Tracey Perry, a former District 5 Jefferson County Council member, will be the county’s new public administrator, replacing Steve Farmer, who will retire this month.
Jefferson County Executive Dennis Gannon announced on May 10 that he appointed Perry to fill the job through 2024, when Farmer’s third term in the elected position expires.
Voters will be asked in the August 2024 primary election to choose a candidate from each political party to run for the position in the general election in November 2024.
Farmer’s last day is now scheduled for May 22, and Perry is scheduled to take over on May 23.
The Public Administrator’s Office serves as the guardian or conservator for those with mental disabilities and those with no family or friends to handle their affairs, and the office takes charge when they die without a will or family.
The public administrator is paid an $88,703 annual salary.
Gannon said he chose Perry out of “six or seven applicants” because her background fit the job.
“We had several great candidates, but at the end of the day, it came down to who was the most qualified, and that is Tracey Perry,” he said. “We want to thank everyone who expressed interest and applied for the position.”
Perry, 55, of De Soto is a social worker for the Festus Manor nursing home and previously worked as a social worker/case manager with Jefferson Memorial Hospital (now Mercy Hospital Jefferson) in Crystal City. She served in the Army for 22 years, retiring as a major in 2007.
She has a master’s degree in human resources management from Keller Graduate School of Management (in Illinois) and a bachelor’s degree in social work from St. Leo University in St. Leo, Fla.
Perry said she is leaving Festus Manor to become the public administrator.
“I’ve always been interested in the public administrator’s position,” she said. “(The public administrator’s responsibilities) are what I do on a daily basis.”
Perry, who previously served on the Jefferson R-7 Board of Education, said she has been involved in public service for many years.
“This will be a first for me, to be a full-time public servant,” she said.
Perry said she looks forward to helping those served by the Public Administrator’s Office.
“I will be serving the very vulnerable population, representing those who do not have a voice,” she said.
The Public Administrator’s Office has a staff of six.
Perry said Farmer will show her the ropes before he leaves.
“I’m shadowing him and his team,” she said. “He has graciously consented to keep contact with me after he leaves.”
Perry said she will split time at Festus Manor and the Public Administrator’s Office in the days leading up to Farmer’s retirement.
She said she intends to seek election to the office in 2024.
Perry served on the Jefferson R-7 Board of Education from 2017 to 2020.
She served on the County Council from 2019 to 2022, resigning in April 2022, when she said she had been harassed over questions about her place of residence.
She said that controversy will have no bearing on her job as public administrator.
“I have not had any trouble from (her critics) since then,” Perry said. “I feel that was a political issue. That should not in any way affect me as public administrator.”
She said she appreciates Gannon appointing her to the job.
Under the county charter, the county executive appoints people to fill vacated elected seats without the need for approval from the County Council.
Farmer said he is resigning so he has more time to help family members with health conditions.
