Nonprofit leader, former elected official plans run for Jefferson City Council
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) -
The president of a local nonprofit and former Illinois county official is planning a run for a southern Jefferson City Council seat.
Jan Schumacher filed paperwork with the Missouri Ethics Commission to run for the Ward 4 seat in April 2024. Schumacher is the president of nonprofit Building Community Bridges and served for several years as a member of the Logan County, Ill. County Board.
Candidate filing opens on Dec. 5 for Jefferson City Council seats. One seat in each ward will be up for election on April 2, 2024. The Ward 4 seat up for grabs is currently held by Randall Wright, who the council appointed when Ron Fitzwater was elected mayor.
Schumacher said she plans to "combine feedback" from different groups, including business leaders and community groups, to do the job.
"I'm running because I want to see our city government operate with integrity, civility and transparency," Schumacher said in a statement to ABC 17 News. "As we rebound from the effects of the [2019] tornado and COVID, we must work together to ensure that Jeff City has a thriving economy and desirable quality of life."
Schumacher moved to Jefferson City in 2015 from Logan County, Illinois, just north of Springfield. She worked as the program manager at the Missouri Energy Initiative, which she retired from. Schumacher spent seven years on the Logan County Board, which serves as the county's elected governing body. Her career also includes stints as executive director of the Oxnard Convention and Visitors Bureau in California and as an aide to Nevada governor Mike O'Callaghan.
Schumacher told ABC 17 News she wanted to focus on recommendations made in the Activate Jefferson City 2040 plan "tp enhance the city for future generations."
