Flashback to 2015: Joplin City Council applicant Mike Seibert votes to use taxpayer money to pay disgraced Councilman Mike Woolston's legal fees

When former Joplin tornado mayor Mike Woolston resigned from the City Council in disgrace in 2015 just before a censure hearing that likely would have led to his removal from the council, three council members voted to use taxpayer money to pay for most of Woolston's legal fees, which amounted to $71,000.

One of those council members, Ryan Stanley, is still serving. Another, Miranda Lewis, chose not to seek re-election.

The third, former Mayor Michael Seibert, is hoping to return to the council Monday night when a replacement for Jim West is appointed.

The vote to pay for Woolston's expenses was not the only questionable thing about the way the councilman departed.

The 5-3 vote that led to Woolston's removal took place in an illegal meeting, conducted over the telephone by City Attorney Peter Edwards, without posting any notices that a meeting was going to be held.







While it has never been proven that Woolston committed any crimes during his tenure as a Joplin city official, Edwards had prepared a case against him that showed he was guilty of one conflict of interest after another. Woolston himself acknowleged at one point earlier that the FBI was investigating him.

Despite this, Seibert was one of the main proponents of Woolston's exit deal, which gave him a free pass on anything he had done while in office, including saying he did not do many things that the evidence clearly indicated he had done.

From the official statement:

The parties have determined that Mr. Woolston did not benefit financially on any real estate transactions between the City or the Joplin Redevelopment Corporation and Four State Homes or other sellers, and that Mr. Woolston was not involved in the purchase of properties by the Joplin Redevelopment Corporation. The parties have further determined that Mr. Woolston did not use inappropriately any non-public information or the prestige of his office to benefit himself or any of his business associates or affiliates. Mr. Woolston was not and is not involved with the Wallace Bajjali development firm. Mr. Woolston was not and is not involved as an officer or an owner with the Hope Valley or South Main TIF projects. 

The parties have agreed that Mr. Woolston could have done more to make transparent his relationships with these other business entities and endeavors and that this added transparency might have helped avoid an appearance of conflicts of interest. Mr. Woolston regrets that these appearances have persisted and apologizes for the perceived lack of transparency.
Seibert, Lewis, former city council member Morris Glaze and current council members Stanley and Gary Shaw approved Woolston's exit deal with current councilwoman Melodee Colbert Kean and former council members Bill Scearce and Ben Rosenberg voting against it.

The statement absolving Woolston of all crimes was written by Woolston's attorney.

Seibert said the agreement allowing the city to "heal and move forward."

During that same meeting, Shaw who is now the city's mayor, made the strongest statement, saying that the Loraine Report and the state audit of the City of Joplin, both of which had made Woolston look bad, were just "opinions."

Seibert said, "The city had a very strong case, but we never did get to hear Mr. Woolston's side."

And whose fault was that?

The documents that made up the city's case, most of which came from the Loraine Report and the state audit, were revealed to the public through a Sunshine Law request made by KOAM investigative reporter Jordan Aubey.

If the hearing had been held, Woolston's dealing with Texas con artist David Wallace and his firm, Wallace Bajjali, would have been examined, according to the evidence Edwards had compiled.

That was something Mike Seibert was happy to avoid due to the role he played in bringing the firm to Joplin.