BILL SYLER WINS CIRCUIT JUDGE SPOTVACATED BY LIMBAUGH; REPUBLICAN BEATS DEMOCRAT STATLER FOR JUDGE'S POST

JACKSON - William L. Syler, who was appointed judge of the 32nd Circuit by Gov. John Ashcroft last month, was elected Tuesday to the remaining four years of that term.

Syler, a Republican, defeated Jackson attorney Peter Statler for the Division I judge's post by a margin of 19,169 to 16,507.

That total will change once the remaining ballots are counted in Bollinger County.

Syler, who is from Cape Girardeau, carried Cape and Perry counties, while Statler held a slight edge in Bollinger County after partial returns had come in.

In Cape Girardeau County, Syler received 14,655 votes, compared with 12,526 for Statler; in Perry County, Syler outpolled the Democrat 3,596 to 3,015; and in Bollinger County, Statler held an edge of 966 to 918, with most of the larger precincts still out.

The vacancy for circuit judge was created in August, when the governor named Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. to the Missouri Supreme Court. Limbaugh was appointed circuit judge in September of 1987, after Stan Grimm was named to the eastern district of the Missouri Court of Appeals.

Syler was a partner in the Limbaugh, Russell, Syler and Payne law firm until his appointment to the judgeship.

Statler, the son of W. Oesler Statler, who was magistrate judge of Cape County for two years and elected as circuit judge in Cape and Bollinger counties from 1960-72, was making his second bid for the judicial post.

In 1982, he unsuccessfully challenged Republican A.J. Seier for the Division II position.

Tuesday's election marked the first time a judge has been elected in the newly drawn 32nd Circuit. On Jan. 1, legislation took effect adding Perry County to the circuit.