Cape Girardeau County Commission candidates spar at forum

The challenger decried what he sees as "buffoonery" in county government. The incumbent said an "old boy network" trying to hide its control of the county from the public caused the spectacle that his opponent attacks.

Those statements helped set the tone during a forum Thursday evening in the District 2 commission race in Cape Girardeau County, which pits independent candidate Rock Finch, an insurance consultant, against incumbent Republican Jay Purcell.

Finch emphasized that cooperation and collaboration for change would be the foundation of his effort if elected. "Controversy is a word I don't like to use," Finch said. "I prefer cooperation and collaboration."

Purcell told the audience he has sought openness, accountability and fairness in county government. He reminded them he promised to oppose cronyism and backroom dealing when he first sought the office four years ago. "When the new guy comes in and advocates for change, there is going to be resistance," Purcell said.

The District 2 commission seat includes most of the area within Cape Girardeau city limits. The forum, which lasted a bit more than 45 minutes and was sponsored by the Southeast Missouri Pachyderm Club, drew an audience of about 60. The candidates were given opportunities for opening and closing statements, and each answered the same eight questions. The format didn't allow for back-and-forth debate, and neither candidate strayed from the rules.

Purcell's methods, which have included surreptitious recording of closed meetings and private conversations as well as arguments over issues such as the sale of county park land, have pushed many county officials to support Finch. Purcell has sued the commission, alleging violations of the open meetings provisions of the Sunshine Law, while Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle has said he would like to see Purcell prosecuted for violating the Sunshine Law provisions against secretly recording closed meetings.

Finch portrayed himself as a true independent and willing to seek change but through more agreeable methods. Twice during the forum, Finch used the words "buffoons" or "buffoonery" to describe what he sees as wrong with the current commission personnel.

He said Cape Girardeau has ambitions to be the most important city in the region, and, he noted, none compare to it in size or opportunities from the Arkansas line through Southeast Missouri and southwest Illinois. "We need to be looked on as a gem rather than a bunch of buffoons," Finch said in response to a question about the biggest issue facing the county.

In response to the same question, Purcell said the county needs to regain the trust of residents. "Sometimes you have to go through some strife, sometimes you have to go through some controversy, to get things done. It takes two people to argue."

Questions ranged from the mechanics of county government — both men called for putting the commission before cameras for webcasting or cable TV transmission — to economic development and from whether a charter government would be a good idea to the financing and paving methods for county roads.

The two were close in their views on many of those issues. Purcell called for a regional effort to find and recruit jobs through with a "regional industrial park" based on a Mississippi effort that brought a Toyota plant to that state. Finch, too, said regional efforts to build the infrastructure for development must depend on cooperation across county lines.

On charter government, which was phrased as a question on whether a three-person commission is the best governing body, Finch said three counties in Missouri have had success with charter government. But he also emphasized that those counties have the largest populations among the state's 114 counties. The current commission system in use in 111 counties "works pretty good right now if you have communication, collaboration and cooperation," he said.

Purcell said problems can appear in any government if the officials aren't responsive to voters. "If you have people who are elected who by design want to circumvent the will of the people, it will happen," he said.

On roads, both men agreed that a detailed look at using bonds to speed construction should be pursued. Finch said borrowing money, either for the short term or the long term, can ease cash flow problems and speed up construction.

Purcell said he has been pushing for setting aside one-quarter to one-half of the money raised by the 2006 sales tax measure for roads to retire bonds to avoid escalating construction costs. "We could not only build them right now but put people to work," he said.

And they agreed that chip-and-seal paving can be effective if done properly. Finch said the use of the paving method should be limited to low-traffic roads.

Along with issues of county business, the two men were asked why they think they are prepared for the job they seek.

Finch put himself on the ballot last summer through a petition drive begun after weeks of public battles between Purcell and the two other commissioners, Gerald Jones and Larry Bock. In the forum Thursday, Finch said he was neither recruited nor "conscripted" to challenge Purcell.

"I have always wanted to be a kind of public servant where I threw my name in a hat and the people say, 'We can use you,'" Finch said. "I saw an opportunity because I am a townie, a local yokel."

Purcell said the controversy generated by his actions showed his mettle, and that the vote Nov. 4 would be a judgment on the way he has sought to push the county to change.

"I was threatened by people in power not to expose what is going on in the old boy network," Purcell said. "It shows what kind of person I am."

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

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Jay Purcell-Rock Finch forum

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