Contested races, tax issues on Tuesday's ballot

Presiding commissioner races, a battle for a state representative seat, contests for prosecuting attorney and circuit judge, and tax measures in Perryville, Missouri, and Gordonville top local ballots for Tuesday�s primary election.

Polls will open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m., election officials said.

In Cape Girardeau County, there are contested races for state representative District 146, presiding commissioner, prosecuting attorney and Division 3 associate circuit judge on the Republican ticket.

Former Cape Girardeau police officer Barry Hovis and disabled veteran Tony LaForest will square off in the Republican primary election for the state representative seat.

The winner will face Democratic candidate Gayla Dace of Oak Ridge in the November general election for the seat being vacated by state Rep. Donna Lichtenegger, R-Jackson, who is term limited.

The legislative district covers most of Cape Girardeau County, including Jackson.

Presiding Commissioner Clint Tracy faces a re-election challenge from J.W. Strack, owner of an excavating company and a quarry operation.

Lawyers Brandon Cooper and Frank Miller are competing to replace Division 3 Judge Gary Kamp, who is retiring. Miller is an assistant prosecuting attorney while Cooper is a partner in a Cape Girardeau law firm.

Perhaps the race receiving the most public attention in Cape Girardeau County is for prosecuting attorney between lawyers Mark Welker of Cape Girardeau and William Bryant of Jackson.

Both candidates entered the race after prosecutor Chris Limbaugh resigned to take a position as general counsel to Gov. Mike Parson.

In all, three GOP primary races for Cape Girardeau County offices, the winners are assured of election as they will be unopposed in the November general election.

Scott County

Five candidates are running for presiding commissioner.

Incumbent Jamie Burger, who has served as presiding commissioner for the past dozen years, is challenged by Chelsea Hale of Perkins, Missouri, in the Democratic primary. The winner will take on the winner of a three-way Republican primary battle among Jim Glueck of Scott City, Will Yates of Perkins and John Graham of Sikeston, Missouri.

Circuit Judge David Dolan is challenged for re-election by Scott City lawyer Rebecca Reed in the Democratic primary in Scott and Mississippi counties. The winner will be unopposed in November.

Perry County

Two Republicans will battle for the position of presiding commissioner. Former state representative Patrick Naeger will face Perryville-area business owner Mike Sauer. The winner will run against Democrat Mark Gremaud of Perryville in the November election.

The other contested race in the primary is for circuit clerk. It pits Jennifer Hotop against Diane Geile in the Republican primary. The winner faces no opposition in November.

Bollinger County

There are GOP primary battles for presiding commissioner, circuit clerk and treasurer.

Presiding Commissioner Travis Elfrink is challenged by Leo Arnzen of Leopold, Missouri. Scott Minson of Marble Hill, Missouri, and Emily Davis-Leslie of Leopold are competing for treasurer.

In both of those races, the winners will be assured of election in November because they will be running unopposed.

In the circuit clerk race, four Republicans are seeking the office: Dana Mayfield of Patton, Missouri, Marethe VanGennip and Donna Wells, both of Marble Hill, and Robby Bailey of the Millersville area.

The winner of Tuesday�s primary will face Democrat Cindy Yount of Marble Hill in the November election.

Issues

While the Proposition A, right-to-work measure on the statewide ballot has drawn a lot of attention, there are local measures on the ballot in Perryville and Gordonville.

Perryville city officials want voters to approve three bond issues on Tuesday�s election ballot to fund construction of a sewage plant to replace an aging facility that increasingly can�t meet environmental regulations.

City administrator Brent Buerck said �it is not a tax increase. It is a tax extension.�

He said, �There are three ballot measures because there are three funding sources.�

To fund the proposed project, all three measures must pass, Buerck said.

The ballot measures would generate a combined $26 million, he said.

They include issuance of more than $12.3 million in sewer revenue bonds, extension of a property tax in connection with issuance of $5.1 million in general obligation bonds, and extension of 3/8th-cent sales tax in conjunction with issuance of nearly $8.5 million in bonds.

Voters in Gordonville will decide the fate of two ballot measures that could boost the village budget and help maintain city streets, a town official said.

Stephen Southard, village attorney, said voters are being asked to maintain the vehicle sales tax and impose a use tax to provide needed tax revenue.

�We don�t have enough money to keep the village up,� he said.

Question 1 on the ballot asks voters whether they wish to �discontinue� the local sales tax on purchases of vehicles, trailers, boats and outboard motors that were purchased from a source other than a Missouri licensed dealer. A �yes� vote would end the vehicle tax and a �no� vote would keep the tax.

The second measure, Question 2 on the ballot, seeks to levy a local use tax on out-of-state purchases equal to the existing village sales tax of one-half of 1 percent.

Approval of the use-tax measure would allow Gordonville to collect sales tax on all out-of-state purchases, including vehicle sales, Southard said. Passage of that measure would make the first measure unnecessary.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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