COBB TO SEEK OLD SEAT OF CORONER

JACKSON, Mo. -- Harold Cobb wants his old job back. The former Cape Girardeau County coroner filed petitions Monday to get his name on the November ballot as an independent candidate for coroner.

He will face the winner of next Tuesday's Republican primary. The primary features three candidates, incumbent John Carpenter and challengers Wayne T. Godwin and Don "Butch" Gast.

Officially, there isn't a Democrat in the race, but Cobb is a longtime Democrat. He had considered filing as a Democratic candidate for the position earlier this year but missed the filing deadline of March 28.

"I thought I had to the end of the month to file," he said.

Cobb submitted petitions to the Cape Girardeau County clerk's office in Jackson to get on the ballot. He submitted petitions bearing 517 signatures, with the last batch delivered Monday morning.

Of those submitted, 446 were found by election officials to be valid signatures of registered voters in Cape Girardeau County. "They threw an awful lot of them out," said Cobb.

He said supporters collected the signatures over four to five days.

To run as an independent, Cobb had to obtain 427 signatures, an amount equal to 2 percent of those who voted in the 1996 coroner election.

Monday was the deadline for submitting petitions to run as an independent candidate in the November election.

Cape Girardeau County Clerk Rodney Miller has supervised county elections for 22 years. Miller said this is the first time in his tenure that an independent candidate has run for county office.

Cobb said he is the most qualified candidate, having been coroner from 1979 to 1989.

He lost to incumbent coroner John Carpenter in the November 1988 election.

"I really would like to do it again," Cobb said. "I enjoyed it last time. I worked hard."

Cobb is the only one in the race with a college degree, holding two degrees from Southeast Missouri State University, including one in criminal justice.

"As far as qualifications, I'm more qualified," he said.

Carpenter is fighting cancer, and Cobb said Carpenter's health should be a legitimate concern to voters who want to know if he can continue to do the job.

"That is not mean," he said. "I wish him no harm."

Cobb said there needs to be a change in the coroner's office; records need to be computerized.

Cobb has worked for 36 years for Ford and Sons Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau. For the past 14 years, he also has worked as a dispatcher for Southeast Missouri State University's Department of Public Safety.

He said he could continue to do both jobs and also serve as coroner.

Cobb said it is difficult for Democrats to win in Cape Girardeau County, and he won't win if some Republicans don't cross over to vote for him.

Cobb, a widower, has a daughter.