Incumbent commissioner faces off against state representative in Northern District commissioner race

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Democratic incumbent Janet Thompson is facing off against state Rep. Cheri Toalson Reisch in the Northern District commissioner race in Boone County.

Early voting is currently underway in Missouri and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Janet Thompson

Thompson was first elected to the Nothern District commissioner seat in 2012 and is seeking her fourth term.

"I am a longtime resident of Boone County," Thompson told ABC 17. "My family moved here in 1959 [and] I am a four time graduate of the University of Missouri."

Thompson also served as a public defender for 25 years. Thompson said a lot of voters may not know the exact role of the county commission, and it's important to understand the part the commission plays in the community.

"We oversee the budget process for the county. We oversee the roads and bridges for the county. We oversee all of the buildings and maintenance of the buildings for the county. And we work with all of the other elected officials to make sure that their budgets are part of the budget," Thompson said.

Thompson believes some of the biggest issues for Boone County voters right now are mental health and housing.

"Part of the problem that we see in every county -- and Boone County is no exception -- is that we have folks with mental-health issues and substance use issues," Thompson said. "A larger percentage of the folks who are detained in our county jail have those issues."

Thompson said she's helping create a "reentry navigator" program to help connect people in the county jail with resources so its "not a revolving door."

Thompson touched on her efforts to achieve rental housing standards in Boone County during her time in office. She said having rental housing standards across the county helps reduce crime.

"It's just it's safer for the individual and safer for the community," Thompson said. "There might be a couple of bad apples that don't maintain their property, but people really want to do the right thing."

Thompson believes voters should reelect her to the position again due to her efforts to "work across the aisle."

"County commission work is not partisan ... and if it is, you're doing it wrong," Thompson said. "That's what I've been doing for the last 12 years, is working across those party lines... We are there to serve the people of out of our jurisdiction, not some party politics."

She also says she is familiar with resources available in the county that can help residents.

"The people know me and trust me to get the work done that I put the work first and politics doesn't come into it," Thompson said. "And I think that's the real key, is you have to work for Boone County. You have to work for everyone in Boone County. I believe that everyone in Boone County deserves to thrive."

Thompson encourages voters to come out and share their voice through the entire ballot.

"I know, especially when people see a really long ballot, it's really tempting to just fill in the top of the ballot," Thompson said. "But the stuff that happens at the bottom of the ballot, those county elected positions, those resolutions, those those propositions that are heading people's way. That's really important because that's where the rubber hits the road is local government."

LINK: Watch full interview with Thompson here.

Cheri Toalson Reisch

Toalson Reisch (R-Hallsville) currently represents the 44th Missouri House district, which includes Boone and Randolph counties. She is unable to run for the house seat again due to term limits.

"I am a 42-year public servant here in Boone County, seventh generation," Toalson Reisch said. "My Toalson family came here in 1815. We helped found MU in 1839...and so my roots go very deep here."

Toalson Reisch touched on her experience in government at the city and state levels.

"I'm just finishing up a term as eight year state representative from here in Boone County," Reisch said. "I was four years Mayor of Hallsville prior to that, and I worked as a city clerk court administrator for 30 years before that."

Toalson Resich believes this prior experience in government sets her up well to take over the position of commissioner.

Toalson Reisch said she believes the top jobs of the county commission need to be public safety, public health and infrastructure. She says during her time as a representatives, she has gotten a lot of calls from resident about problems that allegedly fall under the county commission's duties.

"I would have to tell them I'm sorry, that's outside my purview," Toalson Reisch said. "You have to go to your county commission for help. And a lot of it had to do with roads, gravel roads, snow removal during winter, etc."

She noted crime is a major topic of discussion for the county and believes Democratic Boone County Sheriff Dwayne Carey is "doing a wonderful job."

"He's been sheriff 20 years, and I've known him before he was sheriff for probably close to 30 years," Toalson Reisch said. "I just think we need more resources, more deputies on the road, more cars. You know, keep looking on what we can do to work together with City of Columbia Police."

Another topic Toalson Reisch believes is important to voters is homelessness. According to the Boone County Coalition to End Homelessness, around 450 people in the county are homeless. This number has more than doubled since August 2023.

"A lot of it is either mental issues or drug and alcohol issues," Toalson Reisch said. "I run a law firm in Downtown Columbia and a lot of the homeless, you know, kind of camp out down there, walk by, and I interact with them. I talk to them. I always ask them, Where are you from? They're not from Boone County. They're not from Columbia. Most are not even from Missouri."

Toalson Reisch believes to help solve the issue, individuals should have guardianships and enter a facility to receive help with addiction.

"You know, you can't force someone to get off drugs, but maybe if they need to be in a drug treatment program, we have a great, at the court level drug treatment programs," she said.

Toalson Reisch said if elected, she wants to completely freeze senior property taxes.

"I have been doing the petition to freeze seniors property taxes fully because this county commission, I'll just say, lied, misled," Toalson Reisch said. "And in the dark of night, passed a partial freeze and it was very misleading. And so I'm going to put it back on the April ballot. The people will pass it."

LINK: Watch full interview with Toalson Reisch here.