Republican Fred Parry wins Boone County Southern District race

Republican Fred Parry won more than 50% of the vote Tuesday to become the next Boone County commissioner in District One, beating Democrat Brianna Lennon.

Lennon won the Democratic primary on a platform of transparency and innovation. Lennon also touted her support for development of the fairground. Lennon said one of her first orders of business would be to make sure anyone seeking to influence the commission must do so openly by registering as a lobbyist and banning county employees from receiving gifts or meals from lobbyists or contractors.

Parry is currently a publisher for the Inside Columbia magazine. He has also served on the Boone Hospital Center board of trustees and the Columbia Housing Authority. Parry also campaigned on development of the fairground, wanting to reopen it, saying the fairground represents important tourism dollars. Parry has said he believes economic development and affordable housing are stymied because of county building requirements that increase costs for developers. Parry also wants more transparency in county government and has said there are too many closed meetings.