Kansas City, Mo., Mayor Sues After His Wife is Banned from City Hall

A couple of months ago, the Kansas City, Mo., city council effectively banned the mayor's wife from city hall. This month, Mayor Mark Funkhouser sued, contending that shutting the doors of city hall to his spouse violates state law and the city charter.

It is only the latest litigation over his wife of 29 years and and chief adviser, Gloria Squitiro, who has been unusually central both to his campaign for the office and to his work as the city's mayor, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Earlier, "the Funk," Squitiro and the city were sued over discriminatory remarks that she allegedly made to a municipal employee while working as a volunteer at city hall. Both she and the mayor denied that she did anything wrong, but her insurer settled the claim last week for $45,000, the newspaper reports.

Meanwhile, in response to the lawsuit, the council enacted a new ordinance. It prohibits elected officials from having relatives regularly work as volunteers in their offices, which effectively eliminated Squitiro from the mayor's office.