do with not having enough experience on the job and that’s basically how my personality was.
After I was re-elected in 2014, I felt I needed to be a little less passive, which I thought would help me to lead better. The problem was the contrast, or maybe the transition. People who thought I was too docile saw me in contrast as too combative. I didn’t see it that way. I felt I needed to be a bit stronger and more sure of myself. I thought I was standing up for what I thought was the right decision or the right thing to do.
What will you miss about being county executive and what will you definitely not miss?
Waller: I will not miss the long hours and time away from my family. I won’t miss lying in bed at night second-guessing a decision I made or how I reacted to a particular situation. Even though I will be down the hallway, not far from my former office, I will miss the day-to-day interaction with my staff. My relationship with all those people will change the day I move down the hall, whether I like it or not. Most work environments are a family and I have had a great family to work with for the past eight years. I won’t be physically far from that family, but I know it won’t be the same. It can’t be.
How would you advise Dennis Gannon as he takes over the office?
Waller: I believe the county electorate made a good choice when they elected him. With his extensive background, in the military and business, I think that he has all he needs to take the county in a great new direction, and I’ll be his biggest fan when he does that. I would tell him to surround himself with good people and let them work and to make decisions that he feels are in the best interest of the county and don’t look back.
As far as his dealings with the council, I would advise him to keep an open mind, and to always keep the lines of communications available. I would tell him not to get overly excited about something good that happens at a meeting or overly discouraged about something that doesn’t go his way or in regards to legislation. To take it, as some say, one day at a time and let your instincts take over. If he can do those things, he’ll do very well.
How do you want Jefferson County residents to remember your legacy?
Waller: Being in a position of leadership in any organization is never easy. A leader will make good decisions a lot of the time and inevitably will make some not-so-good decisions. That comes with any leadership role. For those who really know me as a person, they would tell you that I live in this county and that I have only wanted what’s best for the county. I would hope that my legacy as the first-ever county executive of Jefferson County would be that I worked hard, I did what I thought was best for the county and put the county in a position to succeed even more in the future.
Do you believe that you are leaving the county in better shape than when you were first sworn in as county executive?
Waller: From the time I started work on Jan. 2, 2011, until the day I walk out of the office on the last day of 2018, I sincerely believe that the county is in a better situation now than it was then. The finances of this county are in good shape. We don’t have crippling debt issues, and if future administrations and county councils follow our lead, barring a terrible unforeseen circumstance, we never will. We’ve been able to help our employees to better themselves with higher wages and better benefits. We’ve made major capital improvements without adding to our debt.
Builders and developers are coming back to our county, and houses are being built. Over the last few years, we’ve helped that along by streamlining our planning and zoning and development processes. Our Port Authority is poised to help the county take advantage of a great relatively untapped resource, the Mississippi River, by expanding our recreation and tourism opportunities with the Delta Queen and in the coming years, you’ll see an expansion in commercial shipping operations. The county’s potential is endless.
I am proud to live and to have raised my family in Jefferson County and I believe that the best is still yet to come.