To assist voters to make informed choices in the June 2 municipal election (rescheduled from April) and to accommodate those who wish to cast absentee ballots, the Leader will present its Voters Guide on its website. Each day, a new contested race or ballot issue will be posted at myleaderpaper.com.
Absentee voting for the June 2 election is open now. Absentee voters can cast their ballots at the Jefferson County Administration Center, 729 Maple St., Hillsboro, or by mail. The deadline to request a mail-in absentee ballot is May 20. To request a mail-in ballot or for other information concerning the election, call the Jefferson County Clerk’s Office at 636-797-5486.
Today, we focus on Festus municipal races. Tomorrow, a look at a ballot issue in Herculaneum aimed at bolstering police and fire protection.
Voters in only one of Festus’ four wards on the City Council will have a decision to make in the June 2 election, although it might not appear that way at the polls.
In Ward 2, Brian Wehner is running for a third three-year term and the ballot will list his opponent as former board member Tim Montgomery.
However, Montgomery has been disqualified from serving on the council after it was discovered he had not paid all of his taxes.
Because ballots for the election, originally scheduled for April but postponed until June because of the coronavirus pandemic, have been printed, Montgomery’s name will appear as a choice for Ward 2 voters. If he attracts more votes than Wehner, the other City Council members will appoint a replacement.
Montgomery said he was unaware he owed any taxes.
Festus City Administrator Greg Camp said the Missouri Department of Revenue issued a statement that Montgomery had failed to comply with state law that requires all candidates to be current in their state income taxes, personal property taxes, municipal taxes and property taxes. He said the state did not specify what taxes Montgomery failed to pay.
Montgomery served three term on the council before he was defeated in April 2017.
Wehner, 65, was appointed to the Ward 2 seat to fill a vacancy and then elected to his first regular two-year term in 2016.
In Ward 1, Gary Underwood is running unopposed for his sixth term, and James E. Tinnin also faces no opponent in his bid for a sixth term. This is the fourth time that no opponent has surfaced to challenge him.
That leaves Ward 3 as the only race on June 2. The seat is open after Bill Gray opted against running for another term.
Gray, the former foreman for the city’s Water Department, was appointed to fill a vacancy in late 2016, then faced no opposition in April 2017 to serve the final year of that term. He again was elected in April 2018.
Seeking to replace him are Robert (Bobby) Venz and Marcus Shepherd. Venz represented Ward 3 for 14 years before running unsuccessfully for mayor in April 2019. Shepherd also has been a member of the Festus R-6 Board of Education since 2008.
Neither Venz nor Shepherd returned a Leader candidate questionnaire.
Also up for re-election is Lori Eisenbeis, who faces no opposition in her bid for a fifth straight two-year term as treasurer.
Council members are paid $300 per month and the treasurer $150 per month.