Jefferson City Council Ward 2 candidates share thoughts on housing crisis, park issues at forum

From left, Gregory Butler, Aaron Mealy and Mike Lester participate Wednesday in a Ward 2 City Council candidate forum, hosted by the Jefferson City News Tribune, at the John G. Christy Municipal Building. The candidates answered questions about housing, infrastructure, parks, city budget and more.
From left, Gregory Butler, Aaron Mealy and Mike Lester participate Wednesday in a Ward 2 City Council candidate forum, hosted by the Jefferson City News Tribune, at the John G. Christy Municipal Building. The candidates answered questions about housing, infrastructure, parks, city budget and more.

Three candidates vying for the Ward 2 Jefferson City Council seat shared their thoughts on issues ranging from affordable housing to the relocation of East Miller Street Park to the parks department half-cent sales tax during the News Tribune's candidate forum Wednesday night.

Aaron Mealy, Mike Lester and Gregory Butler are running in the only contested council race for 2020, to fill the empty Ward 2 seat left by current Councilman Rick Mihalevich. Voting will take place April 7.

Aaron Mealy is a Jefferson City native who graduated from Helias Catholic High School and attended Lincoln University and the University of Missouri-Columbia. He works for the Missouri Department of Social Services and has lived in Ward 2 for about seven years.

Mike Lester has lived in Ward 2 since he and his wife moved to Jefferson City in 2002. Until he retired in 2013, Lester worked remotely for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. He currently serves on the Jefferson City Planning and Zoning Commission.

Gregory Butler is a small business owner in Jefferson City who runs a digital marketing agency. Originally from Chicago, he moved to Jefferson City in 2009 and has lived in Ward 2 for about seven years.

One recurring topic at the forum was Jefferson City's continued recovery from the May 22 tornado, which affected housing availability in the city, particularly for lower-income residents.

Butler said he believes the city needs to move a little faster to provide new, affordable housing for residents.

"I think we need to continue to establish some structure in affordable housing, and also move fast and get these houses rebuilt in these areas so that way, constituents can move back into those communities, where they grew up," Butler said.

Mealy said while the issue existed before the damage, the loss of homes exacerbated the problem to the crisis level.

"Affordable housing is primary in my campaign," Mealy said. "I will work on the city council to identify new, innovative methods to increase affordable housing and availability in Jefferson City."

Lester said it would help to look at what other areas have done in the face of similar issues, and mentioned the recovery efforts of Joplin after the 2011 tornado that hit the southwestern Missouri city.

"Whatever it takes. I think that's the right attitude for the city to bring the housing that we need back," Lester said. "People who lost their housing, maybe they left or they're homeless, or some of them are in housing that is much more expensive than the housing that they were in. So I would, on the council, work with others to increase the housing in the area."

Candidates were also asked how they would vote on the issue of relocating East Miller Park. The Jefferson City Parks and Recreation Commission voted in February to donate the park land to the Veterans Administration for the expansion of the national cemetery. If the VA accepts the land, the city council will vote to approve the donation.

Some in the nearby community have opposed the relocation of the park.

Lester and Butler said they would not vote to move the park. Lester said he does not feel the replacement park would be a good enough substitute.

Also, Lester and Butler said the desires of the neighborhood should be taken into consideration. Butler said he would want to look for a different location.

"I wouldn't be in favor of moving the park because we want to think consciously of the people that want to be in that area," Butler said. "I think it's very important we appease them because they live in that area."

Mealy said he would like to have more input from the Ward 1 council members and constituents, because the park and cemetery are in Ward 1, before he made a decision.

All three candidates said they support the dedicated half-cent sales tax collected for the Jefferson City Department of Parks, Recreation and Forestry.

"I think it's one of the really great attributes of Jefferson City," Lester said. "The parks have done a master plan and I look forward to further development of the parks. You couldn't do that without having a dedicated tax."

Butler said investing in the parks system is important to see Jefferson City grow and attract younger residents to move to and stay in the city, a lack the city recognizes.

Mealy agreed with the other candidates and said the parks department has been consistently good stewards of taxpayer dollars.

Other topics discussed by the candidates included tornado recovery, police salaries, LGBT+ protections, renewable energy and economic development. A video of the full forum can be found on the News Tribune website and Facebook page, and the City of Jefferson YouTube channel.