10 Cape County hopefuls file on first day

Candidates seeking election to countywide offices were lined up outside the Cape Girardeau County Clerk’s Office door Tuesday morning, the first day of the filing period for the August primary election and November general election.

By the end of the day, 10 office hopefuls — including six incumbent officeholders — had filed the necessary paperwork to qualify them for positions on the Aug. 4 Republican primary ballot. No one filed on the first day to be listed on the Democratic ballot.

Another incumbent, Coroner John Clifton, said Tuesday he intends to file today for a fifth four-year term in office. He served as the county’s deputy coroner before being elected to his first term as coroner in 2004.

Clifton, also a Republican, will face at least one other candidate in the August primary, Cape Girardeau resident Wavis Jordan, interim pastor of Hobbs Chapel and president of the SEMO Pachyderm Club.

“This is something I’ve always wanted to do,” said Jordan, who grew up in Mississippi where his grandfather, mother and uncles all served as coroners.

“It kind of runs in my family,” he said.

First District Associate Commissioner Paul Koeper filed for reelection Tuesday along with two challengers — former East County Fire Protection District chief Dwayne Kirchhoff of Cape Girardeau and self-employed construction contractor Josh Biester of Jackson.

As expected, Charles A. “Drew” Juden III of Cape Girardeau filed Tuesday to run against incumbent Sheriff Ruth Ann Dickerson, who also filed Tuesday to have her name placed on the primary ballot. Dickerson is a 37-year veteran of the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Department, while Juden is the former director of the Sikeston Department of Public Safety and was also director of the Missouri Department of Public Safety.

Ballot positions in contested races were determined by random drawing among those who filed Tuesday. Candidates who file between today and the end of the filing period, 5 p.m. March 31, will be added in the order in which they file.

Incumbent officeholders who filed for reelection Tuesday without opposition are Second District Associate Commissioner Charlie Herbst, Assessor Bob Adams, Treasurer Roger Hudson and Public Administrator Lisa Reitzel.

The 2020 general election for county offices is scheduled for Nov. 3.

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