Former police officer to run for vacant council seat

A second candidate has come forward to announce his intention to run for the vacant Ward 3 seat.

The position became available after Cape Girardeau City Council member Trent Summers resigned March 31 because he's moving out of the city.

Victor R. Gunn has worked as a political consultant and campaign manager for campaigns in Missouri and Alaska. Before that, he spent 21 years working for the Fairbanks Police Department in Alaska, where he retired as chief in 1995. Locally, he was past president of the Cape Girardeau Senior Center board of directors and serves on the Seniors and Law Enforcement Together (SALT) committee.

The candidate has been endorsed by Ward 3 residents Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, state Sen. Wayne Wallingford and former state representative Mary Kasten, according to a news release from Gunn.

Gunn said his past experience in public safety and government relations make him a strong candidate for Ward 3 councilman. When he lived in Fairbanks -- a town he said closely compared to Cape Girardeau in size and government -- it endured a few "similar problems." One of them was a dilapidated police department.

"Once the oil pipeline money started to run out, we still had to deal with a nonexistent tax that had been voted out many years earlier, so it was quite an issue trying to pay for things," he said. "And the voters didn't seem inclined to reinstate a sales tax, so we made do with what we had and just tried to make the best of our resources."

A new police station eventually was funded through bonding, Gunn said, but the facility was built after he was no longer with the department.

Financial responsibility and making the most of available funds are ideas Gunn said he plans to keep in mind if he becomes a council member.

Evan Trump

"I would like to see continued growth in the historic district as well as the rest of the city, doing whatever is necessary to attract businesses to Cape Girardeau," Gunn said. "I certainly would like to see continued efforts by the city to attract newcomers through our historical districts, our history of the city, renovation of our downtown area as well as some of our residential areas. ... I would like to see that done with minimal impact on taxpayers, however, and would work to try to take the resources we have and utilize [them] as best we can without creating an additional burden to the taxpayer."

Although he spent many years in Alaska, Gunn said after he retired, "there was no other place I wanted to be than Cape Girardeau," and he's owned the same home in Ward 3 since 1994. He was born here -- a fourth-generation Cape Girardeau native -- and his family on his mother's side has lived in the area since the 1880s.

Gunn said he plans to apply for the position of temporary representative, as well as the elected position. The council has 60 days from the date of Summers' resignation to appoint a temporary member to serve until the election. Applications for the temporary position must be returned by April 18 to be reviewed by the council at its next meeting.

Gunn is the second person to come forward this week as a candidate for the Ward 3 position. Former Cape Girardeau County Republican chairman Evan Trump also plans to run. To qualify as an official candidate in the election, both men must gather signatures from 50 registered voters in Ward 3 and have them certified by the city clerk.

If Trump and Gunn are the only candidates who apply for the position, the winner will be selected in a November general election. An August primary will be required if any more candidates apply.

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

Cape Girardeau, Mo.