For the first time in at least 14 years, Lohman has a contested mayoral race on the local ballot.
April 3 Election Coverage
[]Incumbent Mayor Tom Kirchner is challenged by Lohman Board of Aldermen member Jason Wood on the April 3 Cole County ballot.
Kirchner said he was raised in the area and has lived in Lohman for 17 consecutive years, and he does not recall a single contested mayoral race.
Records at the Cole County Clerk's Office indicate the position has not been contested since at least 2004, but staff could not further research how much longer it has been until after the election.
Both candidates prioritize beautifying the western Cole County town of about 160 people to attract new businesses and residents. They also support a proposed 1 percent sales tax to increase the city's insufficient budget funding, which also will appears on Tuesday's local ballot, and will look into the possibility of implementing a property tax in the future.
Kirchner, a four-year mayor and former car salesman, would like to expand Lohman's city limits to install a new park and tear down several dilapidated and abandoned houses. He also is working to obtain a grant to make the community building more accessible.
"That's one of our biggest priorities is getting that grant to make our community building more accessible to people in wheelchairs," he said.
Wood, a former carpenter and Midland Oil Company tanker truck driver, said he intends to focus on more stringent enforcement of local ordinances that require residents to maintain their property in a sightly manner, such as removing unlicensed and uninsured motor vehicles from the exterior of residential properties and leashing or containing all pets, such as dogs and chickens.
"I'm a worker. I know how to get things done," Wood said. "I'm doing this because I feel that things needed a change in Lohman. I'm quite fond of the town and the people who live there, but things weren't getting done like I feel like they need to be. And I can't really complain about anything if I'm not willing to do something about it."
Kirchner said he worked with a lawyer to update the city ordinances under common municipal standards in Missouri and is working on ways to better enforce them. Currently, when an infraction is addressed, two aldermen meet with the resident to try to solve the problem. If further action is necessary, the city must arrange for a county court to impose a fine, a process that is expensive for the local government to undertake frequently.