Kinder announces planned bid for mayor of Cape

Stacy Blakeslee Kinder, current Ward 6 city councilwoman and former member of the Cape Girardeau School Board, will challenge incumbent Mayor Bob Fox in next year's April election in a bid to become the first-ever woman mayor of Missouri's 16th-largest city.

"I believe in a fresh direction that embraces open minds and collaboration," Kinder said in a release announcing her candidacy.

The filing period for mayor and for council seats in Wards 1, 2 and 6 opens Oct. 26 and closes Nov. 23. According to statute, if more than two candidates file for any one open position, a primary election will be held Feb. 8.

"It was a hard decision to run," Kinder told the Southeast Missourian. "[Fox] is a wonderful man who has done good things for the city and certainly our tradition is not to challenge an incumbent, but I've thought and prayed a lot about this with my husband and family. Ultimately it came down to believing our community is at a bit of a turning point. If we don't seek some new thoughts and new directions, we're going to look up in 10 years and realize we really missed the boat."

Background

Kinder, 50, who said "growth and opportunity" will be the buzzwords of her mayoral race, was elected in 2018 to represent residents in Ward 6 -- the western and southwestern sections of the city. Previously, she served from 2008 to 2014 on the Cape Girardeau Public Schools Board of Education and was board president for two years.

Promising to bring a "fresh, yet familiar face" to the race and "a modern, open-minded approach to engaging all facets of the community," Kinder is a native of Hot Springs, Arkansas, who graduated college with a bachelor's degree in physics. She taught physics and geometry at St. Mary's Episcopal School in Memphis, Tennessee, before relocating to Cape Girardeau in 2001.

"Physics and geometry are all about creative problem solving [and] there's not always a 'right way' to get to an answer, and I've found those skills to be helpful and important in my work in government," Kinder said, with the mother of four adding she self-defines as a "stay-at-home mom."

Positions

"I believe I am the leader who can help Cape Girardeau make real progress in a number of areas, [and] my vision is to see us strengthen our regional hub status in a variety of ways," according to the release.

"We've had very strong leadership in the past, and I want to help move things forward."

Kinder said Friday she would welcome participating in a candidate forum and debating Fox on the issues, saying she has considered making a run "for a long, long time" for the city's top elected position.

"Bob Fox did something really great when he came into office, and that's the Citizen Academy, and it's been a theme of the council, to encourage more government participation and it's been met with a lot of enthusiasm and success. Last year, the struggles which often fell along racial lines, we saw people who didn't feel they had a voice coming to us. There were times that were very hard and very unpleasant in some of our city council meetings. The takeaway, for me, is we need to continue to want to hear all different opinions and perspectives, which will only make our community stronger."

Economics

"I want to see the city encourage and unleash the potential of our businesses, while also attracting new technology and industry. I want to see all the communities that make up our city thrive and have new opportunities. I also want to see our city government work with Cape County government and surrounding communities to better expand the area's services, economic outlook and livability. These thoughts will be a central part of my platform and achieved through servant leadership, which I believe is essential to successful public service," Kinder stated.

Kinder said she is thankful of the "vast" improvement in the city's development services area and is a strong proponent of the Nov. 2 referendum on authorizing an Internet sales tax, formally a "user tax," for Cape Girardeau.

Possible pioneer

Kinder, aware the city has never had a female mayor, recalls a role model from childhood in the 1980s.

"In Hot Springs, a woman who attended our church, was our mayor. She'd show up every Sunday and without realizing it, seeing her told me as a child that women in office is a totally normal thing. Women run large corporations and countries but ultimately, regardless of gender, the most important thing is doing a good job," she said.