My fellow citizens ...

I am extremely honored and humbled as I accept the position of mayor of Cape Girardeau. I greatly appreciate your support in electing me to this esteemed position. My personal thank you to all of our team members who worked so hard the past few months and to everyone who gave financial support to the campaign.

Cape Girardeau has been our home for over 33 years and is our home for life. This city has been good to our family. I have always believed in paying it forward as I continue to serve our community.

We have been blessed by good leadership from our current city staff, Mayor Jay Knudtson and city council. Cape Girardeau gives us a great quality of life and a stable economy. We are well positioned to grow and prosper in the years ahead. We have good direction to proceed through the recently completed comprehensive plan, the DREAM Initiative, our new zoning ordinance and our recently reviewed capital improvements plan.

We will have challenges with many decisions to be made on improvements, new business and future industrial development. I can assure you that our new council will continue to listen to citizen input and make decisions based on the best interests of the city and all its citizens.

I am extremely pleased to see the results of our school bond Issue. Educational facilities and the quality of local education programs are high on the list of priorities of potential new businesses and individual families that are considering Cape Girardeau as their new home.

I am a team player and a good listener. Together we as a community of people can truly make a difference in shaping the future of Cape Girardeau over the next few years.

Again, I personally thank you for showing your confidence in electing me as the next mayor of Cape Girardeau.