There will be a race for Cole County prosecutor, and it will pit the incumbent against his former assistant.
Anji Gandhi, 43, has announced her intention to run as an independent.
Republican Mark Richardson is running for re-election.
"There is a real need for leadership in the prosecuting attorney's office," Gandhi said. "I know what changes need to be made, and I am prepared to make them."
Gandhi began as an assistant Cole County prosecutor in 1996 working for then-prosecuting attorney Richard Callahan. She worked as an assistant prosecutor until 2003 when she went to work in private practice for the Jefferson City firm of Bandré, Hunt and Snider.
In 2007, she returned to the prosecuting attorney's office, where she served as senior assistant prosecutor until last year when she and the six other assistant prosecutors all resigned within a few months of each other. Gandhi cited a lack of leadership as one of the prime reasons for the exodus last year.
"My experience will allow me to hit the ground running once I am elected," she said. "I have a strong understanding of the weaknesses in the office and solid ideas to get things moving in the right direction."
Gandhi also emphasized the need for the prosecutor to work with other elected officials, law enforcement and court personnel to make sure the system runs efficiently.
"My relationship with law enforcement, the courts and the local Bar is solid," she said. "I invite voters to ask anyone they know within the local criminal justice system about my reputation and abilities."
Gandhi has served on the P.T.O., the Board of the Rape and Abuse Crisis Service for 10 years, the Big Brothers Big Sisters Trivia Night Fundraiser Committee for five years and is the former president of the Cole County Bar Association. She and her husband, Dr. Rodd Hillard, live in Jefferson City with their two daughters, who attend Thomas Jefferson Middle School.