Race for presiding commissioner: Candidate Tracy says Cape County's image needs repaired

In the six-way Republican primary for Cape Girardeau County presiding commissioner, state Rep. Clint Tracy has the biggest campaign treasury and the most experience in a paid political office except District 1 Commissioner Jay Purcell.

After one term representing the 158th District in the Missouri House, Tracy, 36, said he wants to repair the county's image damaged by infighting between Purcell and Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones, who is not seeking re-election.

Cape Girardeau County has the strongest economy and the best-financed government in the area, Tracy said.

"We've got a jewel down here in Southeast Missouri, and that's what we need to be promoting and focusing on," he said. "A new presiding commissioner will open up an opportunity for a fresh start."

Tracy, an officer in the Naval Reserve, won a three-way Republican primary in 2008 for the 158th District seat. That victory came less than a year after he returned home from active duty in Iraq.

But Tracy's decision to seek a new job after a single term is one reason former Cape Girardeau County auditor Weldon Macke is supporting Stephen Daume, a cattle breeder and farmer from Daisy. Macke was auditor for 34 years.

"I believe when you run for a job, you do the job while you are there and stay by the job even if another job that pays more comes along," Macke said. "I hate to see a job-hopper. It is just me, but I hate to see that."

The other GOP candidates are Doyle Parmer of Dutchtown, retired Cape Girardeau firefighter Charles Brawley and financial adviser Chris Hutson.

The presiding commissioner job pays almost twice as much as the $35,915 legislative salary. But that's not why he's seeking the post, Tracy said. Since the 2008 election, his wife, Carrie, has given birth to a son, Teddy, and he said he should be home.

"It really wasn't fair to her," Tracy said.

Tracy did not miss any votes during a special legislative session this summer. "I haven't abdicated my responsibilities," he said. "Being a state representative is a two-year deal."

County Collector Diane Diebold, a Tracy supporter, said she has no issues with his decision. Jones has been in office for 16 years, she said. The two years in Jefferson City gave Tracy experience dealing with constituents, an understanding of state government and statewide connections that can help the county, she said.

"I also believe he comes into this job fresh, with no baggage, nobody he's beholden to, and when I look at the field of gentlemen that are running, Clint is the one who jumps out at me as someone I can have a lot of faith in," Diebold said.

Tracy himself wasn't sure he would seek the presiding commissioner post until early in the year. His fundraising dropped off after he switched contests, but that changed in the second quarter and he took in $18,021 for his campaign, more than all five opponents combined. Much of his support comes from area business people.

Tracy said he will bring the conservative values he's used as a guide in Jefferson City to county government. With Cape Girardeau and Jackson pushing for subdivision rules to govern new development in the county, Tracy said he wants those standards to be voluntary. Developers should be encouraged to meet city standards, he said, but if they do not they should disclose that to purchasers.

"I like less government," Tracy said. "More regulation means fewer individual rights."

For the same reason, Tracy said a push to bring charter government to Cape Girardeau County should come from a grassroots petition drive. Commissioners can put a question before voters asking if they want a committee appointed to write a charter, but Tracy questions whether voters locally are demanding a charter government.

During his tenure in the House, Tracy sponsored two bills that have become law -- one to convey to Cape Girardeau enough state property to allow for the construction of Veterans Memorial Drive, the other a change in a tax credit law used extensively by Habitat for Humanity. As the minimum wage rose, families with two workers earning minimum wage found that they made too much money to qualify. Tracy's measure fixed that problem, said T. Robin Cole, vice president of Cape Area Habitat for Humanity.

Cole donated $250 to Tracy's campaign. Before Purcell got in the race, Cole gave him $750 to retire debt from the 2008 contest. Neither donation is an endorsement, Cole said, adding that he has given to other candidates.

Tracy has impressive credentials, Cole said. His education at the U.S. Naval Academy and his military service handling budgets for spare parts and reconstruction in Iraq show strong qualities, he said. But that doesn't make Tracy the only qualified candidate, he added.

"The voters will make the decision about the best candidate," Cole said. "It is at this point, for me, a chance to choose from a field rich in talent."

Tracy is finding support among longtime family friends and people who have more recently become acquainted with them. His mother, Debra Tracy, is a Cape Girardeau City Council member who is running for her son's House seat. His father, Brian Tracy, runs Timberline International Forest Products.

If Purcell is elected presiding commissioner, Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon will appoint the replacement for his District 2 seat. That's not the way a true Republican acts, Tracy said.

"Setting up a situation where the governor can appoint someone is not serving the people," he said. "Fundamentally, if you are running as a Republican you should espouse that platform."

Businessman Dutch Meyr is also interested in defeating Purcell and, with Tracy's electoral success in Purcell's Cape Girardeau base, the decision was sealed.

Meyr, a former Southeast Missouri State University football coach, recruited Brian Tracy for his team. Meyr, a successful businessman, said those connections, as well as Clint Tracy's education, background and demeanor as one who listens and studies issues thoroughly before making a decision, make him right for the job.

Tracy said he does believe it will be possible to end the feuding after the election.

"I approached both commissioners before I filed, both Paul and Jay, and said if I am elected we can work together," he said. "I told them that if your best interest is Cape Girardeau County, mine is, too."

rkeller@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address: Cape Girardeau County, MO