DOBSON IS THE FIRST CANDIDATE TO FILE IN THE CITY'S WARD 6

Dennis Dobson of 157 Pebble Lane Tuesday became the first person to file as a city council candidate for Cape Girardeau's Ward 6.

Dobson, 51, is the technical manager at Lone Star Cement plant in Cape Girardeau. As a resident of Twin Lakes subdivision since 1987, Dobson only recently became a resident of the city.

In August, the subdivision was annexed into the city. The city charter requires that city council candidates be a resident for at least four years prior to the election.

But City Attorney Warren Wells has said he's uncertain how the residency requirement would apply to an annexed area.

"I talked with the city attorney, who indicated he didn't really have a clear-cut decision either way," Dobson said. "He said the best thing was to file a petition and see what happens.

"I feel I do have an interest in the city. I've been living in this house for more than six years and, logically, if it's in the city limits then it would seem I would be eligible."

Dobson said that as a council member he would work to represent the best interests of the entire city, not just those people residing in his ward.

"I think you have to be willing to do the right thing for the whole city," he said.

Dobson also said he's interested in ensuring that riverboat gambling proceeds are used properly within the city.

As an engineer, Dobson said he's interested in continued improvements to the city's infrastructure to help induce commercial and residential development.

He also owns an apartment building in Cape Girardeau and has kept a keen eye on the city's efforts to adopt a minimum property maintenance code. The city staff favors a standard national code, while city council members have pushed for a watered-down version.

Dobson said he favors something in between.

"I have no qualms with minimum standards, but it has to be a fair law for everybody to live by," he said. "I think those types of things can get carried away, and it has to be fair."

Dobson said this is the first time he's sought election to public office. He said people who have encouraged him to run consider that one of his best assets.

"They told me at least I don't have some of the bad habits that a more experienced politician might have," he said.

Dobson graduated from Michigan Tech University in Houghton in 1965 with a degree in chemical engineering. He worked for a Detroit cement company for eight years, then worked for cement companies in New York and Birmingham, Ala.

In 1982, he began working for Lone Star, where he now manages quarry operations, the laboratory and cement distribution.

He's been a member of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce for the past "six or seven years" and the Cape Breakfast Optimist Club for the past four years.

"Anybody who can get up for 6:30 Monday morning meetings, gets a jump start on the week," Dobson quipped about his membership in the Optimists.

He and his wife, Pat, have a 25-year-old son.

Although he's the first to file, Dobson likely will have competition for the Ward 6 council seat up for election in April.

Also on Tuesday, Jay Knudtson of 1126 Cyprus Ct. picked up a nominating petition. He joins Richard Eggimann, 235 Hillview, and Jess Hopple, 2700 Bloomfield, as potential Ward 6 candidates who have yet to file petitions.

David Barklage, a former two-term city councilman, also picked up petitions for council and the at-large mayor's race Tuesday. He told the deputy city clerk that the petitions are for someone else.