Cairo elects Childs mayor

CAIRO, Ill. -- With all five precincts reporting and absentee ballots and early votes still to be counted, Judson Childs appears to have defeated Karl Klein for Cairo mayor. Childs received 612 votes to Klein's 405 at the polls Tuesday.

Childs said he will begin a process of evaluating the city's pluses and minuses. "I'll have to take a serious look at what we have. They say don't fix it if it ain't broken, but if it is broken, I've got to fix it," he said.

He added he will reach out and look for advice from all quarters of the city. "I am not too proud to receive good information from anybody," he said. "I have no quarrels against that man. He ran a very professional campaign."

Klein was philosophical about his defeat. "If I lose, I win. I don't have to put up with four years of it. I just hope they all work together."

James Taylor, a Childs supporter, said the election of a black mayor in predominantly black Cairo is going to change the attitude of the citizenry for the better, "It is history being made," he said. "I've got butterflies in my stomach it feels so good."

Childs' apparent victory will bring to an end the turbulent period of leadership by Paul Farris, who lost his bid for re-election in the primary. Farris's tenure as mayor was marked by constant fighting over issues ranging from spending priorities to mayoral power. He endured criticism for the amounts paid to the city attorney -- current attorney Patrick Cox has a contract that pays him $106,000 a year -- and for his style of leadership.

During his four years in office, the city has faced potential loss of employee health insurance coverage and been declared in default on debts by a local bank. Farris personally weathered criminal charges related to his actions establishing new city bank accounts after taking power when the council refused to approve his appointees for top city jobs.

In the past year, agencies providing grants have begun pulling back from Cairo because city accounts have not been audited for five years. Without assurances that the city's finances are being properly handled, granting agencies won't be willing to provide the money needed for crucial improvements in town.

Both Childs and Klein spent much of the campaign promising to work cooperatively with the city council. But issues ranging from incentives for industry to crumbling buildings and deteriorating roads and sewers facing the new city leadership will provide a key measure of whether those promises will be fulfilled.

The new mayor of Cairo will take office May 1.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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