Confusion reigns in settlement

? Embattled Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser on Friday agreed to settle his portion of one lawsuit but may have opened himself up to a new one.

Funkhouser said he would pay $30,000 to former aide Ruth Bates, who has claimed the mayor and his wife created a hostile work environment. The settlement also offers Bates a new job with the city.

But in announcing the settlement, Funkhouser publicly questioned Bates’ motives — leading her attorney to threaten the consummation of the settlement and suggest her client’s case against the mayor isn’t over.

“We intend to bring another action because of his comments,” attorney Lynne Bratcher said, characterizing the comments as “false and malicious.”

Couple ‘victimized’

In a news release Friday morning, Funkhouser continued to deny that his wife had made any racially insensitive comments and said the couple had been “victimized” by Bates, whose claims he said stemmed from a failed attempt to borrow $5,000 from his wife, Gloria Squitiro.

“We did not lend her the money. A couple of months later, Ms. Bates filed her baseless lawsuit against my wife and me. The timing of these events is a remarkable coincidence,” Funkhouser said in the release, characterizing the case as one “about vindictiveness and political opportunism.”

During a news conference Friday afternoon, Funk-houser refused to withdraw the comments.

“I’m not worried about slander or a libel lawsuit at all,” Funkhouser said. “I believe that I have been slandered quite a bit for quite a while and I have held my tongue.

“I believe at some point the citizens of Kansas City have a right to hear me explain my side of this.”

Bates sued the mayor, his wife and the city, alleging racial discrimination, harassment and retaliation. Bates has already settled with Squitiro for $45,000, but her lawsuit against the city continues.

Bratcher initially told The Kansas City Star that the deal was off but later said it was “probably” back on after receiving assurances Bates would be offered a job.

Funkhouser’s attorney, Jim Wirken, said the settlement would go forward as both sides had already agreed to it verbally.

Wife’s influence

The back-and-forth adds another level of drama to Funkhouser’s tenure as mayor, which has been rocked by missteps and perceptions that Squitiro — widely seen as a divisive figure at City Hall — has too much influence over his leadership of the city.

Squitiro ran her husband’s campaign for mayor, and after he got elected last year, she took a desk near his office in City Hall. The arrangement ended soon after Bates’ lawsuit accusing Squitiro of making lewd comments around the office and calling the aide, a black woman, “Mammy.”

The city council responded with an anti-nepotism ordinance that bars Squitiro from volunteering in the mayor’s office. Funkhouser vetoed it, and the council overrode the veto. Funkhouser shot back by suing the city, saying the ordinance infringed on his authority.

On Thursday, the council rejected Funkhouser’s request to settle the lawsuit with the former employee after he declined to drop his suit against the city.

After the council passed the ordinance, Funkhouser began conducting a large share of city business from his home, further angering council members.

Funkhouser said Friday that he was settling his portion of the Bates lawsuit to avoid a costlier legal battle.

“I think the charges are baseless,” he said. “I think it’s unfortunate you can make these charges and, basically, get paid. But I accept that’s the way it is. But if we took it to trial it would cost the taxpayers a lot of money.”