Charleen Biester to Run for Cape Girardeau County Circuit Clerk

Charleen �Charlie� Biester announced today that she has filed for election as Circuit Clerk of Cape Girardeau County. Biester is a Republican. Her campaign treasurer is former Cape Girardeau Mayor Al Spradling III.

Biester has significant experience in the Circuit Clerk�s office, having served for over nineteen years as a deputy circuit clerk and for nearly four years as the secretary to the Presiding Judge of the 32nd Judicial Circuit. In addition, she and her husband, Larry Biester, have owned and operated Biester�s Small Engine and ATV Repair, LLC, in Cape Girardeau County since the early 1990�s.

Besides summonsing jurors, the Circuit Clerk�s Office receives, processes, and maintains all documents filed with the court and ensures that all cases filed are brought before a judge in a timely manner. The Circuit Clerk oversees a staff of 25 deputy clerks in circuit civil, associate civil, juvenile, probate, associate criminal, and circuit criminal.

�The Circuit Clerk must be prepared to work alongside the staff in all aspects of the court. I have processed cases and have assisted in the management of juries. I understand how to navigate and use the Circuit Clerk�s complex software program. I believe that with my extensive experience, I am prepared to be an effective Circuit Clerk from day one�, Biester states.

One important challenge facing the next Circuit Clerk will be to combine the civil and criminal divisions, now located in separate courthouses, into one cohesive and collaborative office when the new justice center in Jackson is complete. �My background in both criminal and civil case processing will be of tremendous value when the time to move comes, allowing the office to better serve the citizens of Cape Girardeau County�.

Biester is a graduate of the former University High School in Cape Girardeau and attended Southeast Missouri State University. She and her husband, Larry Biester, reside in Cape Girardeau County near Tilsit, Missouri, and have four adult children.

Biester is a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Jackson, the Missouri Association of Professional Court Clerks, Jackson Chamber of Commerce, Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, National Rifle Association, SEMO Pachyderms, and serves on the board of Cape County Republican Women.