[1] He is also the author of the blog "Bring on the Funk,"[2] and the book Honest, Competent Government: The Promise of Performance Auditing.

[6] Funkhouser was the founding editor of the Local Government Auditing Quarterly and served in that capacity for ten years.

"[8] He had campaigned on a promise to pay more attention to neighborhoods and to end corrupt TIF deals with special-interest developers.

[12] Funkhouser believed that by being transparent about the transaction, he could avoid any appearance of impropriety and save the city $160,000 a year by rejecting the city-owned car, with its attendant driver and police security detail.

City Councilman John Sharp said "It sure doesn't pass the smell test...It's nice that the mayor is providing so much free publicity to a foreign auto company.

[14] Funkhouser became embroiled in another controversy when it was discovered his appointed co-commissioner for the Parks and Recreation Board Frances Semler was a member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps.

This controversy attracted national attention, prompting two national civil rights organizations (La Raza and the NAACP) to withdraw their conventions from Kansas City in protest of Funkhouser's refusal to ask for Semler's resignation from an organization they call a "hate group.

[15] An ongoing controversy during Funkhouser's term as mayor involved his wife's carrying out the normal duties of First Lady, a strictly volunteer position.

The court ruled in Funkhouser's favor and the ordinance was repealed [17] An avid chess player, Funkhouser celebrated his election night party at the Westport Flea Market, a neighborhood tavern where he regularly met with the Westport Chess Club to play.