The Mid-MO Labor Club will meet on February 8 at the Columbia Labor Temple at 6:00 pm. Come hear what Jerry Wade, Sid Sullivan, Bob McDavid and Sean O'Day have to say about their plans for the city. Below is a summary of the candidates from the Tribune.
By DANIEL CAILLER
Columbia Tribune
Sunday, January 24, 2010
A dozen candidates are set to vie for seats on the Columbia City Council on the April ballot, and half of them are taking part in the most competitive mayoral race in 15 years.
MAYOR
Sean O’Day
Paul Love
Bob McDavid
Sal Nuccio
Sid Sullivan
Jerry Wade
THIRD WARD
Gary Kespohl
Karl Skala
FOURTH WARD
Rick Buford
Daryl Dudley
Tracy Greever-Rice
Sarah Read
Filing closed Thursday for Columbia’s mayoral and Third and Fourth Ward races, and all petitions have been verified. Six candidates are seeking the mayoral seat, from which Darwin Hindman is stepping down after a record five terms. There have not been this many candidates for mayor since 1995.
“Being the mayor of Columbia is a great responsibility and a great privilege,” Hindman said. “We have a lot of candidates who see it that way.”
In 1995, Hindman and five others — including two MU students — sought to replace two-term Mayor Mary Anne McCollum, who chose not to seek re-election. Hindman won that race with 52.5 percent of the vote.
Hindman ran unopposed in 1998 and 2001. In 2004, he won with 71 percent of the vote against community activist John Clark, with 26 percent, and computer consultant Arch Brooks, with 3 percent. In 2007, he faced Clark once more, winning 75 percent of the vote.
Issues likely to be central in the April elections are the city’s budget, economic growth, crime and development. Sales tax revenue continued to dip in fiscal 2009, and ideas for how to maintain city services and encourage economic growth likely will take center stage.
CANDIDATES FOR MAYOR ARE:
Jerry Wade: Finishing his first term on city council as the Fourth Ward representative, Wade spent 12 years on the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Sal Nuccio: The owner of Eastside Tavern on Broadway, he announced a campaign for First Ward councilman against Paul Sturtz in 2007 but withdrew days before the filing deadline.
Sid Sullivan: Chairman of the Boone Electric Community Trust, Sullivan made an unsuccessful bid for the 24th District seat in the Missouri House of Representatives in 2006 and for the Boone County Commission in 2008.
Paul Love: A network analyst for Carfax who served 10 years in the National Guard.
Bob McDavid: A retired obstetrician, McDavid is chairman of the Boone Hospital Center Board of Trustees.
Sean O’Day: The youngest of the candidates at 23, he is a student at Moberly Area Community College.
THIRD WARD CANDIDATES ARE:
Karl Skala: The only incumbent in the April race, Skala is seeking his second term on the council. He spent six years on the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Gary Kespohl: The owner of Central Missouri Computer Center, Kespohl is on the Special Business District Board and the Parks and Recreation Commission.
Kespohl and Skala also ran against each other in 2007. Skala won with 908 votes over Kespohl’s 845.
FOURTH WARD CANDIDATES ARE:
Sarah Read: Read owns a law firm and is the founding member and president of The Communications Center Inc.
Tracy Greever-Rice: An associate director for MU’s Office of Social and Economic Data Analysis and a former Planning and Zoning commissioner who serves on the Columbia Vision Commission.
Rick Buford: A senior network administrator for Carfax, he wants to see more discussion in government about long-term effects on spending.
Daryl Dudley: Dudley, the manager of a Hy-Vee gas station, wants to make Columbia attractive to new businesses.
Other city issues on the ballot include a measure on downtown security cameras and five amendments to the city charter.
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