Two open city council seats draw little interest

The Tribune covers the lack of candidates filed so far for city council.  There is also an open seat for CPS school board that no one has filed for yet.   We need candidates who will work with city and school district employees as partners.   That includes real collective bargaining that allows workers a voice on their job. 


By ANDREW DENNEY
Saturday, December 31, 2011

The deadline to file for the April elections for the Sixth and Second ward seats on the Columbia City Council is less than two weeks away, but no one has filed to run for the Second Ward seat — which is being vacated by Jason Thornhill — and no challengers have filed to take on two-term Sixth Ward Councilwoman Barbara Hoppe.

Thornhill, who was elected in 2009, said he has approached two residents in his ward to gauge their interest in taking his place on the council, but so far neither has committed. Thornhill said voters in his ward, which encompasses northwest Columbia, are “fairly apathetic” and said the ward does not face many controversial issues.

The deadline to file is Jan. 10, and the election is scheduled for April 3. Thornhill said he is leaving the seat to spend more time with his family.

City attorney Fred Boeckmann said if there are no filers by the deadline, then write-in candidates would be accepted for the April ballot. If there are no write-in candidates for the election, Thornhill would remain Second Ward representative — unless he resigns — until a new council member is found through a special election.

Thornhill said if no one files for the seat, he will continue to work with the council until a new representative is found. “I wouldn’t just walk off and leave them hanging,” Thornhill said. “But there would have to be some sort of end in sight, so to speak.”

Until the boundaries of the city’s six wards were redrawn this year to account for population shifts revealed in the 2010 Census, Thornhill’s ward was the most populous. From 2000 to 2010, the Second Ward grew by 7,733 residents. Before the ward boundaries were drawn to cede territory from the Second Ward into the First Ward, the former had more than 21,000 residents.

But when considering the elections for the sitting representatives of the city’s six wards, voter turnout in the Second Ward was among the lowest. There were a total of 1,243 voters in the 2009 race for Second Ward representative when Thornhill defeated Allan Sharrock with 51 percent of the vote.

Turnout was lower for Hoppe’s re-election in 2009 — 1,122 voters came to the polls and favored Hoppe over challenger Rod Robison with 59 percent of the vote.

Hoppe, who has served on the council longer than any sitting member, said if she wins re-election in April she will not seek a fourth term.

Reach Andrew Denney at 573-815-1719 or e-mail akdenney@columbiatribune.com.