Lester elected to Jefferson City Council; charter changes approved

Jefferson City voters elected Mike Lester as the new Ward 2 city councilman and approved four propositions relating to the city charter Tuesday.

Lester won with 45 percent of the vote against his two opponents, Gregory Butler and Aaron Mealy, in the only contested City Council race.

Of 539 voters, 243 voted for Lester, while 186 voted for Mealy and 105 voted for Butler. Five voters wrote in candidates.

Lester has lived in Ward 2 since he and his wife moved to Jefferson City in 2002. Until he retired in 2013, Lester worked remotely for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.

He has served on the Jefferson City Planning and Zoning Commission since 2009 and has helped develop several city plans including the Capital Area Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan, the Historic Southside/Old Munichburg District and Neighborhood Plan, and the Jefferson City Historic Preservation Plan.

Lester has previously highlighted issues including blight and abandoned buildings in the city's older areas, infrastructure and historic preservation. He also hopes to focus on the affordable housing crisis facing the city.

"I constantly heard about infrastructure concerns - roads, sidewalks and stormwater," Lester said.

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Lester is also looking forward to being part of the council as the city pursues two large projects - redevelopment of the Missouri State Penitentiary site and construction of the Bicentennial Bridge to Adrian's Island. While the council already chose an MSP developer to start negotiations with, there are future decisions to be made on both projects.

"I think there's exciting times ahead of us in Jefferson City with the Missouri State Penitentiary project getting going and our bicentennial and the Bicentennial Bridge coming about," Lester said. "I'm looking forward to being involved in all of that."

Lester said he wanted to thank those who voted for him, the people who helped with his campaign and his opponents.

Mealy, a Jefferson City native who works for the Missouri Dept. of Social Services, hoped to create an open communication between residents and the city. Mealy received 186 votes, or 34.51 percent.

"I think connecting people in the community, particularly Ward 2, and creating a larger conversation," Mealy said Tuesday when asked what he hoped his campaign drew attention to.

Butler, a small business owner, received 105 votes, or 19.48 percent. He hopes his campaign showed residents their votes are important.

"My job was to create awareness and let people know that their vote is important," Butler said. "That's what I wanted to accomplish. I do think we can still build off of that."

Ward 1 Councilman Hank Vogt, who joined the council after Rick Prather resigned, was officially elected to his seat for his first full term. He joined the council early by a majority vote of the members due to his race being unopposed.

Ward 3 Councilwoman Erin Wiseman was re-elected for her third term.

Ward 4 Councilman Ron Fitzwater and Ward 5 Councilman Jon Hensley were each re-elected for their second terms.

The following proposed changes to the Jefferson City Charter were also approved.

Proposition A

Proposition A was approved with 64.14 percent of the vote - 1,585 out of 2,471 votes.

It adds incapacity as a reason for removal of the mayor and City Council members and specifies the mayor can't hold any other city office or city employment; and allows for the removal of the mayor by a four-fifths majority vote from the council for the same reasons already given for council members including conviction of a felony, failure to attend three consecutive meetings without just cause, or being incapacitated from fulfilling their duties.

This change will also include a "grandfathering cause" so no current elected or appointed official can lose their office because of a charter change that may disqualify them.

The amendment also includes some language clarification throughout the charter, including the removal of gender-specific language.

Proposition B

Proposition B was approved with 83.43 percent of the vote, or 2,085 out of 2,499 votes.

It amends the residency requirement of the city clerk, city administrator and city counselor, modifying the requirement to allow a six-month grace period for a person to move into the city after appointment. The period could be extended for another six months by the City Council if needed.

Proposition C

Proposition C was approved with 62.38 percent of the vote, or 1,509 out of 2,419 votes.

It changes the legislative procedures of the City Council, giving a primary bill sponsor the sole ability to place a bill on the informal calendar, adding to the code current council practices that any member of the council can call for a full reading of a bill, and any council member can request suspension of the rule requiring 96 hours between first reading and final passage of a bill.

Proposition D

Proposition D was approved with 74.21 percent of the vote, or 1,842 out of 2,482 votes.

It adds language clarifying rules about prohibitions and incompatible offices, stating no former City Council member, mayor, city administrator, city clerk, department director or member of the Parks Commission can hold a compensated, appointive city office or employment until two years after their elected term ends.

This also prohibits the same individuals from being a publicly elected member of the governing body or any political subdivision of the state, member of the Missouri General Assembly or any other statewide office.

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Area election results for June 2, 2020