BALLOU FIRST, ONLY TO FILE AS WARD 3 COUNCIL CANDIDATE

Michael Ballou is such a firm believer in the ward system that he has decided to run for the final seat on the Cape Girardeau City Council.

"After I appeared several times before the city council on behalf of residents of the 300 and 400 blocks of North Louisiana, some women invited me out for coffee and asked me to run for the city council," said Ballou, 45, who ultimately convinced the council to amend two ordinances that restricted parking on North Louisiana. Ballou lives at 409 N. Louisiana.

"I've been a big supporter of the ward system for a long time," said Ballou, who will run for the Ward 3 city council seat. "I think it gives citizens of Cape Girardeau better representation than the at-large system.

"If people feel there should be a stop sign near Franklin School, they won't hesitate to come to me and tell me that. With the at-large system people don't always feel they can get the same kind of treatment."

Ballou, who is the only candidate to file for the Ward 3 council seat thus far, made his intentions official on Tuesday. The seat was vacated by Al Spradling III, who resigned his post when he was elected mayor.

The filing period for the Ward 3 seat will close at 5 p.m. Thursday. All petitions are to be filed in the office of the city manager.

The City Charter provides that any person who meets the following requirements may run for city council: A registered voter of the city, 21 years of age and a resident of the city for at least four consecutive years prior to the election. A candidate must be a resident of his or her ward for at least 90 days.

In order to be valid, a petition for nomination to the city council must be signed by at least 50 registered voters of the ward for which the candidate is running.

Ballou has been involved in sales at radio stations in Cape Girardeau, Poplar Bluff and Herrin, Ill. He now is a promotional director in Herrin for WUEZ-FM.

"I worked for the Zimmer family for about seven years at EZ-103, K-103 and KWOC in Poplar Bluff," said Ballou. "I also worked at Y-105 before moving on to the station in Herrin about a year and a half ago."

He received a bachelor's degree in radio and television with a minor in advertising from SIU-Carbondale. "I've been in the Cape market and others outside of Cape since 1974," said Ballou.

Ballou said his experience in radio sales and promotion in markets outside of Cape Girardeau has enabled him to look at how other cities operate.

"I don't want to see what happened in Anna, Ill., take place here," said Ballou. "They rely heavily on Bunny Bread and then one day it's gone. I think we need to make sure we keep existing business here and attract other businesses."