SANDER ELECTION IS FAMILY TRADITION; NEW MAYOR IS FOURTH GENERATION TO SERVE IN CITY, COUNTY GOVERNMENT POST

JACKSON - When Jackson's mayor-elect Paul Sander scored a victory over an 11-term incumbent last week, he was carrying out a family tradition.

He is the fourth generation of a family that has served in county and city government in Jackson.

Sander, 37, defeated Mayor Carlton Meyer by a vote of 1,556 to 1,145. Sander will become the first new mayor elected in Jackson in 22 years when he takes his oath of office May 3.

He'll also become the second member of the Sander family in 49 years to sit in the mayor's chair.

Sander's great grandfather, William A. Sander, served in what is now the presiding commissioner's post during the 1920s.

His grandfather, Charles H. Sander, also served as presiding commissioner of the county in the early 1940s, and was mayor of Jackson from 1941-1944.

Sander's father, Leonard H. Sander, served two terms in the 1950s as a city alderman before moving into the county political arena, where he served a term as circuit clerk and eight terms as 1st District county commissioner.

Paul Sander recalls as a very young boy being in his grandfather's hardware store and listening to the political discussions that took place there.

"I guess that's where I got my love and enjoyment of politics and city government. I literally grew up on the city streets of Jackson," the mayor-elect said.

Sander is a 100 percent hometown boy. He graduated from Jackson High School 20 years ago and never left town. After high school, he continued to work with his father in an appliance store.

The appliance store was later sold, and Sander went to Lenco, Inc., where he became the company's purchasing agent. That job ended abrupty when Sander, and other Lenco employees, were warned 45 minutes ahead of time that the business was closing.

But Sander had been considering prior to the Lenco shutdown a return to retail business. So he and Butch Schneider formed a partnership and purchased The Sports Corner on South High Street. Now in its second year of operation, Sander says the company, which is known as SEMO Sports and Specialties, Inc., has grown four-fold. It deals mainly in screen printing and the manufacture of advertising specialties, sports trophies and plaques.

While at Lenco, Sander was encouraged to become active in civic and community affairs. He's a past president and board member of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce, the Jackson Heritage Association, Jackson Elks and Jackson Rotary Club.

In 1986, Sander was elected to a Ward 3 seat on the board of aldermen. The following year, he won a term as Ward 1 alderman after moving into that ward. Sander was completing his third term as Ward 1 alderman when he made the decision to run for mayor last year.

"I'd been thinking about it for about 6-7 months, and I finally made up my mind last fall after talking to some friends and citizens in the community," he said.

Sander said his victory was accomplished with hard work and the help of volunteers.

"After I filed for mayor, I was surprised at the number of people who came forward to help in my campaign," he said. "When I filed, I had made myself a promise that I would work as hard as I could. This was going to be my best shot. I didn't want to come back in another two years and try it again."

By the time election day dawned, Sander had walked the entire city of Jackson and knocked on every door, asking for citizen support.20"One of my hobbies is walking, and I did a lot of it during March and early April," he said.

Sander relied on his father to help him develop a campaign strategy, while his mother, Aleene, worked just as hard behind the scenes with the other volunteers.

Sander feels his election is a signal from the people of Jackson that it's time for a change in leadership. But even Sander admits he was surprised at the wide margin of victory.

Between now and May 3, Sander says he plans to do a lot of listening from City Administrator Carl Talley, other city employees and the citizens of Jackson to get input "as to what we should be doing.

Sander said his administration will be open, responsive and flexible to everyone in the community. "My policy is to be fair to everyone, and to give everyone a chance to be heard, whether it be the city administrator or other members of the city staff, city employees, or the citizens of Jackson. They can come to me and know they will be given an opportunity to be heard, face-to-face. Even if it's only a minor thing, they still deserve a reply," he explained.

"I will also encourage the board of aldermen to have an open mind, like myself, on all issues, and not make up our minds until all the facts are heard. Let's not reject something outright until we hear both sides."

In that same vein, Sander says he intends to keep board members fully informed on all facets of city government and activities so they can make common sense decisions based on the facts.

"As a three-term alderman, I fully understand what this means," he said.

"Between now and May 3, I will be making a decision on my committee appointments and assignments, and the mayor pro tem. I plan to announce these appointments at the May 3 meeting, as soon as I take office," he continued. Commenting on the new mayor pro tem, Sander said it will be someone who is easily accessible when he (Sander) is out of town.

"As for me, most of the time, the people will find me at work. I'm only 100 yards away from the current city hall, and 100 yards down the street from our new city hall (at corner of West Main and Court Street) so I'll be easily accessible," he said.

Sander says he is opposed to any kind of tax increases.

"I'm very anti-tax. The public right now is taxed to death, from the national level right on down. You're going to have to prove to me that a tax increase is the only way to do it, and not by becoming more frugal, eliminating wasteful or unneeded programs, or by becoming more efficient," he said. "The best way we can increase city revenues is to make sure our commercial and industrial growth continues."

Although not in favor of legislating term limits, Sander is quick to point out that he has no intention of being mayor for 20 years.

"Each situation is different," he said. "There are some people who have been in office for 10 years that need to be out a lot more than some who have been in 20 years. It all depends on the individual."

Sander emphasized he is not referring to the incumbent mayor. "I think Mayor Meyer has accomplished a lot for the city of Jackson during his time in office," he said.

As for his future political plans, Sander said he intends to serve a full term as mayor and possibly seek a second term. And beyond that? "I'm not going to say that at a point down the road, if the situation arises, that I would not consider something else. But right now, my attention is focused on being mayor of Jackson."

When he's not at work or tending to his duties as alderman and soon-to-be mayor,20Sander is at home with his family, which includes his wife, the former Pamela Hahn, and their two sons: Sam, age 5, and Spencer, who is almost a year old.

For relaxation, Sander plays an aggressive game of softball. He's a member of the Jackson Men's Softball League and has served as its president.

This is his 20th year on one of the men's softball teams that has won several state championships. "I started out 20 years ago as a shortstop, but I've moved around the infield to first base, so I'm getting closer to the bench," he laughed. "I guess when my ball-playing days are over, I'll become a coach or manager."

In addition to softball, Sander is an avid St. Louis Blues hockey fan and attends Blues games frequently during the winter. "I still follow the baseball Cardinals, but not football, since the Cardinals left St. Louis," he said.

During the fall months, Sander has worked the past six years as the public address announcer for all of the Jackson High School home football games. "I enjoy it because it lets me see the sons of my former classmates," he explained.