GROUP HOLDS PETITION DRIVE FOR CITY WARDS

A Cape Girardeau citizens group wanting to change the city's system of government will hold a petition drive today.

The petition-signing effort by the Citizens Action Group for Responsive Government will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in front of DuShell's Furniture, 2103 William.

The group also held a petition drive at the same location Saturday.

Bruce Melvin, one of the petitioner organizers, said the drive is part of a petition effort that has been under way this summer to put a measure on the November ballot that calls for changing from an at-large system to a ward or zone system of electing city council members.

The petition calls for dividing the city up into six zones, made of two or three voting wards each..

More than 1,750 signatures are needed to get the issue on the ballot. Melvin said Saturday that the group needed only 450 more signatures to meet the election requirement.

Melvin said supporters believe a zone system would provide citizens with better representation.