Osage County's Republican primary includes two races for county positions, with two candidates on the ballot for clerk of the county commission and collector of revenue.
Voters will choose between Nicci Bouse and Chris Beyer for county clerk, and Brenda Baumhoer and Denise Nolte for collector. None of the four are incumbents.
Other candidates without competition for county positions on the Republican ballot include Darryl Griffin for presiding county commissioner, incumbent Tim Neuner for treasurer and Graig Hellmann for circuit judge.
There are no competitive races for county positions on the Democratic ballot, which includes incumbent Robert Schollmeyer for associate circuit judge, Beth Billington for clerk of circuit court, incumbent Cindy Hoffman for recorder of deeds and incumbent Amanda Grellner for prosecuting attorney.
County clerk
Nicci Bouse has worked in the Osage County clerk's office as the financial/human resources deputy clerk for three years and said she has been running the office for the past few months while the current county clerk, Patrick Steele, is away due to health issues. Bouse said she also has 10 years of experience in administrative roles.
Bouse said her priorities include improving organization, cross-training staff and improving accuracy and availability to residents. Another goal is to make sure the county website she created is being updated daily by all county offices for better access to schedules, meetings, public notices and budget information, she added.
A 22-year resident of Osage County, Bouse said she graduated from Linn State Technical College in 2004 with a telecommunications degree.
Chris Beyer has experience in the Osage County clerk's office as an election aide in 2014 and in the Greene County clerk's office as an administrative clerk for the past year. He is involved in several local groups, including the Osage County Republican Committee, Osage County Agritourism Council, Friends of the Osage County Library and the Osage County Historical Society.
Beyer said he is running on three focuses: Transparency to make county decisions and budgets more open with an improved online presence, integrity to make decisions right for residents, and accountability to hold the office to a standard and admit when a mistake is made.
Beyer said he will graduate from Missouri State University next fall after finishing a degree in socio-political communications online. He said his family has been in Osage County for six generations.
Collector of revenue
Brenda Baumhoer has worked in the Osage County assessor's office for the past three years, handling personal and real estate property values. She also has experience in the field to measuring and assessing houses, with knowledge of how real estate taxes are determined.
Baumhoer believes the previous collector, Doris Keilholz, ran the office well and developed a good system. She does not plan to change how the office works if elected, she said, but would be willing to make improvements. Baumhoer said she knows from firsthand experience the collector's office communicates well with the assessor's office.
A graduate of Linn State Technical College with a degree in office technology, Baumhoer said she was born and raised in Osage County.
Denise Nolte and her husband own convenience store Jerry's Stop and Go in Chamois. She has served the city of Chamois as an alderwoman and mayor pro tem. She also has worked as an office manager for Jefferson City Medical Group, which included supervising employees, creating budgets and leading administrative committees.
Nolte said her priorities as collector would be maintaining open communication with taxpayers, taking responsibility for the office's actions, setting a clear standard for how the office conducts business, creating a clear and accurate budget, and being timely with the collection of county taxes.
Nolte said she completed a liberal arts degree through online classes from William Woods University in 2017. She also was born and raised in Osage County.