Community members began filing Tuesday for municipal and school board seats that will be open in the April 2 election.
Candidates must file in person. Filing remains open until Dec. 26. Those interested should check with the district or governing agency involved about specifics regarding business hours.
Three candidates filed Tuesday for Poplar Bluff City Council.
Three positions are open for wards 2 and 4, with a three-year term and an at-large position for an unexpired two-year term.
Incumbent Shane Cornman has filed for his Ward 4 seat, to which he was first elected in 2018.
Current seat holder Billy DePew, the first person to file Tuesday morning at city hall, is seeking the remainder of the at-large term. DePew was appointed by the council earlier this year, after Robert Duckett resigned due to personal reasons.
DePew said prior to the opening of filing he would like to continue to see the city grow and add more services back for residents.
“I would like to get more feedback from the citizens of our town on issues that will benefit our community,” he said.
Ward 2 incumbent Jerrica Fox has said she will not seek re-election. Fox was elected to the Ward 2 seat in 2021, and had previously served as an at-large representative.
She said prior to the opening of filing that it was time to step down but that she planned to continue to be active in the community.
One candidate has filed for the Ward 2 seat, David Boyer. Boyer was also among those who expressed interest in the open at-large seat when the council sought volunteers for the position.
Boyer said at that time that he would like to be more involved in the general well-being and progress of the community.
His priorities, he said at the time, include seeing that the “long-delayed” city hall be included in a “well-defined” government center in Downtown Poplar Bluff.
__Poplar Bluff__
The Poplar Bluff R-I School District has two open seats: those of board members Tim Gaebler and Ken Davis, who is president.
Both incumbents will participate in the 2024 election, according to Executive Board Secretary Carla Thompson. Gaebler refiled on Tuesday, and Davis reportedly plans to as well.
Each position serves a three-year term.
__Neelyville__
Neelyville R-IV has five open seats this election cycle since four board members resigned earlier this year. The vacancies were filled by the county commission until the upcoming April election.
The five seats are currently held by appointees Gene Russom, John French, Lesley Thomas, Jack Stull and incumbent Jim Hover.
Two seats in the upcoming election are already contested, according to information from the district on the first day of filing. Terms for the five positions range in length from one to three years.
Russom and Hover both filed for three-year terms. Stull and French will run against Marco Gavino and Tracee Stotts for two-year terms, and Thomas has filed for a one-year term.
Tuesday’s order of filing was Russom, Gavino, French, Hover, Thomas, Stull and Stotts.
Voters will fill two three-year seats, two two-year seats, and a single one-year seat. The term lengths will be divided into different propositions on the ballot.
__Twin Rivers__
Two people filed Tuesday afternoon for the two upcoming vacancies on the Twin Rivers R-X school board.
Monica King Woolem and Jerry Whitlow tossed their hats in the race, but neither is an incumbent. Neither Keith Parker nor Jenny Hester had filed as of late Tuesday, according to staff at Twin Rivers Central Office.
Reporting for this article came from staff writers Donna Farley, Samantha Tucker and Barbara Ann Horton.