By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
St. Joseph voters choose among plenty of candidates to fill four at-large seats on the city council.
Nine names appear on the primary ballot Tuesday, February 8th.
This is the second of our two-part series on the field.
Incumbent Brenda Blessing touts the council’s work renovating bridges, improving city parks, and distributing coronavirus relief funds. She says she’s still learning, still asking questions.
“I think I’ve done a good job,” Blessing says during her time on the KFEQ Hotline. “I’ve tried to represent people, tried to voice their concerns and so on and I’d like to, you know, I’m proud of St. Joe. There’s St. Joe pride and I have that.”
Blessing insists the council has done a lot and needs to keep pushing in that direction.
Business owner Kenton Randolph believes there needs to be a change. Randolph says the city council faces complex problems.
“I want the ability to sit down and to go through these complex problems that we’re facing as a city,” Randolph says no the Hotline. “I can look at it, because of my business philosophy, my background, and what I’m doing to try to retain employees.”
Randolph, who owns Randolph Seating and Mobility, says the city needs to change the way it is doing things.
Not so, says Council member Marty Novak, currently the District 2 council member who is now running for an at-large seat. Novak says he has been working extremely hard the last four years, attempting to better the city.
“It’s been tough,” Novak tells the KFEQ Hotline audience. “You’ve got to remember, too, we came from a flood and then we went to a now two-year pandemic and that’s kind of been a bit of a handicap. But, continue to work very hard and try to do the right thing.”
Novak says he is committed to the betterment of the city, including its beautification.
Randy Schultz says he will bring his experience in the construction business to work for the city. He says that if St. Joseph wants to keep the downtown momentum going, it needs to be more business friendly.
“You have old buildings built in the 1800s. Well, those buildings aren’t going to go anywhere. They’re pretty well in good shape,” Schultz tells the Hotline. “So, I think if we can have a different type of building to go down there, help the people that want to build. They want to put their money downtown and it’s expensive.”
Schultz says the city council needs to concentrate on reducing crime and litter.
None of the candidates expressed interest in tearing down the I-229 double-decker bridge in downtown St. Joseph and go with alternatives proposed by the Missouri Department of Transportation. All want to keep the interstate designation.
The number of candidates running for the four at-large seats on the St. Joseph City Council will be narrowed by only one in next week’s primary. A candidate can be elected to a seat outright if he or she receives a majority of the ballots cast next week.
Click here to read our story on the other at-large candidates.