People interested in running for city office or school board have a short time left to throw their names in the ring.
Filing closes at 5 p.m. Tuesday for both city and school board seats. As of Friday, four candidates are vying for two seats on the Jefferson City School Board - Pam Murray, Joy Sweeney, Michael Couty and Dan Renfrow - and four candidates are competing for the office of Jefferson City mayor - 3rd Ward Councilman Bob Scrivner, Leonard Steinman, Carrie Tergin and Edith Vogel.
Incumbents have filed for the majority of the open Jefferson City Council seats, and no challengers have filed as of Friday. First Ward Councilman Jim Branch, 2nd Ward Councilwoman Laura Ward, 3rd Ward Councilman Ken Hussey, 4th Ward Councilman Carlos Graham, Municipal Judge Cotton Walker and City Prosecutor Brian Stumpe have all filed to retain their seats.
Mark Schreiber filed to run for the open 5th Ward council seat and is the only candidate as of Friday.
The filing period began Dec. 17 and ends Tuesday. 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.
Two of seven seats are open on the Jefferson City School Board and those elected serve three-year terms.
Elections will be April 7. A primary will not be held, as Jefferson City eliminated the municipal primary elections earlier this year. For information on candidate requirements or required forms for city offices, contact the city clerk's office at 573-634-6311 or visit www.jeffcitymo.org/clerk/cityelections.html.
People interested in running for the school board must be U.S. citizens, resident taxpayers of the district, have resided in Missouri for a minimum of one year and be at least 24 years old. Candidates also cannot be on probation for a felony crime or be registered as sex offenders. And they must file all required campaign disclosure reports and pay the requisite fees, if applicable. To file, candidates should go to the Central Office, 315 E. Dunklin St.
Do you have questions for city and school board candidates or issues you'd like to see covered throughout the campaign? Send them to [email protected], and we'll include your voice in our coverage.