Best wishes to Councilwoman Schneider

Those who keep up with local politics will notice a face missing at Cape Girardeau City Council meetings after this spring.

Longtime Councilwoman Loretta Schneider, elected in 1981 as the first woman to serve on the council, is leaving office due to term limits adopted in 1996.

Schneider served on the council for five years, then returned to the seat in April 2005 to fill an unexpired term. When she leaves office this spring, after her second four-year term, she will have served 16 of the last 35 years. During that time, she worked with three Cape Girardeau mayors: Howard Tooke, Jay Knudtson and Harry Rediger.

Schneider said female candidates were not common in the 1980s.

"At that time, too many women were waiting for their husbands to tell them how to vote," she said, adding that today "women have become more independent thinkers." Indeed, since Schneider's election in 1981, more women have run and been elected to the council.

Schneider has also had careers in education and in real estate, and said she consistently ran on a platform of "good government and quality of life."

Though Schneider's time with the council is coming to an end, she recently told the Southeast Missourian she plans to stay in her hometown.

"I have lived here all my life. I am not going anywhere. I love Cape Girardeau. I think it is a great place to live," she said.

We agree, Ms. Schneider. Thank you for your dedication in helping keep Cape Girardeau a great place for all of us to live.