Two compete for municipal position in Jackson

When voters in northeastern Jackson take to the polls Tuesday, they will see two familiar names on the ballot for the Ward 4 Alderman seat -- the incumbent candidate Joe Bob Baker and his challenger Steven Lee.

Steven Lee

Baker retired from his position as the president and owner of B & B Auto Salvage in 2017, but seeks to continue serving the city as an elected official if re-elected to represent Ward 4 since being first elected in August 1999.

Joe Bob Baker

After growing up in New Jersey and living in Pennsylvania, Lee transferred to Jackson in 2003 through his work with Procter & Gamble and previously ran as a Ward 4 Alderman candidate in April 2019 against then-incumbent Ward 4 Alderman Tommy Kimbel.

In an email to the Southeast Missourian, Lee stated his experiences throughout the country can provide voters with different perspectives. He expressed his belief that "there should be real thought" put into the city's taxpayer dollars and stated he seeks to find out what is most important to the citizens -- even if those interests are counter to what the City of Jackson wants.

Bringing in more retail and commercial business issues were the top priority mentioned by Baker in an email to the Southeast Missourian. The incumbent candidate stated his focused on making improvements to traffic flow and acknowledged the "very hard work" done by the city's public works department to help maintain the city's electrical infrastructures, water and sewer lines and treatments of waste water.

Baker also mentioned his involvement as one of three committee members from the Board of Aldermen who helped with the project design and build selection of the recently-completed Jackson Police Department.