VIENNA — Police Chief Shannon Thompson, 55, of Vienna, is running for presiding commissioner in the Aug. 4 election to bring a “fresh set of eyes” to county government.

Thompson intends to bring his law enforcement background of 34 years to the role as he prioritizes economic development and better spending habits, but he is running against incumbent Vic Stratman for the seat.

Thompson has four children and six grandchildren with another on the way. He grew up Vienna and graduated from Maries County R-1 High School. Many of his children and grandchildren also attended Maries County R-1 School District.

Thompson started his law enforcement career working for Vienna part-time. He then worked for Dixon for a couple years before becoming a road deputy and detective with the Maries County Sheriff’s Office for 11-12 years. During this time, he was also working part-time for Vienna until he left the sheriff’s office to be a full-time police officer. He has been police chief in Vienna for 18 years.

Thompson said he is looking to retire within the next four years if he doesn’t win election, but he still wants to serve his community. When Stratman announced his retirement before changing his mind, Thompson saw that few were interested. So he decided to run to “put a new set of eyes on things.”

Because the role of presiding commissioner requires working with the county budget, Thompson believes being police chief has made him qualified. He said that when he manages the police budget, he aims to have a surplus each year. Since revenue is about the same every year, he looks to buy regular supplies in advance and see where he can cut expenses.

For the county budget, Thompson said that he would look to cut expenses and increase revenue. For the 2026 budget, County Clerk Rhonda Rodgers said that there was a $9,000 carryover to account for unexpected expenses but that over $100,000 is the ideal amount. Thompson said that a single road grader transmission could wipe out that cushion.

“It looks kind of bleak,” Thompson said. “Cost of everything’s going up. Revenues aren’t.”

To cut costs, Thompson believes that out-of-budget purchases need to be controlled and that spending should be beneficial to the community. During Stratman’s time in office, Thompson believes the county made spending decisions that Thompson wouldn’t have agreed with.

“And in the past, a lot of times, I think bills were made and then just brought and dropped on their desk and said, ‘Figure out how to pay for them,’” he said. “And we got to quit that.”

While Thompson said that everyone in the county needs to be on the same page about spending, he declined to mention specific bills with which he disagreed, citing it as “old politics.” However, he said that the current elected officials are likely to work with Stratman and the other commissioners.

While Thompson doesn’t know how to increase revenues, he believes that implementing planning and zoning and working with the Gasconade Valley Enterprise Zone might attract businesses that would otherwise operate closer to Interstates 70 and 44.

By zoning farmland as commercial, Thompson believes that may attract businesses like Walmart to build a warehouse and increase tax revenue for the county. He believes that it may also be easier for owners to sell their property since farming might not be profitable enough for the potential buyers.

Implementing planning and zoning would require voter approval. As for concerns about not being able to improve their property without a building permit, Thompson believes that those concerns are overblown because Maries is not a first- or second-class county.

However, Revised State Statute 64.650 says that one must obtain a permit to build in a county with zoning, even for third-class counties.

Thompson’s other main priorities include addressing citizen complaints and bridge projects. He also believes that officials shouldn’t use the county commission meetings as a means to have comments against others in the newspaper.

Thompson believes that conflicts with Prosecuting Attorney Anthony (Tony) Skouby and Sheriff Mark Morgan will be settled soon and that it doesn’t need to come before the commission unless it affects the whole county.

As for the Vichy Solar project, Thompson said that he doesn’t know much about the project but that he would have to look at the contract to consider the benefit to the county.

Regarding the Vienna Pointe fire, Thompson declined to comment because the situation is still being resolved with the insurance companies. The residential facility burned down in Aug. 7, 2025, after he left a cigarette unattended in a nearby planter.

“That has nothing to do with my ability to lead the county,” he said.

As for his opponent, Thompson wouldn’t call himself more qualified than Stratman because they both have experience navigating issues with personnel and policies. But Thompson believes that he can help as a “fresh face” and “new blood” to the county finances.

“I don’t have a bad word to say about Mr. Stratman. He’s a good guy,” Thompson said. “I think he’s kind of getting closer to wanting to step out because he’s retirement age and whatnot.”

If Thompson wins, his message is that he is going to use his experience to serve the community to rebuild the budget and do what is right for Maries County residents.

“Try to keep things back on track and kind of start building a good reserve backup so that we’re not biting our nails every budget year,” he said.

But if Thompson loses, he believes that Stratman does a good job, especially with maintaining the courthouse, such as with the generator and water softeners.

“If I do win, he’s leaving a big set of boots to fill,” Thompson said.