Large interest shown in first filing day for Cape Girardeau City Council, mayor positions

Filing for mayor and City Council seats opened Tuesday and already 15 candidates have filed or picked up petitions to run for City Council or mayor of Cape Girardeau.

Cape Girardeau City Clerk Gayle Conrad has worked in the city clerk's office for 29 years. She said she hasn't seen this much interest in city offices for close to 15 years.

"This is by far the most I've seen in quite some time," Conrad said.

As of Tuesday afternoon, two candidates intend to run against Mayor Bob Fox. Voters elected Fox in 2018 after an uncontested race.

If Fox's challengers, Stacy Kinder and Ramona Bailey, formally file, a three-way primary will be held in February for mayor of Cape Girardeau for the first time in more than a decade. In 2010, former Mayor Harry Rediger, Matt Hopkins and Walter White sought election after then-Mayor Jay Knudtson reached his term limits.

To become an official mayor or city council candidate, a person of at least 21 years of age must meet certain residency requirements and gather at least 50 signatures from registered voters on a petition in their ward. Petitions must then be filed with the Office of the City Clerk by 5 p.m. Nov. 23.

Fox is the only mayoral candidate to file a nominating petition as of Tuesday afternoon.

Seven candidates intend to run for Ward 2 and three intend to run in Ward 6. Two candidates, Deborah Young and incumbent Dan Presson, have filed petitions for Ward 1.

Current Ward 2 representative Shelly Moore is ineligible to run again because of term limits set by the city's charter.

In Ward 6, Stacy Kinder will not be eligible to seek reelection because of her bid for mayor.

Seats for Wards 3, 4 and 5 will not be eligible for election until the April general election in 2024.

Conrad said she had no speculation on what could've led so many people to file and pick up petitions for the election in April 2022.

"I'm just glad there are people interested in the future of our city," Conrad said. "In my opinion, local government is where a person can get involved. It's hard to get involved at the federal level, it's even harder to get involved at the state level, but you can have a real impact at the local level."

The following is a list of candidates who have filed or picked up nominating petitions as of 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Candidates for mayor

Ramona Bailey, Bob Fox, Stacy Kinder

Candidates for Ward 1

Dan Presson, Deborah Young

Candidates for Ward 2

Micheal Crank Curry, Marvin L. McBride, Sommer McCauley, Stafford L. Moore Jr., Tameka L. Randle, Leslie A. Washington, Steve Watkins

Candidates for Ward 6

Mark Bliss, Brandon Cooper, Alex Harold