Cape broker hopes to challenge Jay Purcell

Turmoil at the Cape Girardeau County Commission produced a new contest Friday for the seat held by Republican incumbent Jay Purcell as insurance broker Rock Finch said he is circulating petitions to run as an independent candidate in November.

Finch, who for 22 years has operated Finch Marbanks Insurance Consultants, said recent changes in his business give him the time to run. The controversies among commissioners over items such as Purcell's secret recordings of closed meetings and conversations, as well as the controversial method used to record a road easement, played a part in the decision, he said.

Finch passed up the easy path to the ballot, the open filing for offices in late February and March. At that time, he could have chosen to run as a Republican, Democrat or Libertarian by paying a filing fee. To reach the ballot now, Finch must secure the signatures of 318 registered voters from commission District 2, which includes most of incorporated Cape Girardeau.

At age 57, Finch said, he has the flexibility to devote his time to a new pursuit. "I know I like to do public work. Let's just give Cape Girardeans a choice and let them decide how much acrimony they can put up with."

Another potential candidate, former commissioner Joe Gambill, was also considering a petition drive. He could not be reached for comment.

Purcell won his seat in 2004. He won a nine-way GOP primary by 29 votes before cruising through the general election with 62.5 percent of the ballots.

This year, Purcell is locked in a dispute over the Sunshine Law with Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones and District 1 Commissioner Larry Bock. Purcell has filed a lawsuit arguing that the commission, including himself, violated the Sunshine Law by holding improper closed meetings. Tom Ludwig, an attorney hired by the commission to defend the lawsuit, wants Purcell charged with a misdemeanor violation of the Sunshine Law for secretly taping a closed meeting.

In addition, Purcell has angered Jones and others in county government by secretly taping a conversation between himself and Jones during an automobile ride to Jefferson City.

The disputes all surfaced publicly after the last day to file for county offices, when Purcell had no primary or general election opposition.

Asked about Finch's decision to run, Purcell deferred and then issued a written statement: "I look forward to having a serious debate about the issues facing Cape Girardeau County government, whether I have an opponent on the ballot in the upcoming election or not. County government should be as open and transparent as possible and the taxpayers have a right to know how their elected officials are spending their hard-earned tax dollars."

The petition shouldn't be seen as a personal attack on Purcell, Finch said.

"One thing is for sure, I have no personal vendetta against Jay," Finch said. "He's fine as far as I know him. I have no personal self-interest or anything, nor an ax to grind to run for this office."

Finch is the broker who won the county's health insurance business this year. He expects his company to bid for the business again in the future but said he will avoid a conflict of interest by abstaining from all votes and discussions of the contract.

Finch said his business recently bought out two St. Louis brokers for the financial company ING and merged with a Springfield, Mo., brokerage. The new company will be called Marathon Benefits Group.

Finch must collect the signatures by July 28 to make the November ballot. He said he intends to try to gather as many signatures as possible by the deadline in order to demonstrate broad support.

Finch's objections to the controversial acts of the county commission aren't limited to the Sunshine Law controversy. He also said he can't understand how an issue with an easement on County Road 436 became so contentious.

Lawrence McBryde, a landowner along the road, signed a deed granting a road easement Aug. 14, 2001. The easement, however, was never notarized and recorded. When approached earlier this year to sign again, McBryde refused. Using a little-known state law, commission assistant Robb McClary notarized the easement and recorded it with the county.

McBryde claimed foul and threatened to block attempts to pave his road. Eventually, attorney John Lichtenegger issued an opinion for the commission that the easement was void.

The controversy should never have taken place, Finch said. "How in the heck did we not have him secured on an easement and where was the communication dropped?" he asked.

Finch said his long experience dealing with people angry about insurance claims would be good training for calming angry constituents and finding a way to solve their problems.

"I am not running on any platform," he said. "I am saying, 'Here's Rock, after 22 years of building a business. Here I am. Do you want a servant or not?'"

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126

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