AREA LAWMAKERS ANNOUNCE PLANS; ONLY ONE UNDECIDED ON RE-ELECTION BID

Nine of Southeast Missouri's 10 state representatives and a state senator plan to seek re-election this fall.

State representatives who will seek re-election are Mary Kasten of Cape Girardeau; David Schwab of Jackson; Mark Richardson and Bill Foster, both of Poplar Bluff; Patrick Naeger of Perryville; Marilyn Williams of Dudley; Joe Heckemeyer of Sikeston; Denny Merideth III of Caruthersville; and Larry Thomason of Kennett.

State Sen. Danny Staples, D-Eminence, is also seeking re-election.

Staples has served in the Senate since 1982. He initially announced he would retire but changed his mind.

State Rep. Gene Copeland, D-New Madrid, said he likely will retire. But Copeland refused to completely rule out running again for the 161st District seat.

Copeland's probable retirement would provide the only open seat in the 1998 legislative elections in Southeast Missouri.

Copeland is in his 38th year in office. He has been in office longer than any other member in the history of the Missouri House.

Talk of retirement comes amid a federal investigation into allegations of Democratic vote buying in Mississippi and New Madrid counties in the November 1996 election. Republicans charge that as many as 200 voters were rewarded with coupons, and that many of those coupons were exchanged for beer at a Charleston convenience store.

Copeland has said he didn't buy votes. He said the federal investigation has soured him on politics.

Copeland is one of four Democrats in the Missouri House from the Southeast region. There also are five Republicans and one independent serving from the area.

The filing period opens at 8 a.m. Tuesday and ends at 5 p.m. March 31. Elections will be held for state auditor, U.S. senator, Missouri's nine congressional seats, 17 state Senate seats, all 163 House seats and 13 circuit judgeships. In addition, various county offices are up for election.

Kasten and Thomason said they likely won't seek re-election to their House seats in 2000. Kasten, a Republican, has served in the House for 16 years. Thomason, a Democrat, has served in the House since 1988.

Said Thomason, "I think 12 years is a long time." But he said he wouldn't rule out running for another political office in 2000.

Incumbent lawmakers in both parties have been urged to run this year.

The Democrats hope to retain their narrow margin in the House. Republicans hope to take control of the House. A change of six seats is needed for that to occur.

"Hopefully, we will have a majority," said Kasten.

Schwab said: "I feel like we have a good chance of taking the majority. For once, we could set the agenda."

The Jackson Republican said Democratic lawmakers have set the agenda for decades in the Missouri House. Democrats chair the committees, and the committee chairmen determine what bills will be brought up for discussion, Schwab said.

"They totally set the agenda, and we have to work under that agenda," said Schwab, who has served in the House since 1988.

Heckemeyer is seeking his third term. The 32-year-old farmer and businessman said he has learned the ropes of being a legislator.

"I will be in my political prime next year," said the Sikeston Democrat.

Heckemeyer is vice chairman of the appropriations committee that deals with funding for the Department of Natural Resources and the Agriculture Department.

Williams has served in the House since winning a special election in 1991. The Democratic representative is seeking re-election to her fourth term.

Like Heckemeyer, Williams said experience counts. It takes a few years for lawmakers to know their way around the various bureaucracies of state government, she said.

Merideth, a Caruthersville area farmer and former fighter pilot, was elected as an independent in a special election last year. Merideth said he plans to run again as an independent in the fall.

WHO IS RUNNING?

Area lawmakers who will seek re-election:

Rep. Mary Kasten, Cape Girardeau

Rep. David Schwab, Jackson.

Rep. Mark Richardson, Poplar Bluff

Rep. Bill Foster, Poplar Bluff.

Rep. Patrick Naeger, Perryville.

Rep. Marilyn Williams, Dudley.

Rep. Joe Heckemeyer, Sikeston.

Rep. Denny Merideth III, Caruthersville.

Rep. Larry Thomason, Kennett.

Sen. Danny Staples, Eminence.

Rep. Gene Copeland of New Madrid said he likely will retire but wouldn't rule out a re-election bid.