7 seek signatures for Joplin council candidacy so far

Debby Woodin, The Joplin Globe, Mo.
·2 min read

Nov. 23—Seven residents, including two incumbents, have signified interest in election or reelection to the Joplin City Council by obtaining petitions of nomination from the city clerk's office.

Five of the council's nine seats will be filled in the April 2 election. Those include two general seats currently held by Christina Williams and Keenan Cortez. General seats can be filled by any qualified resident who lives within the city limits.

Two of the others to be on the ballot are zone seats. Those are the Zone 2 seat currently held by Charles "Chuck" Copple and the Zone 3 seat held by Phil Stinnett. Candidates for zone seats must live in those zones. Zone 2 represents the west side of the city and Zone 3 the east side.

In addition, the unexpired term of Kate Spencer will be on the ballot. She submitted her resignation from a general seat last week, and the council accepted the resignation Monday night. The council also decided to appoint someone to serve in the seat temporarily until the election. Applications are now being taken for a council appointment. The deadline to apply is Nov. 30, and the council will appoint someone in December.

Two of the seven who have obtained petitions for potential candidacies seek the two-year unexpired term. They are Joshua Bard and Jeffery Salem.

Two also have indicated interest in the Zone 3 seat held by Stinnett. They are Steve Urie-Ross and Ryan Jackson.

Copple and Cortez have obtained petitions for the seats they currently hold.

Another potential candidate for a general seat is Jon Thomas Buck.

All the seats except Spencer's unexpired term are for four years.

To be eligible as candidates, residents must be qualified voters and have been a Joplin resident for at least four years immediately before the election. Those seeking election will be required to show their voter identification card to the city clerk when applying for the election.

Those interested in candidacy must obtain nominating petitions from the city clerk and collect signatures of registered voters who are city residents.

General seat candidates must obtain 150 signatures from registered Joplin voters who live anywhere in the city. Zone candidates must obtain half of the 150 signatures from those who live in the zone. The petitions must be returned to the clerk with the adequate signatures by 5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 9, to be placed on the ballot.

The city clerk can provide a booklet on council election guidelines to those interested. That information also is available under the City Council link on the city's webpage at www.joplinmo.org.

For more information, contact the clerk on the second floor of City Hall, 602 S. Main St., or call that office at 624-0820, ext. 1220.