County clerk race opens with roadside sign campaign

~ The GOP primary winner will be the next clerk because no Democrat filed.

The Republican primary for county clerk is a "family feud" that will end when the winner is declared Aug. 8, a supporter of one candidate said last week.

Large signs proclaiming support for candidates Kara Clark and Paul Sander line all the major roads in Cape Girardeau County, with some standing side by side. That competition for prime space is mirrored in the two camps' rivalry for supporters prominent in area politics.

Clark, director of sales for the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau, has lined up several current officeholders for her effort, including Sheriff John Jordan and Collector Diane Diebold. Sander, mayor of Jackson for the past 13 years and a real estate broker, has garnered support from Cape Girardeau Mayor Jay Knudtson and his predecessor, Al Spradling III.

The primary winner will be the next clerk because no Democrat filed to replace Rodney Miller, a Democrat who is retiring after 28 years in the post.

The county has only one other primary race -- for presiding commissioner -- but that contest hasn't seen any obvious campaigning. Until the county commission decided last week to put a half-cent sales-tax increase on the ballot, the clerk's race was the major draw for voters in the August election.

The competition between Sander and Clark is good for the county and good for the party, county GOP vice chairwoman Donna Lichtenegger said.

Since Missouri has no party registration, voters can ask for a ballot from either party, she noted. People who consider themselves Democrats can ask for a GOP ballot to vote in the clerk's race in order to have a voice in the selection, she said.

With no November contest for clerk, she said, the primary is voters' only chance to be heard. "They either don't vote or they take a Republican ballot."

Lichtenegger is neutral in the race, a position she said she must take because of her role as a county party official and state committeewoman. "Obviously, if I felt someone was unqualified I would step forward," she said.

The county officeholders backing Clark don't feel constrained by the same protocol that keeps Lichtenegger neutral. But their strong feelings for Clark won't affect their attitude toward Sander should Clark lose.

"Primaries are family feuds," Jordan said. "When it is over, you lay it aside and go on. In November, you back your party. If you can't support someone, you stay silent."

Sander's supporters said their help is based on their knowledge of his work while in office, not on any deficiencies they see in Clark.

"The relationship we have been able to build on with Jackson is attributable to Paul's leadership," Knudtson said. "He has been able to put parochialism aside. I consider him a true ally and a true friend, and I consider he would make a terrific clerk."

Sander and Clark bring vastly different life experiences to their quest for the county clerk's job. Sander has won seven mayoral elections in Jackson. Prior to that he was a city councilman.

As mayor, he said, he's sought to improve relations between Jackson and Cape Girardeau and to lead growth in Jackson. The job has given him experience with governmental budgeting, personnel and insurance issues, areas where the county clerk's office has significant duties.

"I have a solid record of accomplishment and growth to stand on," Sander said.

Clark, a Cape Girardeau native, returned to the area after 11 years with Southwest Airlines. Her top job was as the airline's manager at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport. In that position she ran a department with 33 supervisors and 181 customer service agents.

That business experience is a solid base for dealing with the aspects of the clerk's job involving county personnel issues such as payroll, insurance and benefits, she said.

Clark said she's running because "I am really passionate about the community and I wanted to make a difference."

The race is Clark's first foray into politics, and she is the first person in her family to seek office. Sander, meanwhile, has a family tradition of political involvement. His father and grandfather held county office, and his brother, Leonard Sander, is the county Republican chairman.

Sander began the race with another edge. He was able to move $8,351 from the campaign treasury built during his tenure as mayor into the clerk's contest. Clark didn't organize her campaign committee until April 4, so she won't report how much she's been able to raise until July 15.

The large campaign signs dotting the highways aren't cheap, and they are only the beginning of what supporters said they expect to be an expensive race.

Clark expects to raise and spend $20,000 to $35,000 for her campaign. Sander wouldn't say what he expects to spend.

Sander's signs prominently proclaim his name and the office he is seeking. Clark's do the same, and add a slogan -- "Honesty and Integrity mean everything."

Clark's supporters explain that the slogan is aimed at reassuring voters that the work of the office will be conducted fairly, reflecting a continuation of the tradition set by Miller in such instances as the recount of the 2002 state representative primary race between Lichtenegger and Scott Lipke. Lipke won that race by 24 votes.

They deny the slogan is a dig at Sander, who was investigated by Jordan's office for allegations that he mixed his post as mayor with his real estate transactions. The state attorney general's office issued a statement in 2005 that no indication of wrongdoing by Sander was found.

Sander said he won't address the investigation again except to say it resulted from complaints by people disgruntled with him over city decisions.

"If you have made everybody happy in 14 years, you are not doing your job," he said. "You have to do what you think is best after getting all the information you can. You need to make decisions that are in the best interest of your entity."

Clark's brother, developer Ron Clark, had a heated dispute with the city of Jackson over a sewer project along U.S. 61 that was completed in 2003. The developer said the city reneged on an informal agreement on how the city would award him the sewer job. The city said no agreement, informal or otherwise, was made with Ron Clark on the project, which was completed by a Festus, Mo. firm.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126

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duties

Duties of the county clerk:

Conduct elections

* Maintain voter registration rolls

* Keep records for the county commission

* Handle personnel, payroll and benefits for county employees

* Maintain county insurance policies

* Handle county bidding purchases

* Prepare county financial statements

* Issue liquor licenses

* Certify tax rates of local taxing districts

* Secretary to the board of equalization

* Keeper of public records, including archived county records

* Process commissions for notary publics