Four Cape Girardeau County officials not seeking re-election

Cape Girardeau County's longest-serving officeholder, Circuit Clerk Charles Hutson, said Friday he won't be seeking a 10th term in office. That doesn't mean voters won't see the name Hutson on the ballot this year, but it will be Chris Hutson, Charles Hutson's son, running for presiding commissioner.

Unlike his father, a Democrat, Chris Hutson will file on the Republican ticket, citing dissatisfaction with the national Democratic Party as his reason for choosing the GOP.

Charles Hutson will be one of four county officeholders who won't be seeking new terms this year. Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones, Auditor David Ludwig and Associate Circuit Judge Peter Statler are leaving office. Jones said in 2006 that he would not seek re-election this year, and Statler is eligible for another term but would be forced to retire because of age before the term is over.

Ludwig, who was the center of a 2008 controversy over his viewing and printing of images of Pamela Anderson on his work computer, said Friday he was not seeking re-election because he has reached retirement age.

The result of those retirements will be new faces. Voters can expect primaries for many of the offices, but so far only a handful of people are talking about their plans.

Filing for county offices opens Feb. 23 and closes March 30. County offices on the ballot this year are presiding commissioner, circuit clerk, county clerk, recorder of deeds, prosecuting attorney, auditor, collector and both circuit judge posts.

On Friday, state Rep. Scott Lipke, R-Jackson, said he will seek Statler's judicial seat. Chief deputy circuit clerk Patti Wibbenmeyer, also interviewed Friday, said she would run for the top job because of Charles Hutson's retirement. And Cape Girardeau Central High School assistant principal Pete Frazier announced in June he would enter the Republican primary for auditor.

Frazier could not be reached Friday for comment. But Ludwig said the prospect of a contested primary isn't the reason he is stepping aside.

"My plans were two terms originally, and I will be 64 and very close to 65 at the end of the year and I have always wanted to retire as close to 65 as I possibly can," Ludwig said.

In an interview, Charles Hutson cited a need to help his parents with the family farm near Burfordville and his multiple bypass operation as reasons for retiring.

"I don't think I will run," he said. "It is not definite, but I don't think I will."

Chris Hutson said he's putting together a campaign committee. While he said part of the pull to run is a genetic urge to seek office, he also wants a more orderly, businesslike atmosphere in the commission chamber.

"I just feel we could bring some unity back to the county instead of bickering," he said, referring to disagreements that have plagued commission business since early 2008.

While he thinks he inherited a penchant for politics, the DNA didn't include his parents' political party.

"For me, the party has changed and from where I stand as a Christian and from a moral standpoint, I have no choice but to run as a Republican," Chris Hutson said.

Though he will likely see several opponents -- a dozen candidates filed for commission seats on the first day in 2008 -- he won't be up against one well-known political operative. Tom Schulte, long-time district director for U.S. Sen. Kit Bond, said he would not run for presiding commissioner, a job he was aiming at in the fall.

"Folks have been very supportive but when they approach me about it I tell them I can't make the commitment," Schulte said. "Maybe carrying the football rather than being the quarterback is the best role for me."

In the contest for circuit clerk, Wibbenmeyer said she will ask voters to reward the efficient workings of the office by putting her in charge. Wibbenmeyer, a Republican, has worked in the circuit clerk's office since 1981 and has been the chief deputy since 1999.

"I have been here so long that I feel this is where my heart is and it is a job that takes a lot of experience," she said.

Incumbents who said Friday they are seeking re-election include Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle, a Republican seeking his seventh term; Recorder of Deeds Janet Robert, a Democrat seeking her ninth full term; Clerk Kara Clark-Summers, a Republican finishing her first term; and Collector Diane Diebold, a Republican who will be running for her fourth term.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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