There could be some competition over who will represent downtown and south Cape Girardeau on the city council next year.
Four people have picked up petitions to run for the Ward 2 city council seat. As of Tuesday afternoon, Andrew Bard, Gelanie Lockhart, Rocky Everett and Donald Howard, Junior have petitions to run for the seat that’s currently held by Meg Davis. She’s not running for re-election because she is moving out of the ward.
Andrew Bard owns Computer 21. He doesn’t have previous political experience, but says running a profitable small business and maintaining customer relationships will help him.
“Any political position, really, is about finding compromise between what people want and what the budget allows. I’ve done that for my customers going on 14 years now,” Bard said.
Bard said that if elected, a new police station would be a top priority.
“I just want something to do that’s a little more positive. I own a business in town, I’m a taxpayer, whatever. I just want to do something where I’m giving back a little bit,” Bard said.
Rocky Everett works as an executive manager at Heartland Spine and he served four years in the Army, including deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. He and his wife own Annie Laurie’s Antiques and he’s running for council because he wants to help grow the downtown business community.
“The biggest goal I want to do is improve Broadway, the Broadway corridor, and put more businesses on Broadway,” Everett said. “Make it more user-friendly. Make it more where people can walk and down the street and get excited about it. Right now, there’s just not enough growth on Broadway to really justify the Broadway corridor.”
Both Bard and Everett are circulating their petitions to gather the required 50 signatures to put them on the ballot.
Gelanie Lockhart has not yet committed to a campaign, but says she is leaning towards running.
Donald Howard, Junior couldn’t be reached for comment on Tuesday. He regularly attends city council meetings, where he expresses his concerns about crime, lighting and overcrowded houses on Cape Girardeau’ssouthside. He ran in a three-way race for city council four years, but lost to Davis.
Mayor Harry Rediger and Councilman Wayne Bowen are running for re-election. Walter White is considering a run for mayor.