Politics & Government

St. Charles County Councilman Announces New Job Takes Him to Afghanistan

District 4 Councilman Paul Wynn said he will continue working as a councilman while overseas. In 2009, he did the same in Iraq.

St. Charles County Councilman Paul Wynn (R-District 4) announced that he will be going to Afghanistan as a civilian contractor for his new job. In 2009, Wynn spent most of the year as a contractor in Iraq.

Wynn made the announcement during a St. Charles County Council meeting Monday night.

Wynn, from O’Fallon, will be leaving for a month-long training camp on Saturday.

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“I waited as long as I could to tell people,” he said. He said he still is looking for a job that does not involve overseas deployment.

Wynn said he accepted the overseas job after losing his job as a civilian contractor at Scott Air Force Base. He said two other positions he applied for at Scott Air Force Base were frozen due to a federal government 90-day hiring freeze.

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“I have five kids,” Wynn said. “I can’t go that long without a job.”

When he was in Iraq, Wynn did not accept a salary for his seat on the county council, but did accept health insurance benefits for himself and his family. This time, Wynn told Patch he would accept the $15,000 salary.

“This time, I have the experience of having gone through this already,” Wynn said.

“I worked my butt off last time. I don’t feel like I worked less (on county business). I worked more,” he said. “I emailed and called to stay in touch with constituents. I stayed up to three in the morning to listen in on meetings on Skype.”

Wynn said some people have claimed he is being hypocritical for continuing in office and accepting his council pay. He often criticizes government programs that do not fulfill what he calls as government’s main missions of providing infrastructure and safety.

“I look at it as though I’m standing up for what I believe,” he said. “This is pay for government work, not a government handout.”

Wynn said he took no unemployment insurance, welfare or government training or job counseling sessions while unemployed.           

When Wynn was performing his council duties from Iraq, some council members complained that his deployment left the county with just six voting council members. Ordinances and other items usually require at least four votes to pass.

“The only thing I can’t do is vote, and that’s because of the state statute that prohibits it,” Wynn said. “We’re one of five states that have that.”

Councilwoman Nancy Matheny, R-District 3, said she didn’t like it when Wynn opted to maintain his council seat while in Iraq in 2009.

“I thought people in his district deserved to have someone who could be on site and look over things when needed,” said Matheny, of Weldon Spring.

“However, he really did change my mind,” she said. “I was surprised. He was able to take care of everything, and if he needed someone to be on site, he asked one of us to do it. He really worked hard at it and he proved me wrong.”

She said it’s not a perfect situation, but that the council will be able to get through it.

Wynn’s position is up for re-election in August. He said he would not decide to run or not run for re-election because his job circumstances could change.

Wynn also is a Persian Gulf and Iraq War veteran, and a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves.


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