Mark Schreiber believes he's ready to do his part and serve Jefferson City as a member of the City Council.
Schrieber is one of many unopposed candidates who will appear on the April 7 ballot. While there is a six-way race for Jefferson City mayor, all five council seats are unopposed, as are the municipal judge and prosecutor.
Schreiber is the only candidate for the 5th Ward City Council seat, currently occupied by Ron Medin, who was appointed to the seat in January after former 5th Ward Councilman Ralph Bray resigned Dec. 31 to take up the office of Cole County recorder of deeds.
Schreiber said he wanted to run for office because every resident has a responsibility to participate in government and he feels he's ready to serve.
"We all have a responsibility to participate in some manner in our government," Schreiber said. "It's too bad that more people don't take an interest ... I really feel like I can maybe help the City of Jefferson in some small way."
Schreiber said he was anticipating others would file for the seat and was surprised when no one did. He said he likely still would have run if Bray had chosen to keep his seat and run again, even noting that he considered running for the 5th Ward seat occupied by Larry Henry last year.
When asked about city issues that are important to him, Schreiber said it's important to broaden the horizon and not focus on one aspect of the city. Because of his background in history and preservation, Schreiber said he's often asked if he will be the "preservation
candidate," and though he said he is an advocate for preservation, there are many other things that need to be addressed in the city as well.
"We've got a lot of issues that are facing us right now," Schreiber said, citing issues facing the school district and the proposed multipurpose building.
He said the city also needs to address maintaining and stabilizing neighborhoods through adaptive reuse, as well as encourage young people to locate and remain in Jefferson City.
"We need to capitalize on the positive things that we have and expand those things," Schreiber said. "I think that we can make Jefferson City a much grander tourist destination than what it already is."
He said he'd like to see the city work on developing the riverfront and taking advantage of the city's location on the Missouri River. He also is an advocate for public safety, he said, noting that some of the city's fire stations are aging and, as the city grows, new locations will need to be looked at.
"I take the responsibility ahead very seriously," Schreiber said.
Mark Schreiber
Age: 69
Hometown: Springfield
Occupation: Retired
Family: Wife, Debbie, three children and six grandchildren
Education: Bachelor's in management and master's degree in criminal justice