Pachyderm forum let voters hear from candidates

The presidential primary election has come and gone, but there's more voting ahead. Cape residents will vote for City Council representatives on April 5. Patrick Koetting and Robbie Guard are vying for Ward 4, the only contested ward.

The Southeast Missouri Pachyderm Club offered the community an opportunity to hear from these two candidates at its monthly meeting last Thursday. Both candidates discussed their love for the community and desire to serve. Both also expressed that they have their eyes on public safety among several other issues.

After sharing their visions for the city and desire for progress, Koetting and Guard answered questions from the attendees, which ranged from inquiries about their greatest strengths, the use tax and the feasibility of our city's parks.

Koetting expressed the need to keep firefighters and police officers in Cape, rather than training them, providing experience and then losing them to other areas. He highlighted his customer service ability as a strength that will make him am effective councilmen. He said that "communication is a big issue" and promised to be approachable.

Guard's "common sense" and ability "to go head-to-head with strong personalities" will enable him to make decisions for the common good, he said. He also stated that he wants to focus on fiscal responsibility and spending taxpayers' money wisely.

The Pachyderm Club gave both candidates ample opportunity to share their visions for the community about which they both seem passionate. It is always great to see people invested locally, offering themselves for service and answering voters' questions. It is equally encouraging to see the community come out so they can be informed when they go to the polls on April 5. As we saw from the presidential primary election results, every vote counts, so make sure yours is one of them.