Cape election will have 2 races

~ Mayor Jay Knudtson will be challenged by Walter White; Richard Hengst will take on Councilwoman Marcia Ritter.

Voters will decide two contested council races in April -- one for mayor and the other for the Ward 6 council seat. None of the races will require a February primary, city officials said.

Ward 2 councilman Charlie Herbst and Ward 1 candidate John Voss face no opposition.

Herbst filed Monday for re-election to a second, four-year term.

No one filed Tuesday, the final day for candidates to file for next year's council election. The filing period opened Oct. 25.

Mayor Jay Knudtson faces a re-election challenge from Ole Country Store owner and real estate investor Walter White.

White was an unsuccessful candidate for mayor in 2002, losing in a four-candidate February primary for the four-year term. Knudtson went on to win the mayor's race in April that year.

Ward 6 councilwoman Marcia Ritter faces opposition from electrician Richard Hengst in her re-election bid.

Hengst filed Monday for the council seat after resigning from the city's ethics commission.

The city charter bars ethics commission members from any political activity other than voting.

Hengst said friends encouraged him to run. "I would like to see people more involved in city government," he said.

"I would like to see the city get a lot bigger. I would like to see more jobs and higher paying jobs," Hengst said Tuesday. But he said he has no plans on how to do that.

Ward 6 covers the west part of the city.

Ward 2 covers the south/southeast part of the city.

Ward 1 councilwoman Evelyn Boardman didn't seek a second term. Boardman said she promised voters when she ran for office that she would only serve one term.

Voss, who apparently will succeed Boardman on the council, said Tuesday that he was surprised no one else filed for the seat. Ward 1 covers the north/northeast part of the city.

He called it "fortunate" that he doesn't have to mount a huge political campaign.

Voss, who works for Procter & Gamble paper products plant, said he'd like to see the city improve its efforts to notify property owners affected by zoning and other development requests.

Voss, who lives at 834 Alta Vista Dr., got a first-hand look at city government last year when he objected to a proposed apartment project in the neighborhood.

"I really think we could do a better job," he said.

The city won't hold a primary election in February because none of the contested races involves more than two candidates, city clerk Gayle Conrad said.

The municipal election will be held on April 4.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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