Boone County commission candidates face off at Columbia Realtors forum

Watch a live stream of the forum in the player.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Board of Realtors is hosting a Candidate Forum on Thursday for the four candidates vying for the two Boone County commissioner seats up for grabs.

Southern District Commissioner Justin Aldred, a Democrat, is being challenged by Republican Sam Turner, while Northern District Commissioner Janet M. Thompson, also a Democrat, will face off against Cheri Toalson Reisch, an outgoing Republican state lawmaker.

Justin Aldred

One of Justin Aldred's biggest focuses is addressing the scarcity of affordable housing in Boone County. He also is working to address crime, homelessness, and food insecurity. 

Aldred believes that while he has been knocking on doors it is not about what he is saying it's about what he’s hearing. 

“What I hear is a lot of focus on housing and food security,” Aldred said. 

He currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Boone County Regional Sewer District and has earned an endorsement from Liuna Local 955. 

“The army blessed me with the opportunity to finish up my degree, under a state flagship university of Mizzou and I was blessed to learn about local government through my time in the Missouri State Auditor's office.  I see the work I do now in local government as an extension of the public service I first committed to when I raised my right hand and, signed up for the army,” Aldred said. 

While his opponent, was in favor of adding more deputies, Aldred believes the focus should be on hiring quality law enforcement officials over quality something he believes the Sheriff's Office is doing a good job of.

Aldred has been serving as Southern District commissioner for four years. He initially won the seat in 2020, representing southern portions of Boone County including southern Columbia, Ashland, and Hartsburg. Aldred defeated incumbent Republican Fred Parry with 52.6% of the vote. He announced his intention to run for reelection last September.

According to his biography on the commission’s website, Aldred enlisted in the Army and was eventually picked for the Ike Skelton Early Commissioning Program at Wentworth Military Academy. He has a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Missouri, as well as a certificate in American constitutional democracy from the Kinder Institute, the post states.

His bio also states that he served as the battalion signal officer for the 175th Military Police Battalion in the National Guard. He previously worked as a news writer for KMZU before taking a job in the state auditor’s office. 

Sam Turner 

Just three months after Aldred filed to run, Sam Turner announced his bid for Boone County Southern District commissioner. Turner filed as a Republican, according to a December 2023 release from the Missouri Ethics Commission. 

Turner is the owner of Turner Ag Solutions, a board member of the Boone County Farm Bureau and a member of the Pachyderm Club. He previously stated that he is a conservative looking to focus on  “keeping living costs low,” improving infrastructure and supporting family farms. The release states he supports freezing property taxes for seniors. 

As the owner of an agricultural business and a father of three, he says he can relate with people who he has talked to on the campaign who are “drowning in life.” 

Turner says his kids are what led him to public service and added that he was concerned after having to pick up his kids from school because of threats made to the Southern Boone School District earlier this week. Turner wants to allocate funding to hire more sheriff deputies and invest in infrastructure. 

“Over the last ten months of campaigning,  missing family dinners,  missing dance recitals,  I have learned an immense amount about what this county wants for this county needs. and i hope as a county commissioner that I can bring more sheriff deputies to the road, that we can start paving more gravel roads,” Turner said.  

Turner also serves as a board member of the Southern Boone YMCA and regularly works with the local FFA chapter, according to the September 2023 release.  

Janet M. Thompson

Janet Thompson has been in office for over a decade. She announced she was seeking reelection in October of 2023. 

Thompson is trying to secure her fourth term as Nothern District commissioner. She was first elected to the office in 2012 and won her reelection bids in 2016 and 2020. 

During that time Thompson worked with Sheriff Dwayne Carey to enact Rental Housing Standards. She also cited her leadership roles in the National Association of Counties, and Missouri Association of Counties, something she believes has helped bring resources to Boone. 

“It's so important for local government to hear the voice of the people,” Thompson said. 

Thompson also wants to end the Federal Inmate Medicaid Exclusion Policy, something she believes is putting extra strain on local government. 

“The policy puts such a burden on local government, specifically our sheriffs,” Thompson said. 

The commission's three members are all Democrats. Presiding Commissioner Kip Kendrick was elected in 2022 and his seat will be up for election in 2026.

Cheri Toalson Reisch

Cheri Toalson Reich is a State Representative for Hallsville, serving the 44th District for the last eight years. She was unable to run for the seat again due to term limits. 

“The Missouri House and Senate has term limits,” Reisch said.  “My opponent has been in office 12 years, and I think that's long enough!”

Reisch said she wanted to run after some of her constituents came to her with problems over the last eight years that she couldn't because they were at the county level. She cited increased crime and said her focus would be on public safety and fixing the roads as her biggest priorities.

During the forum, she also boasted about the state money she helped secure for a new daycare for law enforcement. Now she wants to see more money in the county budget aimed toward new vehicles for law enforcement and deputies

“You can't trust this commission. You can't afford to be in this county.  You need to bring common sense fiscal responsibility to this county commission and Sam Turner and I can do that.” 

The Republican announced her bid for the Northern District seat in March. Reisch works as a legal assistant with Cline, Braddock, and Basinger Law Office in Columbia. Previously, Reisch had served as mayor and city clerk/court administrator for the City of Hallsville.