Meet the Candidates: April 5 Belle, Bland municipal elections

Posted 3/30/22

The Belle and Bland boards of Aldermen have several open seats in the coming April 5 election. The Maries County Advocate sent out a questionnaire to all declared candidates who are in a contested …

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Meet the Candidates: April 5 Belle, Bland municipal elections

Posted

The Belle and Bland boards of Aldermen have several open seats in the coming April 5 election. The Maries County Advocate sent out a questionnaire to all declared candidates who are in a contested race for one of the board positions.

The Belle Board of Aldermen has Both Ward 2 seats are open, currently held by Jeanette Struemph and Fred Bethmann. Struemph and Bethmann have both filed to retain their seats as well as candidate Barbara Howarth, who declared her intentions to run against Bethmann.

All board candidates were sent the same questions: 

Tell the community about yourself.

What is your connection to the city and community? 

What is your primary reason for running for the board of aldermen?

Name a project or law you would like to see accomplished in the near future or set up to be completed in the extended future?

What is something you are satisfied with that you feel the board of aldermen has done well? What is a project you feel you would have voted to accomplish differently?

Bethmann and Howarth were both sent the candidate questionnaire. Bethmann declined to participate.

Howarth returned her answers:

I originally came from this area and moved to St. Louis after graduation from Belle High School. I worked for a St. Louis County School District school for 19 years, a family-owned company that developed shopping centers for 22 years, as an administrative assistant/office manager and moved back “home” in 2005 after working. I then worked in Maries R-2 School Administrative Office for almost six years.

My connection with the community is working with the backpack program for the last 14 years. Something I’m very proud of and so close to my heart.

Just feel that the community and citizens should have an active roll.

A decision, if possible, should be made regarding our police force. 

All in all, I feel very proud of the decisions made by the board, but change is always good.

The city of Belle also has two options on the ballot to fill the marshal’s position.

Option one is candidate Terry Connors and option 2 is Proposition 1 to discard the marshal’s position and allow the city board to hire a chief of police.

Connors’ responses address some of the concerns that were brought up on March 14 during an open forum meeting. He was given a separate set of questions due to the nature of his position.

Q: What is your connection to the city and community?

A: I am the owner of Connors Country Lodge in Belle. I bought the motel in 2019.

Q: Why are you running for city marshal?

A: The marshal’s office was set up by the state legislature to be an elected position to prevent corruption by city officials. It is set up as a legal check and balance to prevent corruption in the city government.

Q: How do you plan to meet the qualifications for the public position of city marshal?

A: I will apply to be able to receive POST certification from prior experience in the law enforcement field.

Q: What qualifications do you currently have that you feel are suitable for the marshal’s position? 

A: I have been a deputy sheriff in eastern Tennessee and a special police officer in Lakewood, Tenn. I was a unit police officer while on active duty with the U.S. Army stationed in the Republic of South Korea. 

I have studied constitutional law for police with the Charlotte, N.C. Police Recruit Class at Charlotte Community College of Mecklenburg. I studied Police Correction at the University of South Carolina.

Q: What are your goals as the next Belle marshal?

A: To clear missing person cases and any unsolved crimes against the citizens of the Belle community. To oppose any threat to the citizens of the Belle community and continue opposing until the threat is eliminated.

Editor’s Note: According to city attorney Mary Weston’s understanding of POST certification, until Connors is certified he cannot write a citation or make an arrest. Weston also stated he will need to contact POST to determine the actual number of hours he will need because the number in Belle Ordinance 200.010 concerning the hour training requirements for the marshal may be too low.

BLAND Elections

The Bland Board of Aldermen will see contested races in the April 5 election with three candidates for Aldermen At-Large and two candidates for mayor.

The two aldermen at-large seats each have two-year terms, as well as a two-term mayoral seat.

The Maries County Advocate asked the three Bland Board of Aldermen candidates and one mayoral candidate to participate in a “Meet the Candidates” questionnaire in preparation for the April 5 municipal elections.

Candidates for the two Aldermen At-Large seats are Matt Dittman, Marrilee Spurgeon (running as a write-in) and incumbent Jane Vandegriffe. The newspaper did not receive responses to requests to participate in the questionnaire from either Dittman or Vandegriffe.

Spurgeon is a write-in candidate. In order for votes for Spurgeon to county, her name must be spelled correctly.

She submitted the following answers to the above questions about her candidacy for the Alderman At-Large position:

My name is Merrilee Spurgeon. I have lived in and around Bland all my life and I graduated from school here and have had a business here. I graduated college at East Central with a degree in business management and marketing.

Growing up in Bland was a privilege. The town was full of people and businesses. The churches were full. There was a sense of community. And even if we didn’t always see eye to eye, people seemed to care for each other. I felt safe.

I am running for alderman because I want to be part of bringing at least some of that life back. I have no great solution. No one does, but I feel that if we try, we can at least had in the right direction. It will take all of us to do this.

I would like to see more people get involved. Every idea should be heard and considered. Maybe I can be one voice that helps you be heard.

Our town looks tired, we clean it up, finish our current projects and try to attract more business, more people to town. Give them a reason to move here, welcome them.

I would like for you to consider writing my name in on April 5. It has to be spelled right to count. Together I feel we can make Bland a safer more productive place to live.

In the mayoral race, one candidate was declared and a second filed to be a write-in.

Former Bland mayor Lee Medlock stepped down on Feb. 28 from his position. His resignation listed personal and health reasons. According to Alderman Diana Mayfield, Medlock has already written a second resignation if he wins the April 5 election.

Kenny Sullinger later filed for mayor as a write-in candidate. His name is not listed on the ballot and must be spelled correctly to be considered a legitimate candidate.

Sullinger submitted the following answers to the above questions:

I’m Kenny Sullinger. I’ve lived in Belle, Bland and Owensville for 69 years. I worked for the Rock Island on Burlington R.R. for 13 years, and 22 years for Operating Engineers Local 513. Owned four businesses dating at the age of 20-years-old.

I moved to Bland, Mo., in December 2016.

I would like to see Bland grow. I’ve seen volunteers working, trying to keep the town neat and clean, that showed me they had pride in their town. With my business experience, I’m hoping to make it a better place to live.

After the water tower is completed, I would like to see streets repaved and abandoned homes and property cleaned up and find industry to move to Bland.

Citizens working together trying to keep it neat and clean. 

The citizens of Bland have also been asked to vote “yes” on Proposition 1: Shall the City of Bland, Gasconade County, Missouri, renew the Parks Sales Tax of one-half of one percent for ten years for the purpose of funding for local parks?

The ballot measure is requesting the continuation of a tax that already exists to support the city park.