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| More candidates file in Crocker, Dixon, Richland, Laquey, Swedeborg and Plato |
By: Darrell Todd Maurina
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Posted: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 9:17 pm
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PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Jan. 14, 2009) — City and school races continued to heat up this week as six more candidates filed on Tuesday and Wednesday.
In Crocker, one day after a heated city council meeting Monday night in which aldermen denied that they had made plans to terminate longtime City Administrator Joyce Peterson, a new candidate turned in her paperwork to run for mayor. Linda Wilson is seeking to replace Jim Morgan, who has held the job since Norma Lea Mihalovech stepped down after nearly four decades as Crocker’s mayor.
At least two other races in Crocker will also be contested. Ward I Alderman Jim Patton faces a challenge from Bill Laughlin, who filed on Monday prior to the city council meeting for Patton’s two-year term. Alderman Jeff Curry and Kim Skaggs-Henson are also up for election this year — Curry for a one-year term on Ward I and Skaggs-Henson for a two-year term in Ward II — but so far nobody has filed to run against Curry and neither Skaggs-Henson nor any other candidate has turned in papers to run for Ward II. On the Crocker Rural Fire Board, incumbent Robert Ishmael has filed for re-election and newcomers Jeff Porter and Randall Moore are also seeking election to the fire board. The other incumbent, David Ellzey, has said he will not be running for re-election.
Most races elsewhere are quieter.
In Dixon, Municipal Judge Evan Shackleford filed Tuesday for re-election to his position. No races in that city are contested so far; Mayor Darrell French is seeking re-election, as are Ward I Alderman Vienna Tyson and Ward III Alderman John Sheppard. The incumbent Ward II alderman, Steven Parker, hasn’t yet turned in his candidacy paperwork.
In Richland, incumbent Ward I Alderman Eldon Haun, who was appointed recently to fill a vacancy, filed Tuesday to run for the seat. He’s being challenged by Larry Jeffries for his position. Mayor Bob Wall also faces a challenge from Kimi Gerred and Ward II Alderman Mac Myers faces a challenge from Thomas Murphy. Ward III Alderman Tim Bailey has filed for re-election but so far has no challengers.
The Richland R-IV School District now has five candidates running for two positions. Ira Moss turned in candidacy papers Tuesday and joined Brenda Mathes, Elizabeth Warren and Donna Guevremont, all of whom filed in December, and Jerry Pemberton, who filed late Monday. So far, the two incumbents, Troy Posten and Jo-Ellen Ferguson, have not yet filed for re-election.
In Waynesville, Ward II resident James McDonald filed on Wednesday for the seat now held by Adele Nickels, who so far hasn’t turned in candidacy paperwork. The city will have at least one contested race when Ward I Councilwoman Diana Stanford faces off against her challenger, Charles Anderson, who filed Monday. So far, Ward III Councilwoman Luge Hardman and Ward IV Councilman Mike France have both filed but face no opposition for re-election, and Butch O’Riley, who was appointed last year to fill Pat Howe’s unexpired term in Ward IV, has filed but faces no opposition.
A new candidate filed Tuesday for the Laquey R-V School Board. William W. Council joins one incumbent, Mary Cristoffer, and two other challengers, Larry Southard and Fanny Gan, in filing for two seats on the board that will run for three years each. The other candidates filed in December; the other incumbent, Mary Ann Miller, hasn’t yet filed.
The first candidate for the Plato R-V School Board filed late Monday afternoon for the board. Kimberly A. (Murry) Hodges is seeking election to the board on which Mike Friend and Penny Morrison now serve for three-year terms and on which Pete Scurlock is serving for a two-year term after being appointed last year to fill a vacancy when one of the candidates was declared to be ineligible after winning the election. None of the three incumbents have yet filed candidacy papers.
The Swedeborg R-III School District may not have to have an election. On Monday night, incumbent board member Jamie Alexander joined Wayne King in turning in papers to run for re-election to a three-year term. Alexis Roam is also running for re-election to a one-year unexpired term; she and King turned in their candidacy papers in December. State law allows school boards, fire boards and ambulance boards to avoid the expense of an election if they have the same number of candidates filing as are to be election.
That could also happen with the Dixon R-I School Board, where the two incumbents, Troy Porter and Craig Rivera, both turned in candidacy paperwork in December for their three year terms. So far, nobody else has filed.
Some districts in Pulaski County have a different problem: not enough candidates.
The Pulaski County Ambulance District has two open seats, one each in Waynesville Subdistrict 3 and Crocker Subdistrict 4. Neither Waynesville incumbent Cindy Walters nor Crocker incumbent Larry Salveter have turned in their candidacy papers, though Crocker resident Ronnie Layman is running for the Crocker subdistrict seat.
There’s a similar problem in the Dixon Rural Fire Protection District, which has two seats available currently held by Les Clark and Jim Humphrey. Clark filed for re-election in December but Humphrey hasn’t turned in candidacy papers, and neither has anyone else.
The Dixon Ambulance District has no candidates at all. Neither Subdistrict 1 incumbent Dennis Lachowicz nor Subdistrict 4 incumbent Art Forshey have turned in their candidacy papers.
People interested in city councils, school boards, fire boards or ambulance boards have less than a week left to turn in their paperwork. Those who want to run for positions on Pulaski County’s five city councils, six school boards, two ambulance districts and for the Dixon and Crocker fire district boards have until Jan. 20 to file candidacy papers.
City, school and ambulance board candidates should file at their city hall, school administration building, or main ambulance base. Since the Crocker and Dixon fire districts don’t have full-time staff, Crocker fire board candidates file papers at the Crocker City Hall and Dixon fire board candidates file at the offices of Bassett Realty.
The complete list to date of candidate filings for school and city offices is as follows, along with special districts:
Crocker City Council: (all two-year terms unless specified)
Mayor (2-year term): Jim Morgan (filed 12/16), CHALLENGER: Linda Wilson (filed 1/13)
Ward I (2-year term): Jim Patton (filed 1/9), CHALLENGER: Bill Laughlin (filed 1/12)
Ward I (1 year unexpired term): Jeff Curry (filed 1/2)
Ward II (2-year term): Kim Skaggs-Henson (not yet filed)
Dixon City Council: (all two-year terms)
Mayor: Darrell French (filed 1/5)
Judge: Evan Shackleford (filed 1/13)
Ward I: Vienna Tyson (filed 12/18)
Ward II: Steven Parker (not yet filed)
Ward III: John Sheppard (filed 1/5)
Richland City Council: (all two-year terms)
Mayor: Bob Wall (filed 12/16), CHALLENGER: Kimi Gerred (filed 12/19)
Judge: Rodney Blanchard (filed 12/16)
Ward I: Eldon Haun (filed 1/13), CHALLENGER: Larry Jeffries (filed 12/29)
Ward II Mac Myers (filed 1/2), CHALLENGER: Thomas Murphy (filed 12/30)
Ward III: Tim Bailey (filed 12/23)
St. Robert City Council (all two-year terms)
Mayor: George Sanders (filed 12/17)
Ward I: Theresa Cook (filed 12/30), CHALLENGER: Charles Slider (filed 1/5)
Ward II: Gene Newkirk (filed 12/23)
Ward III: Allan Johannsen (filed 1/5)
Ward IV: Bill Shaw (filed 12/18)
Waynesville City Council: (all two-year terms unless specified)
Ward I: Diana Stanford (filed 12/16), CHALLENGER: Charles Anderson (filed 1/12)
Ward II: Adele Nickels (not yet filed), CHALLENGER: James McDonald (filed 1/14)
Ward III: Luge Hardman (filed 12/16)
Ward IV: Mike France (filed 12/16)
Ward IV (unexpired): Butch O’Riley (filed 12/18)
Crocker R-II School Board (three-year terms):
Incumbents: Charles Worstell (filed 12/16), Jeff Curry (filed 12/17)
Challengers: John Riffe (filed 1/8), Rebecca Ruckman Posten (filed 1/8)
Dixon R-I School Board (three-year terms):
Incumbents: Troy Porter (filed 12/16), Craig Rivera (filed 12/16)
Laquey R-V School Board (three-year terms):
Incumbents: Mary Cristoffer (filed 12/16), Mary Ann Miller (not yet filed)
Challengers: Larry Southard (filed 12/16), Fanny Gan (filed 12/18), William W. Council (filed 1/13)
Plato R-V School Board (three-year terms):
Incumbents: Mike Friend (not yet filed), Penny Morrison (not yet filed)
Incumbent (2 year term): Pete Scurlock (not yet filed)
Challenger: Kimberly A. (Murry) Hodges (filed 1/12)
Richland R-IV School Board (three-year terms):
Incumbents: Troy Posten (not yet filed), Jo-Ellen Ferguson (not yet filed)
Challengers: Brenda Mathes (filed 12/17), Elizabeth Warren (12/19), Donna Guevremont (12/19), Mike Calvetti (1/9), Jerry Pemberton (filed 1/12), Ira Moss (1/13)
Swedeborg R-III School Board (three-year terms):
Incumbents: Wayne King (filed 12/16), Jamie Alexander (filed 1/12)
Incumbent (1 year term): Alexis Roam (filed 12/18)
Waynesville R-VI School District (three-year terms):
Incumbents: Randy Walters (filed 12/16), David Tritten (not yet filed)
Challengers: Leroy Fulmer (filed 12/16), Herman Blau (filed 12/16), Melvin Hensley (filed 12/16)
Crocker Rural Fire Protection District (three-year terms):
Incumbents: Robert Ishmael (filed 12/16), David Ellzey (will not file)
Challengers: Jeff Porter (filed 12/17), Randall Moore (1/2)
Dixon Rural Fire Protection District (six-year and three-year terms):
Incumbent: Les Clark (filed 12/23), Jim Humphrey (not yet filed)
Pulaski County Ambulance District (three-year terms)
Waynesville Subdistrict 3: Cindy Walters (not yet filed)
Crocker Subdistrict 6: Larry Salveter (incumbent, not yet filed), Ronnie Layman (challenger, filed 12/23)
Dixon Ambulance District (three-year terms)
Subdistrict 1: Dennis Lachowicz (not yet filed)
Subdistrict 4: Art Forshey (not yet filed)
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