Cape County coroner candidates speak out at women’s club meeting

Candidates for the Cape Girardeau County coroner position met with potential voters during the Cape County Republican Women’s Club meeting Friday, July 12, at Delmonico’s Steakhouse in Jackson.

Three of the six coroner candidates spoke at the meeting. Chad Armstrong, Mark Seesing and Craig Williams described themselves and their platforms. Also running are Ted Ivie, John Mackey and Wavis Jordan. All coroner candidates running this year are Republicans.

Williams is currently serving as one of three deputy coroners because incumbent Coroner Jordan has been banned by the court from performing any functions relating to the office due to allegations of lying on death certificates and stealing from deceased individuals.

“A lot of people involved in our industry can tell you I was the glue pretty much holding that previous administration together,” Williams said during his presentation.

Williams is a fifth-generation funerary profession who has received endorsements from the Cape Girardeau and Jackson firefighter unions and the Cape Girardeau Fraternal Order of Police.

“They have seen first hand that when I get on scene, I am somewhere on the cot or the body bag helping to move that person,” Williams said. “… If there’s any (people) who knows how efficient the coroner can be it is those people.”

He said he is currently handling many of the cases at the coroner’s office. He said he aims to be transparent with families about causes of death and asks them whether they ever have any concerns with his findings.

Williams said it is necessary to treat the coroner’s position as a full-time job, even if it is technically only part-time. It was a sentiment shared by fellow candidate Seesing.

“The coroner’s job, it’s 24/7, 365, same as the funeral business. As much as we complain, we’d still like people to die from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., but they don’t. It’s one of those things where we’re out there everyday,” Seesing said.

Seesing is also in the funerary industry. He said he worked alongside four coroners and with some 4,000 families.

“You have to understand how your job plays out, and your role in that job,” he said. “… It comes down to decisions, and I think a coroner has to make good decisions.”

He said he aimed to be a representative of the office while in the field in that he would work closely with law enforcement and deputy coroners if elected.

Armstrong positioned himself as the only physician in the coroner’s race, though he said he is not a board-certified forensic pathologist.

“I have done numerous hours of forensics … so I believe that gives me some very good qualifications to be corner,” Armstrong said.

Commission candidate pitches campaign

Stephen Daume, one of the five candidates running for the Cape Girardeau County District 1 associate commissioner spot, also spoke at Friday’s meeting. He had been unable to attend an earlier Republican Women’s Club meeting with other commissioner candidates.

Daume campaigned against solar energy projects during his presentation, saying they would lead to increased energy costs for county residents and would be useless if damaged in a natural disaster.

“What happens when the private company that made the contract with the farmers … what happens when that company goes belly-up? Or when a disaster happens and they declare bankruptcy and now there’s no money to clean that up?” he said. “… When the honey money dries up, things are going to get really expensive and things are going to get tough.”