SEVERAL EYEING STATE REP'S POSITION

The first candidate has announced his intention to run for state representative in the 157th District in 2002, entering a race in which the field could be wide open and redistricting could play a role.

Scott Lipke, an assistant prosecuting attorney for Cape Girardeau County, announced Monday that he will file for the seat being vacated in 2002 by State Rep. David Schwab, R-Jackson. Lipke first publicly indicated his plans to run last week at a meeting of the Cape Girardeau County Republican Central Committee, where two others also said they are considering a run.

Lipke is a 1982 Jackson High School graduate who has been with the prosecuting attorney's office for nearly four years. One of his duties has been to provide legal opinions to the Cape Girardeau County Commission and other elected county officials.

The state representative's office "would allow me to do the same thing on a little bit larger scale," he said.

The district has been fortunate to have Schwab as its representative, Lipke said. "We may have different personalities or approaches, but we have a lot similarities, a lot of the same values and principles."

Lipke, 32, is on the boards of the Safe House for Women and Riverside Regional Library. He is a member of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce, the Jackson Jaycees, the Farm Bureau and county and state bar associations.

In 1999, he ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Jackson.

Other possible candidates

Others are talking about running for the 157th District seat, which Schwab must leave in 2002 because of term limits.

Tom Sachse, a feed and seed store manager who lives in Friedheim, also told members of the Republican Central Committee last week he is interested in the job.

"I am considering running," he said Monday.

Sachse is 33 and has never held elected office. He is on the board of directors of the Cape Girardeau County Farm Bureau and is a superintendent for the SEMO District Fair.

Donna Lichtenegger, chairwoman of the 8th District Republican Committee and a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 2000, reportedly told the committee she plans to announce her intention to run for state representative soon.

Lichtenegger, who lives in Jackson, could not be reached for comment Monday.

Others have been mentioned as possible candidates, including Tom Schulte and Jackson Mayor Paul Sander. Schulte, district office director of U.S. Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond, R-Mo., was noncommittal Monday. "Several people have talked to me about it, but redistricting has to be resolved," he said. "Time will tell, I guess."

Two bipartisan state commissions are redrawing state districts to jibe with population shifts revealed in the 2000 census. One possible scenario is that state Rep. Rod Jetton, R-Marble Hill, could be redistricted into the 157th District. Jetton now represents the 156th District.

He said Monday he plans to run for re-election in 2002 no matter where his district boundaries fall. He said the redistricting plan must be released by Sept. 28.

Sander not running

Over the past few years, Sander said, a number of people have asked whether he would be interested in the seat when Schwab is no longer eligible to run. "It's gratifying to know there would be some basis of support."

But with two relatively young children still at home, he doesn't want to spend six months a year in Jefferson City. "I don't feel it's in my family's interest at this time," he said. "I will not be a candidate in 2002."

Sander did not rule out a run for a local elected position or, further into the future, for state representative.

Filing for the November 2002 election doesn't begin until late February, but Lipke said he wanted to get off to a running start.

"Any time you have an open seat, you know it's going to draw a lot of people into the race. The earlier the better trying to get grass-roots support."

Schwab will leave office in 2002 after serving 14 years.