RUNNING FOR CITY OFFICE: SLATE OF CANDIDATES BRINGS RARE CONTEST

JACKSON -- When Carlton Meyer first ran for the Board of Aldermen in 1969, he was a member of a slate of candidates who agreed on a single issue: whether the city should establish a municipal gas system. All the candidates won, but Meyer laughingly admits he can't remember which side of the issue they were on.

Meyer was elected mayor and served for 22 years before he was defeated in 1993 by current Mayor Paul Sander. Sander is facing opposition for the first time in the April election. Three of the four members of the Jackson Board of Aldermen also are opposed, a rarity in a city accustomed in the 1990s to one-candidate races.

This turn of events may be cyclical. Sander has presided over a Board of Aldermen that has remained relatively stable through his tenure. Aldermen David Ludwig and David Hitt pre-date Sander assuming the mayorship, and Aldermen David Reiminger, Valerie Tuschoff and Kerry Hoffman have been on the board as long or nearly as long as Sander has been mayor.

Their decisions are bound to have displeased someone. "Or maybe people just want to get involved now," said Meyer, who served as mayor during a period when elections were contested much more often.

All four candidates entered the race on the last day of filing in January and are running for political office for the first time.

Scott Lipke, a former assistant prosecuting attorney for Cape Girardeau County, is challenging Sander for mayor. Lipke said the race is going to be about issues.

"We need to have someone who has vision for the future, who can face the challenges Jackson has today and in the future."

Lipke is employed by John Lichtenegger, a lawyer and developer who is suing the city over improvements charged to his development along East Main Street.

Lipke said there is no connection between the lawsuit and his decision to run for mayor. "I have no involvement (in the suit)," he said. "This is something I've talked about for several months. I got some encouragement to go ahead and do that."

Lipke said he chose to run for mayor rather than the Board of Aldermen in his first political race because "If I can run for mayor I'm going to be involved in it that much more. I'm more than willing to spend the time and energy," he said.

Don Harris, who is a developer and owns a day care as well as an entertainment business, is running against Alderman David Hitt. "Several people in the community asked me if I would have any interest in running," he said, explaining his decision to seek office.

Harris is the developer of the 123-home subdivision Autumn Hills Estates and has complaints about the city's handling of developers. "Things are handled differently with different developers and contractors," he said.

In addition, he said, "We need to look on a broader scale, not just five years or 10 years so we have adequate water systems and sanitation systems."

He also wants to see the city build parks for the east side of Jackson where he lives.

He said he doesn't have specific complaints against the performance on the board of his opponent Hitt.

Chris Bowen, vice president of Bowen Engineering, is running for the seat occupied by Valerie Tuschoff. Bowen's father, Rich, was the city' consulting engineer through the 1990s. The relationship ended last year.

He said "absolutely not" when asked if that event prompted his run for the Board of Aldermen.

Bowen doesn't think the city staff keeps the board as well-informed as they should, thinks the city spends too much money on attorneys fees, that city staff salaries have increased at too fast a rate and that the board is not as responsive to the citizens as it should be.

"I think there are a lot of things that can be improved on," he said.

Bowen has not yet begun door-to-door campaigning but said, "A lot of people have come up and offered campaign contributions.

Richard Rushin, a former police lieutenant, is running against Alderman Kerry Hoffman.

"I have wanted to get into politics for quite a long time but because of my past as a law enforcement officer I couldn't. Now I have the opportunity," he said.

Rushin is an insurance investigator.

Rushin said he probably will begin campaigning at the beginning of March and thinks he may be behind the other candidates. "I haven't received any financial backing from anyone yet," he said.

Meyer said he has heard some dissatisfaction with City Hall around town. "They've been spending a lot of money," he said.

He thinks the city's recent expenditures on an industrial tract on the north end of town were unnecessary because "the industrial tract south of town never had been developed."

Sander disagrees that the south tract is good for development and said, "If people look at my qualifications and how city has moved forward in last years I can certainly run on my record."

Meyer said Lipke asked him for advice after announcing he was running for mayor. "Work hard," Meyer told him.