Municipal Election Slate Set

As previously reported in this space, there will be a contested race in Parkville for mayor and several aldermen seats this election season. The next election will be Tuesday, April 3.

Nan McManus

Incumbent Mayor Gerry Richardson will be stepping down after this term. Seeking to fill the void are Ward 1 Alderman Jim Brooks and Ward 4 Alderman Nan McManus. Brooks is a longtime volunteer perhaps best known for his restoration work in the city's downtown and oversight of the controversial Banneker School restoration project and serves on the city's finance committee. McManus is in her second term as alderman, having run unopposed last election. McManus has been lauded for her efforts on the city's economic development committee and is considered one of the driving forces behind the formation of the Parkville Economic Development Corporation.

Other -- some surprising -- candidates have also entered the fray this election cycle.
Brooks will be vacating the Ward 1 seat no matter what, since his term has expired. David Baker, Terry Brown and Kevin Heaton will vie for the position. Baker has been a familiar face at regular meetings of the Board of Alderman and is a resident of Walnut Street. Terry Brown has run for office various times and has won a few of them now and again. He was the general manager of the American Legion until the Hall went under before the flood. Kevin Heaton is the owner of the successful Stone Canyon Pizza in downtown Parkville and Zona Rosa.

Marc Sportsman will be running unopposed in Ward 4, bucking rumors that he may have been considering stepping down.

In Ward 3, freshman alderman Chris Fisher will square off against former alderman Brian Atkinson. Atkinson previously served as a Ward 4 alderman (Riss Lake) but vacated his position after moving to the National (Ward 3). This is Atkinson's second try for the Ward 4 seat; he lost to former Alderman Jeff Bay in   Bay's first run (he was first appointed to the board). Atkinson said then that he believed every race should be contested and listed that as his primary motivation to run then. Atkinson was a vocal critic of Bay's after word spread that Bay was no longer a full-time resident of the ward. Fisher was appointed to Bay's seat after his subsequent resignation (Bay now resides in Arkansas) and is a partner in the Bryan Cave law firm. Fisher is credited with helping ease restrictions on the city's smoking ordinance and pushing through legislation that would make golf carts street legal within city limits.

Longtime Parkville Municipal judge Sandra Ferguson is running unopposed for reelection to that position.

County elections are also on the horizon. Both District 1 and District 2 Commissioners Katherine Dusenbery and James Plunkett are seeking reelection. Additional offices on the ballot include Assessor, Public Administrator, Sheriff, Republican and Democratic committeemen. The primary will be held on August 7, and interested candidates may file for the election beginning February 28. The deadline for filing is March 27 at 5 pm.