Filing opens Tuesday for 8 city offices, including mayor

Jefferson City residents interested in serving on the City Council can begin filing to run for office this week.

The city's filing period begins at 8 a.m. Tuesday and ends Jan. 20. Offices open are: one council seat in each of the five wards, mayor, prosecutor and municipal judge. All are two-year terms except for the mayor, who serves a four-year term.

To run for City Council, candidates must be at least 21 years old at the time of election, be a U.S. citizen and be a qualified voter of the city. They also must have lived in the city for at least one year before the election and lived in the ward they wish to represent for six months before the election.

To run for mayor, candidates must be at least 30 years old, be a U.S. citizen, be a qualified voter of the city and have lived in the city for at least two years before the election.

No candidate can have outstanding debts to the city and can never have been found guilty of misappropriation of funds in office. They also cannot have ever been removed from a seat on the council.

To run for municipal judge, candidates must be a licensed attorney in Missouri, a city resident between the ages of 24 and 75, and hold no other city positions.

To run for prosecutor, candidates must be a licensed attorney in Missouri, be a city resident, owe no outstanding debts to the city and have never been found guilty of misappropriation of funds in office.

Those incumbents planning to seek re-election include: 1st Ward Councilman Jim Branch, 2nd Ward Councilwoman Laura Ward, 3rd Ward Councilman Ken Hussey, 4th Ward Councilman Carlos Graham, Municipal Judge Cotton Walker and Prosecutor Brian Stumpe.

Mayor Eric Struemph announced in October that he would not seek re-election. Fifth Ward Councilman Ralph Bray is resigning effective Dec. 31 to take up his new post as the Cole County recorder of deeds.

Third Ward Councilman Bob Scrivner has already announced his intention to run for mayor, as has

Leonard Steinman. Mark Schreiber has announced his intention to run for the open 5th Ward council seat.

There is no filing fee to run for office; however, candidates must have endorsements from three people who live in the area the candidate wishes to represent, as well as a Department of Revenue Form 5120, which must be filed with the Missouri Department of Revenue. The endorsements must be signed either before a notary public or before the city clerk.

City Council members are paid $450 per month, while the mayor earns $900 per month. The prosecutor earns $2,916.67 per month and the municipal judge earns $2,083.33 per month.

Elections will be April 7, 2015. A primary will not be held, as Jefferson City eliminated the municipal primary elections earlier this year.

All forms are available from the city clerk's office or on the city website at www.jeffcitymo.org/clerk/cityelections.html.