Four out of five Jefferson City Council races contested in Tuesday election
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
In four out of five of the Jefferson City Council elections next week, candidates face competition.
Jefferson City residents will vote Tuesday for who they want to represent them at city hall. One seat from all five Jefferson City Council wards is up for election in less than a week. All but one of those races is contested.
Two council members will not be returning, meaning at least two seats on the council will go to completely new members; while the other three races, including the uncontested race, have incumbents running.
Those running for Jefferson City Council are:
Ward 1:
- Jack Deeken (incumbent)
- Randy Hoselton
Ward 2:
- Michael Lester (incumbent)
Ward 3:
- Amy Brix
- Treaka Young
Ward 4:
- Randall Z.Wright (incumbent)
- Chris Leuckel
Ward 5:
- Mackenzie Job
- Virginia Shetler
The Jefferson City Council is made up of 10 council members, two from each ward, and the mayor. The council members' two-year terms are staggered, so a seat in each ward is up for election every year.
Council members can have two back-to-back four-year terms. Mayor Ron Fitzwater said city bylaws recently changed to allow someone to run for a third term after a two-year wait.
"I think it's got positives and negatives always, obviously trying to get people back that understand the process sometimes is good, but it discourages some people that might get involved," Fitzwater said.
The council members whose terms are expiring are:
- Jack Deeken (Ward 1)
- Mike Lester (Ward 2)
- Erin L. Wiseman (Ward 3)
- Randall Z. Wright (Ward 4)
- Jon Hensley (Ward 5)
According to the city's bylaws, a qualified candidate for Jefferson City Council must be at least 21 years old at the time of the election, be a U.S. citizen and qualified voter in Jefferson City, have lived in the city for at least a year before the election and have lived in the ward they're running for at least six months before the election.
