Paul Wieland
State Sen. Paul Wieland has withdrawn his bid for the Republican Party’s nomination for county collector and instead filed to run against incumbent Dennis Gannon for county executive in the August primary election.
Wieland, 62, of Imperial has represented the Missouri Senate’s 22nd District, which includes much of north and central Jefferson County, for the past eight years and before that served six years in the state House of Representatives.
He is unable to run for another four-year term in the Senate because of the state’s term limits.
On March 15, Wieland withdrew from the county collector race and filed for the county executive race.
Wieland, who with his wife, Terri, owns an insurance agency in High Ridge, said he initially zeroed in on collector to fulfill a personal promise.
“When I started in politics in 1994, there weren’t that many Republicans, and I told myself that the last thing I wanted to do was run against an incumbent Republican in a primary,” he said.
Wieland said he didn’t consider Michelle Worth a true Republican.
She was appointed to succeed longtime collector Beth Mahn when she stepped down for health reasons. A veteran of the collector’s office, Worth was appointed as a Democrat because under the county’s charter, a vacancy in an elected county office can only be replaced by someone of the same political party.
Worth filed for the full four-year term on March 22 as a Republican.
“It was nothing personal against Michelle Worth,” Wieland said, “but that didn’t sit well with me.”
However, Wieland said, over the last few months, several people have told him they wanted him to consider running for county executive.
He said Gannon and Jefferson County Port Authority representatives recently visited Jefferson City to lobby for more money in the state budget for ports, and he wasn’t impressed with their efforts. He said that was the catalyst for changing his campaign.
“The delegation was unprepared, nonspecific, misleading and, unfortunately, embarrassing,” Wieland said. “It was then I decided we need new, effective leadership for the county.
“This is not a personal attack; this is just facts. I’ve been trying to help the county get more money for ports, and it’s been pretty tough to get the information I need.
“The county officials have been reluctant to share information.”
Gannon said he has a different view of the recent visit to Jefferson City.
“I have no explanation for what he’s said,” Gannon said. “I don’t think I have failed the people of Jefferson County. I worked with Paul’s chief of staff before and during our visit.
“You know, it takes a long time to make some things happen. This is not just like if you show up to work every day, there’s a port. It takes the efforts of a lot of people over a period of time, and that’s what’s happening in Jefferson County.
“Our long efforts are finally paying off, and I really hope that the senator doesn’t try to undermine the progress we’ve made. I’d like to consider that he will not do that.”
Wieland also said the county needs a leader who will stimulate economic growth.
“It seems like every week, I hear about a new Bass Pro Shop or Cabela’s, but they’re always in some other county. I want to help bring them here,” he said.
The Wielands have three adult daughters and three grandchildren.
The county executive, who serves a four-year term, is paid an $84,847 annual salary.
As state senator, Wieland has been paid $35,915 a year plus mileage and $115 per day in expenses for each day the General Assembly is in session.
Filing for the August primary election is scheduled to close on March 29.