LAWMAKERS BEGIN FILING FOR RE-ELECTION

JEFFERSON CITY - Most Southeast Missouri legislators up for election in 1992 have already filed for re-election, and those that have not plan to do so soon.

Tuesday was the first opportunity for candidates to file. Filing continues for the Aug. 5 primary through March 31.

Since this is a redistricting year, legislators are now serving districts drawn in 1981, but will be running in new districts that were drawn last year. For some representatives, they will have new district numbers.

Sen. John Dennis, D-Benton, who is starting his 16th year in the Senate, is the only Bootheel lawmaker who has announced his intentions not to run again.

Rep. Mary Kasten, R-Cape Girardeau, will be shifting from the 159th District to the 158th if she chooses to seek a sixth term in the House. Kasten is contemplating whether to seek the 27th District Senate seat being vacated by Dennis.

Kasten said she plans to run for one of the posts and will decide soon what to do.

Sikeston Mayor Bill Burch, a Democrat, is the only candidate to file for the Senate seat so far. Burch formally entered the race early Tuesday. The 27th District comprises the counties of Cape Girardeau, Perry, Madison, Bollinger, Scott, and Mississippi.

The other Southeast Missouri Senate seat on the ballot is in the 25th District, which is held by Jerry Howard, D-Dexter. Howard also filed for re-election early Tuesday.

Howard was first elected to the seat in December 1990, following the resignation of Steve Sharp of Kennett, who accepted a circuit judgeship in Dunklin and Stoddard counties.

The newly-drawn 25th District is made up of the counties of Stoddard, New Madrid, Butler, Pemiscot, Dunklin, and Wayne.

Rep. David Schwab, R-Jackson, has not yet filed in the 157th District, but has made it clear he plans to run for a third term in 1992.

Rep. Herb Fallert, D-Ste. Genevieve, who is now in the 155th District made up of Perry and Ste. Genevieve counties, sand he expects to run for a sixth term but will not be filing this week.

Filing earlier this week for new terms were: James Graham, D-Fredericktown, seeking a second term in the 106th District; Rep. Joe Driskill, D-Poplar Bluff, seeking a sixth term from the 156th District that now has most of Bollinger County; Gene Copeland, D-New Madrid, seeking his 17th term in the 161st District; Opal Parks, D-Caruthersville, in the 162nd District, seeking a fourth term; and Rep. Larry Thomason, D-Kennett, seeking a third term in the 163rd District.

Rep. Mark Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, announced Thursday that he would seek a second term in the House. His 154th District includes most of Butler County.

Said Richardson: "The first term has certainly been an educational experience. The whole process of state government requires some acclamation, and I believe that now that this period is behind me, I will be able to be even more effective in the legislative process as well as responding to constituent needs."

He stressed that while there is always "unfinished business" in the legislature, it is important that radical changes be made in the way government does business in order to restore public confidence in the system.

"Much of the problem is with our federal government, and is beyond the control of the state legislature. But there are things which we can do in Jefferson City that will help our people," he said.

"After serving in the General Assembly for two years, I believe I have a good understanding of the direction in which government needs to move. I am anxious to be a part of the efforts to implement legislation to move us in that direction."

In the 157th District, which includes most of Stoddard County, and Chaffee, Oran and Morley in Scott County, Rep. Marilyn Williams, D-Dudley, has filed for another term. Williams won a special election in February after Howard won his Senate seat.

The only contested legislative race in this area so far is in the 160th District, where Reps. Dennis Ziegenhorn, D-Sikeston, and Ollie Amick, D-Benton, have filed.

The redistricting process, which resulted in the loss of one House seat in the 8th Congressional District, left Amick and Ziegenhorn in the same district.