CUMMINS AND HOLLOWAY VIE FOR MAYORSHIP IN SCOTT CITY

SCOTT CITY -- The mayoral candidates in Scott City should be familiar to residents because both have made bids for office before.

Jerry Cummins and Rodney Holloway are vying for a seat as the city's top elected official. Mayor Larry Forhan is not seeking re-election for a second term.

Scott City voters also will choose four council members during Tuesday's election. The council candidates are Gary Miller, John Rogers Jr., Jerome Gulley and Marsha Zimmerman. Each candidate is running unopposed for two-year terms.

As the senior member of the council, Cummins has firsthand knowledge about how city government operates and hopes that experience attracts voters.

"I feel it is important to know how the city operates," he said, adding that his experience should qualify him for office.

During his tenure, he has served on almost every city committee from budget and finance to public works. He also served on the park board for five years and has worked with the youth league.

Many improvements have been made in the city lately, he said.

Scott City voters approved a transportation sales tax in August that will improve city streets. Another major project that Cummins worked on was annexing the Nash Road Industrial tract. Cummins said he wants to see that the money goes to the streets and that the Nash Road project continues to do well.

"I've lived here all my life and care about the town," he said, adding that he is a third-generation council member. "I'm not out to change much, I just want to make it better."

Cummins and his wife, Pam, have been married for 32 years. They have six children.

If Cummins is not elected mayor, he will have one year left on his current term as city councilman. And Cummins won't have a problem working with his opponent, should Holloway be elected, he said. "I'll do my duty."

Unlike Cummins, Rodney Holloway has no prior experience in city government but he does have campaign experience. He is making his fourth bid for office.

Holloway could not be reached at his home Sunday.

In 1994 and 1990, he ran for a council seat in the city's third ward. In 1992, he ran against Larry Forhan in the city's mayoral race. He was defeated in all three races.

Holloway, a resident of Scott City for more than 10 years, owns K & R Estates. He is a member of the First Baptist Church in Scott City and the Elks Lodge in Cape Girardeau. He and his wife, Karen, have three children.