The Jefferson County Council on Monday chose Tim Bennett Jr. of Festus to fill the District 5 seat vacated by Scott Seek. Bennett will represent the district through the end of the year.
Seek, a Republican, stepped down after the Jan. 12 meeting amid controversy over his vote to reappoint his father to the Jefferson County Port Authority Board of Commissioners, an unpaid volunteer position.
Seek was elected to the seat in November 2022. He was appointed to the seat early to fill the vacancy left open when Tracey Perry resigned in April 2022.
His seat is up for election again at the August primary. As of Tuesday, Bennett, Anthony Pousosa and John Jay Lee have filed as Republicans for the primary. No Democrats have filed. District 5 covers the southeastern portion of the county, including Festus, Crystal City and Herculaneum.
The council voted 4-0 to appoint Bennett to the seat until the elected candidate is sworn in at the first regular meeting in January. Councilmen Charles Groeteke (District 4, Barnhart) and Tim Brown (District 6, De Soto) abstained from voting.
Bennett was sworn in at the Monday meeting and immediately took his seat on the dais, voting on several resolutions and bills with the council.
Lee and Pousosa, along with Misty Whetsone, Grant Winnett and Douglas Reuther, also applied for the seat.
To be considered, applicants had to be affiliated with the Republican party, since Seek was an elected Republican, a registered Jefferson County voter, a District 5 resident, and at least 24 years old, among other stipulations.
Bennett, 39, is an auditor with Torch Electronics. He has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and worked for 10 years as a police officer. He is currently on the Festus Planning and Zoning Board and is the director of flag football for Festus Tigers Youth Football. He’s also on the homeowner’s association board for his subdivision. Bennett and his wife, Stephanie, have three children.
Bennett said he’s lived in the county since he was 2 years old and deeply cares about its future.
“This is where I’m raising my family, and I care about the decisions that affect my family,” he said. “I want my children to be able to call this county home, as I have, and I don’t want them to feel like they have to leave the county for opportunity. This county means a great deal to me, and I want to be a part of the next generation that helps maintain its character.”
Bennett told the council that, while he had filed to run for the Ward 3 seat for the Festus City Council on the April 7 ballot, he now has no intention of accepting that position if elected.
“I had no intention of running against Councilman Seek when he was sitting in the seat,” he said. “After learning of his resignation and signing up to run out here for the county, I wasn’t able to withdraw and pull my name off the (April) ballot. I am not campaigning for it. I’ve gotten a lot of phone calls about it, and have told them to, you know, figure out who else they would like to vote for.”
In the eight or so months that Bennett will represent District 5, he said he’d like to focus on bringing more family-friendly developments to his area.
“There are some spots in Pevely that would probably be suited,” he said. “The old Sun Valley Sports Complex has become pretty overrun with weeds, and I think there’s room to try to bring some stuff down in there. I know they used to hold softball and baseball tournaments quite a bit. It was a really good family atmosphere, and I’d like to see that return.”
Several council members thanked the candidates for applying and sitting through about five hours of interviews Monday night.
“To those who sought the appointment but are also signed up for the election: I was sitting right where you are,” Councilman Billy Crow (District 2, Arnold) said. “I lost the appointment, and then the next year, I ran for the election. So don’t lose heart. It’s just all part of the process of democracy.”
“There were a lot of tough questions asked, and I would say, 15 years ago, if I had applied for the position I currently have and had to answer those questions, I probably couldn’t answer any of them,” Groeteke added. “It’s a tough job. Thank you all for applying.”