NAEGER RETURNED TO STATE HOUSE

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- A turnout of voters 10 percent above expectations put two incumbents back in office in Perry County and cost a county commissioner of eight years his job.

Republican state Rep. Patrick Naeger was re-elected, and Democrats Herb Miller was elected county coroner and Patrick Heaps won the western district county commissioner seat.

A total of 7,469 voters, or 71 percent of those registered in Perry County, came to the polls, said Randy Taylor, county clerk.

Naeger was celebrating with other county Republicans at Perryville's American Legion Hall Tuesday night.

Naeger received 4,868 votes to John Wibbenmeyer's 2,342.

"I'm blessed," Naeger said. "I've had such good years."

Tuesday's win in his fourth election contest is a resounding "yes" from voters to what he is doing as state representative of the 155th District, Naeger said.

"I've taken my marching orders to Jefferson City and done what I was told to do," he said.

Wibbenmeyer, who was watching election returns in Ste. Genevieve's Steel Workers Hall, said that his loss could been seen as a small part of what happened in Missouri elections overall.

"Part of this is related to the whole state movement of going to the Republican side," he said.

Wibbenmeyer, a retired high school teacher from Ste. Genevieve, said he had tried to define his differences with Naeger in the areas of education and coalition building. He supports giving more money to public schools, and thinks better alliances should be made between political parties.

Wibbenmeyer's only previous political campaign was for county assessor 14 years ago.

Naeger had been elected to the legislature in 1994 after serving as county coroner.

His governor-appointed replacement as coroner, Herb Miller, won in his campaign against challenger Bob Young by a count of 3,963 to 3,259.

Miller credited his victory to a larger than expected interest in the coroner's race. He had more than 500 yard signs up, and none was placed without a property owner's consent, Miller said.

"We didn't put one up that someone didn't want," he said.

This was Miller's first election with opposition. He ran unopposed in 1996.

Incumbent commissioner Michael Yamnitz, who had won by only nine votes in the August primary, received 1,839 votes to Heaps' 2,288.

Two sewer bond issues in Altenburg and Frohna were passed as expected. Altenburg voted 149 to 7 in favor of the $1.5 million bond issue, while Frohna decided in favor 108 to 15 for an identical bond.