Few file for three Cape council seats

Voters may have no choice in Cape Girardeau's April municipal election to fill three council seats. With the candidate filing deadline a day away, only incumbent councilmen Jay Purcell in Ward 3 and Hugh White in Ward 4 have filed.

The third incumbent whose term is set to expire next spring, Ward 5 councilman Matt Hopkins, said Friday he will file for re-election today. That raises the prospect there won't be any contested council seats for the first time since the city began holding ward elections a decade ago, city clerk Gayle Conrad said.

The three councilmen and former mayoral candidate Stan Wicks are the only city residents who have picked up nominating petitions since the start of the filing process on Sept. 23. Wicks said he's decided not to run because Purcell, his Ward 3 councilman, is seeking re-election.

Purcell was elected in 1998 to fill an unexpired term. He, White and Hopkins were elected to four-year terms in 2000. White previously served on the council from 1988 to 1992.

Candidates officially could file for office beginning Oct. 21. The filing deadline is 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Rick Althaus, a political science professor at Southeast Missouri State University, said the lack of challengers may reflect the power of incumbency and a lack of interest in public service.

Many residents wouldn't want to serve, he said. "It is a whole lot easier to complain than to serve," he said.

Althaus said many people also are too busy with careers and demands on family time to serve on the council. "It is a heck of a time commitment," Althaus said.

"It is not a money-making proposition. It is truly public service," he said. Council members get paid $100 a month. The mayor receives $150 a month.

Althaus said the lack of challengers for the three council positions may reflect a lack of controversy in city hall.

"When there is not a controversy, it is pretty hard to sell yourself to the voters," he said of challengers.

Althaus said many residents don't even know who represents their ward on the city council.

Faye Schreiner, who lives on Edgewood Drive, couldn't name her councilman despite having served as a Cape Girardeau County election judge. She said she was unaware of the candidate filing period.

The city, she said, needs to do more to publicize the election process.

But Mayor Jay Knudtson said the city has publicized the filing process, both in the regular city newsletter to residents and on the city's Web site.

Knudtson said the ward system has provided for more diversity on the city council, but it hasn't led to more candidates running for council seats as supporters had suggested.

The mayor said there's no denying public apathy toward politics. That hurts the democratic process, he said.

Apathy vs. approval

But Knudtson said the lack of challengers for the April municipal election may have less to do with apathy and more to do with public approval of the three incumbents.

"These three incumbents have done a terrific job for citizens," he said.

If the three councilmen weren't doing a good job representing their wards, there would be candidates lining up to run, the mayor said.

"I think what really fosters participation in the political process by people is a real mistrust and disgust with somebody else," he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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