GOP's Paul Koeper wins Cape Girardeau County Commission District 1 seat

More than 13,500 voters have paved the way for Republican Paul Koeper to assume the role of 1st District Cape Girardeau County commissioner Jan. 1.

Koeper's votes totaled 13,639 over the 5,514 received by Democrat Marvin McMillan.

"I was humbled again tonight by the amount of people that came out in favor of me," Koeper said. "I'm ready to take ahold and go!"

Koeper said his first order of business will be negotiating a new road-paving policy.

"It's evident by all the problems going on that it's not working," he said.

The District 1 commissioner oversees the road and bridge program, which uses about 25 percent of the county's $12 million budget. He has also promised to meeting with all property owners to discuss problems along roads before new easements are required.

The campaign to replace outgoing 1st District Commissioner Larry Bock was nearly overshadowed by the contentious race for the 2nd District commissioner.

Koeper and Democratic candidate Marvin McMillan faced off over paving county roads -- a countywide issue -- and the drive to create an ambulance district.

McMillan, a truck driver for Ready Mix Concrete and a longtime volunteer firefighter, filed to run for the county seat in part as a response to the infighting among the current commissioners. He pledged to make evening meetings a reality, along with webcasting meetings.

Koeper, 53, is a civil engineer and vice president of the Jackson-based Penzel Construction Co. Inc., where he has worked 31 years. He has said he will take some time off his job in December "and then I will retire" before assuming the commission seat Jan. 1.

Between now and then, he said, he will also work on building unity among the commissioners, while recognizing Gerald Jones' role as presiding commissioner.

"I feel like I'm going to have to get both Gerald and Jay to understand we're doing this for the citizens of Cape Girardeau. It's not about 'I' and it's not about 'me.' It's going to be tough to do. Those two have had a lot of differences," he said.

Like McMillan, the drive to win enough votes for the 1st District commission seat was his first political campaign. His promise to voters includes rebuilding the public trust. Koeper has pledged to hold town-hall meetings in communities throughout the county, as well as finding ways to make the county budget to operate more efficiently.

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

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