Special election to fill Cape council seat could prove rubber stamp

A special election in August to fill an unexpired term on the Cape Girardeau City Council could prove little more than a rubber stamp.

Ryan Essex, who was chosen by the council earlier this month to temporarily fill the Ward 5 council seat, was the only candidate to have filed for the special election as of Monday. The deadline for candidates to file is 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Essex is seeking to fill the remainder of the unexpired term, which ends in April 2020.

He submitted the necessary nominating petition to run for the seat, city clerk Gayle Conrad said. Under the city charter, candidates for positions on the council must submit petitions with the valid signatures of at least 50 registered voters in their ward.

If no more than two candidates file for the council seat, the special election will be held Aug. 7, the same date as the state primary election, city officials said.

If more than two candidates file, the August election will serve as a city primary contest, with the top two vote-getters squaring off in the general election in November, according to city officials.

Cape Girardeau City Council members recently expressed concern about the lack of public interest in running for council seats or serving on city advisory boards.

City officials have proposed establishing a �citizens leadership� program to encourage more residents to get involved in city government.

The council also has changed its meeting format in an effort to encourage more residents to attend meetings. Beginning with Monday�s meeting, the council holds its study session and regular meeting back-to-back rather than having an hour or more break between the two sessions.

Bob Fox had served as Ward 5 councilman before being elected mayor in April, which created the council vacancy.

Fox said council members were �just concerned about not getting people to run for office.�

In the recent April election, there was only a single contested council race and in the race for mayor, Fox was unopposed.

Essex, chief operating officer of Gibson Recovery Center, was chosen by the council from among two applicants to temporarily fill the seat after he said he was interested in running for the position in the special election.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641