Fox, Kinder advance in Cape mayoral race; Randle, Watkins emerge from Cape's Ward 2 primary election field

Incumbent Bob Fox and current Ward 6 Councilwoman Stacy Kinder will be Cape Girardeau's candidates for mayor in the upcoming April 5 general election. Tameka Randle and Steve Watkins will be on ballots for Ward 2.

Unofficial election results show Fox gained 230 more votes than Kinder, his closest opponent. The city's third mayoral candidate, Ramona Bailey, received 254 votes.

Bob Fox

Fox, a former Ward 5 Cape Girardeau councilman, became mayor of Cape Girardeau in 2018. He garnered 873 votes or 49.32% of votes cast Tuesday, according to unofficial election results from the Cape Girardeau County Clerk's Office.

Stacy Kinder

Councilwoman Kinder received 643 votes or 36.33% of votes cast. Voters elected Kinder to represent Ward 6 in 2018.

After Kinder announced her planned bid for mayor in August, the candidate promised to bring a "fresh, yet familiar face" to the mayoral race and "a modern, open-minded approach to engaging all facets of the community."

"I'm very passionate about this city," Kinder said after the election Tuesday. "I'm really interested in being a part of moving the needle in the areas where we need to see some progress."

Fox said he decided to run for reelection because he feels the city is in a time of forward momentum.

Fox cited a desire to continue efforts to improve the city's streets and boost public safety -- something he hoped the recently-approved ShotSpotter technology and increasing the city's number of police officers would accomplish.

"People have supported a lot of initiatives we've had in the past, and I just think it's a great time to be mayor," Fox said. "Though, we have some challenges right now; challenges with workforce and development, but we can deal with those and we can get it done."

In her bid for mayor, Bailey received 254 votes or 14.35% of total votes.

Bailey said she was not shocked by the results.

"But the work continues," she said.

Bailey, owner of Royal Treatment Commercial and Residential Cleaning Services, rallied for government accountability and raising the voices of underrepresented people.

Tameka Randle

In Ward 2, 237 votes were cast. Randle received 57.81% of votes. In a crowded candidate pool -- six were on the ballot -- Watkins garnered 12.24% of votes.

Steve Watkins

Randle and Watkins will vie to replace the Ward 2 seat vacated by Shelly Moore. Moore is unable to seek reelection because of term limits set by the city's charter.

In ballot order, the six candidates for Ward 2 were Randle, Marvin McBride Jr., Sommer McCauley, Steve Watkins, Stafford Moore Jr. and Micheal "Crank" Curry.

After Tuesday's primary, Randle thanked voters and her campaign team.

"I look forward to working with all the other candidates to make Cape a better place, regardless of the outcome in April," Randle said. "I can't wait to visit with the residents of Ward 2 in the next two months."

Randle became executive director of the PORCH Initiative in October. The group formed in 2018 with a goal to revitalize the south side of Cape Girardeau.

Randle has served on a number of charitable and civic boards. She is currently president of the board of Gibson Recovery Center and is a member of the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport Advisory Board.

When asked what she'd like to do if elected in April, Randle said she'd like to help move the community toward common sense solutions to bring people together.

Her opponent, Watkins, grew up in Cape Girardeau. He owns and operates The Forge event venue and the Ironman Forge custom knives shop off Morgan Oak Street in South Cape Girardeau.

"I'm humbled and flattered to be in the race still," Watkins said. "I've got some work to do. Tameka did a wonderful job with fundraising; I actually know her personally, she's a good person. ... But I've got ground to make up."

Watkins said his focus remains on supporting his constituents' wide varieties of needs. Ward 2 encompasses several different communities, from downtown Cape Girardeau to South Cape Girardeau.

"The biggest and hardest focus is getting people comfortable with investing their money over here," Watkins said of South Cape Girardeau. "I've invested mine and I believe in this area. I'm very pleased with what I've been able to accomplish over here and I think other people can do the same."

Results of the primary election set the stage for a general election on April 5.

The deadline for new voter registration for the April election is 5 p.m. March 9.