Here's what candidates in contested Boone County races said about their goals for office
The Columbia and Boone County League of Women Voters wants to ensure Boone County residents are informed about the August primary.
To this end, the group held a candidate forum in a hybrid format Thursday evening at the Daniel Boone Regional Library, along with virtually through Zoom and broadcast by KFRU 1400 AM and KOPN 89.5 FM.
County residents heard from candidates in contested races.
David Lile, who retired in February after hosting the KFRU morning show for 25 years, served as moderator. The August primary likely is to have considerable turnout, Lile said, as it also is part of the mid-term congressional election process.
"It could be up to 40% voting in our August primary with this kind of a ballot," Lile said.
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Another candidate forum is planned by the league in October once party nominations are set following the Aug. 2 primary.
Contested races include those for Boone County presiding commissioner, recorder of deeds and Division 10 associate circuit judge.
Since the presiding commissioner race on the Democratic side is uncontested, Kip Kendrick was not part of Thursday's forum. Conversely for the recorder post, Republican Shamon Jones did not participate due to the uncontested race on that ticket.
There is no Republican candidate for the associate circuit, so the winner in August will be the next Division 10 judge. This position oversees the family and juvenile court docket.
Boone County presiding commissioner
Connie Leipard and James Pounds as Republican candidates both focused on fiscal responsibility in their answers to league and audience questions Thursday.
The means by which each would like to see this achieved differs, however.
Pounds railed against ongoing development and building code updates adopted by the county commission, which he alleged were part of what is driving up construction costs and in turn passed on to residents. He also wants to to see cuts to county taxation rates as a means of reducing resident cost-of-living expenses.
"I'd just be one person on a board but I would strongly be an advocate for doing that," Pounds said, adding tax cuts would also mean looking at departmental budget cuts where necessary.
Even with that assertion, Pounds said he is open-minded to suggestions from any and all staff on how to save money.
Leipard said she is thinking about the long-term impacts of inflation.
"We have been for more than two years in the construction industry dealing with very high rates of inflation," she said. Both Leipard and Pounds are owners of Boone County-based construction companies. "Those (inflation) costs are going to eat into the county budget, no question."
Moving forward, the county has to be prepared for the possibility of another recession, she said.
"Is it going to be a soft or hard landing? I don't know. I am not an economist," Leipard said, adding the county will have to gauge budgets with these considerations in mind. "As a business owner, I have lived through recessions. There are going to be difficult decisions to make."
Boone County recorder of deeds
Three Democrats are seeking the nomination in hopes of following Nora Dietzel, who is retiring after serving eight years as recorder.
They are Shannon Martin, Bob Nolte and Nick Knoth.
Martin is a deputy recorder, serving in that role the past four years. Nolte is a 10-year veteran with the University of Missouri Athletics Office of Compliance. Knoth has various governmental experience, along with being a licensed real estate agent and notary.
Each candidate wants to make changes to the office. Priorities are different, though, among the trio.
Martin wants to see the software used by the county for record digitization overhauled due to its age. A staff member in the recorder's office helped create the program, she said. Martin also touted her experience within the recorder's office, noting she has a four-year jump on training when compared to her fellow candidates.
Nolte wants to focus on updates to record security, along with making some office processes available online, such as marriage license requests. He also wants to provide more public education on recorder services and legislation such as HB 1662 to remove restrictive racial deed covenants.
Knoth has a two-pronged approach to departmental updates. One is modernizing processes, while the other is access equity. The former includes moving more capability online, while the latter is about changing office hour availability and community outreach.
Division 10 judge
Whether Angela Peterson or Kayla Jackson-Williams is selected as the Division 10 judge, it will be history-making, as either would be the first Black judge in the county.
The focus of the forum, though, was not on that historic aspect, but their legal experience and why they seek a seat on the bench.
Peterson received degrees in accounting prior to her getting her law degree in 1999. She has worked in Boone County legal circles for the past 22 years, including at Mid-Missouri Legal Services as its litigation director and now at Columbia Family Law Group.
Jackson-Williams started in family law before transitioning to criminal defense as a public defender. Her current career is in civil litigation at Rogers Ehrhardt Attorneys at Law, along with an adjunct professorship at the University of Missouri School of Law. She has lived and worked in Boone County for over a decade.
Amid the conversations surrounding alleged judicial bias following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization U.S. Supreme Court decision reversing Roe v. Wade, both Peterson and Jackson-Williams said they remain committed to only using case law and precedence when making decisions on a case.
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Their party affiliation will not influence their work, they said.
The main point of a judge is to listen, Peterson said, so they can apply the law to the presented facts. Her experience before a variety of judges has been an education, she said.
"I have learned something from every one of (my courtroom) appearances," Peterson said.
Jackson-Williams touted her litigation experience, including in the family and adult abuse and neglect courts.
"I understand what it is to be a litigator, to be in the courtroom all the time," she said. "I believe I have the skill base to take on any kind of case with my diverse legal background."
Charles Dunlap covers local government, community issues and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Please consider subscribing to support vital local journalism.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Candidate forum held on contested Boone County primary races
