Ever since yesterday when Kevin O’Keefe published his months long report on Springfield Council Woman Kristi Fulnecky’s eligibility to sit on the City Council, a debate has raged on whether or not the City Council should remove her from office. Some feel that Fulnecky is the perfect person to change the political culture within the city and to break the logjam that they believe has ground City business to a halt.

Others see Fulnecky as the antithesis of all things good in the city of Springfield. While the truth may lie somewhere in between, one person was willing to give some insight on the woman who has taken Springfield and Greene County by storm. This person, who works with the Greene County GOP and is a longtime GOP supporter and resident of Springfield, did not want to be named, because they have not been authorized by the County GOP to speak about Mrs. Fulnecky.

YOJ: Thank you for taking the time to talk with me and to help explain who Kristi Fulnecky is.

Green County GOP: Thank you for wanting to know about who she really is. Most people in this town think she either has a halo above her head or horns and a tail.

YOJ: Who is Fulnecky really? What is she like behind the scenes?

GCGOP: That really is a loaded question. Kristi, Councilmember Fulnecky, is an interesting person. I would actually say that she is more of a lighting rod than anything else. What you see in public with the deep divide regarding her is pretty accurate.

YOJ: How do the local GOP members feel about her? Do they love her as much as she makes it out that they do?

GCGOP: [Chuckles] I believe love would be a strong word. Let’s say that they have a love/hate relationship with her. And even then, the county GOP members do not 100% back her. Councilmember Fulnecky just happens to be the best person to advance our agenda with this upcoming city elections. Mayor Stephens handed us the golden goose with this one.

YOJ: So you believe that, what David Cort and others are calling a witch hunt begun by Mayor Stephens, has tilted the scales in local politics towards the GOP?

GCGOP: I would not call it a witch hunt. Let me make something clear right off the bat. Councilmember Fulnecky is the local GOP’s version of Hillary Clinton. She is not loved by anyone, but tolerated because Mayor Stephens made her a martyr. Had he not done what he did, she would not be running for Mayor next year. But she is just as honest, trustworthy and innocent as Secretary Clinton.

YOJ: Wow, that is a whole lot of mines to go through right there. So let’s start out with the tolerate part. What do you mean by she is just tolerated and not loved?

GCGOP: Kristi is not a beloved person around here at all. Just look at any group or organization that she has been involved with and you will see that people loathe her. She is known to be a bully and will throw all sorts of nasty vitriol at anyone who dares to challenge her. She is, more or less, a teflon don in that, although she has many enemies in this city and many skeletons in her closet, she keeps coming out smelling like a rose. Mayor Stephens is just the latest person to fall into the trap of going after her, and she is using his actions to further her personal aims. It is not about the police, or the jail, or even “In God We Trust”. Some people underestimate her and think that she is really stupid. Do you think Hillary Clinton is stupid?

YOJ: No.

GCGOP: Councilmember Fulnecky is not stupid either. She is just as smart as Clinton, and has connections all across this state and even in Washington to make sure that even if a skeleton or two comes out, that she will skate just like Clinton did. That does not mean she is innocent, but that she can always play the part of a stupid person when she needs to and get away with anything.

No one loves her. She is using the Greene County GOP as much as we are using her.

YOJ: What do you mean you are using her?

GCGOP: This town has been creeping more and more towards being a liberal town over the last decade or so. The ordinary people of the city are still just as conservative, but those running for office are the well to do socialites and they represent the liberals in Springfield. The Council overstepped with SOGI, and as a result, we picked up two seats in [Justin] Burnett and Fulnecky. Sadly, the council and others beat Burnett into submission, but Fulnecky saw this as her way to take the next step up the ladder. We see her candidacy as a way to get the conservatives mobilized and get more true Conservative candidates on the ballot for the next city election.

YOJ: How is she like Hillary Clinton?

GCGOP: Just as corrupt. Just as conniving and nothing ever sticks. She has been in trouble in the past over taxes, but those that have staked their political futures to her coat tails have been preaching the mantra of “fee” and not tax, and that this is all a witch hunt like Clinton’s surrogates love to talk about a vast right wing conspiracy. It is the same talking points, except where the Clinton’s would use conservatives, insert liberals. Whether she will admit it or not, this is all establishment politics, and if you dig around Washington, you will find that she has some deep connections into the establishment GOP there. It is one of the reasons that no matter what, we have to back her.

YOJ: If you are being forced to back her, then why are you speaking out about all of this now?

GCGOP: Look, I do not know who will be running against her for Mayor. Mayor Stephens will not be running for Mayor. He is done; he knows that he is done and will now move on to other political offices. I doubt that they [the City Council] will even remove her from her seat or ask the people to do so. They know that if they do that, it guarantees that not only will she be elected mayor, but that more conservatives will be on that council next year. So unless there is some real true conservative that runs for mayor, you mentioned David Cort earlier, then I will have to vote for her. A vote for anyone else is a vote for a liberal council.

YOJ: How do you know Mayor Stephens is not running for reelection and will run for another office?

GCGOP: He picked a fight that he can not win. No matter what, Fulnecky makes Stephens look bad. Plus, he has been interested in higher office since he became mayor. A defeat next year in a reelection bid would hurt any chances of him moving up the ladder. Right now, there is no chance of Councilmenber Fulnecky losing. She has this election in the bag. Just like Secretary Clinton has the Presidency in the bag.

YOJ: Are you saying that no one could beat Fulnecky in the election to be mayor?

GCGOP: Absolutely no one could beat her.

YOJ: If you had to pick one person that would worry you about upsetting Fulnecky, who would that person be?

GCGOP: [Laughs] There is only one person that I think would have a chance to beat Councilmember Fulnecky, and I guarantee you that person knows better than to run, because she has already been digging dirt up on this person. But the type of person would could beat her would be someone who Kristi could not use any of her “cards” against. It would have to be a woman, who is not a career politician, who could get all of the liberals, most of the moderates and even some of the conservatives behind her. She would have to be well liked and be able to go toe to toe against Kristi, but yet still look like she is a lady. That is a tall order. The only other hope would be that Councilmember Fulnecky self destructs, but that would be like hoping Secretary Clinton would self destruct. Good luck on that one.

YOJ: It sounds like you have someone in mind in particular that could run and beat Fulnecky. Can you give me a name?

GCGOP: No. I do not want to encourage the person that I am thinking of to run. Councilmember Fulnecky may be the last person any of us conservatives would want running the city, but she is better than the person I fear would run.

YOJ: Bon Tindle?

GCGOP: Next question.

YOJ: You said that people are grabbing hold of Fulnecky’s coat tails in order to get elected. Why would they do that if they do not love her?

GCGOP: I do not care if you are a career politician or a newby to the profession, if you want to be elected and you think that someone is unstoppable, you sell your soul to that person to get elected. There are people that know who Councilmember Fulnecky really is, but do not care and have hitched their campaign to hers. How many people have hitched their campaign to Clinton’s and how many have unhitched theirs to Donald Trump?

YOJ: You said that you will reluctantly vote for Fulnecky. Why should the voters vote for her?

GCGOP: As long as their is infighting in the GOP and there are weak conservative candidates being put up for election, then the liberals will stay in power and gradually make this town into another San Francisco. So unless you want gays flaunting it in the streets, then vote for her. We almost had a liberal utopia with the Free The Nipple radicals trying to force nudity on our children. Thank God there was Justin and Kristi to stop that. I view this election as a referendum on whether or not Springfield is still a conservative city. I think it still is. I also wish all the crazies from California would just go back to California and leave us the hell alone.

YOJ: One last question: what will the Springfield City Council look like after the 2017 elections?

GCGOP: A mess. With Councilmember Burnett switching sides, if we can get one or two conservatives elected, it will all still be a mess. Without any other conservatives elected, it will be Kristi verses the city council each and every day. She will love it because it will make her even more a martyr, but it will make cause the city to stop functioning. If we do not get more conservatives on that council, there will be even more tax payer money wasted on lawsuits against Kristi. It would be Washington politics being run in Springfield. That will be a mess, but at least the liberals will not be able to advance their agenda.

YOJ: Thank you very much for your time.

GCGOP: Thank you again for asking the right questions. Councilmember Fulnecky is not the second coming of Jesus, but she is a whole lot better than what we have now.