Contested races have opened for seats on the Fayette city council and school board, as well as the Higbee school board. Filings for Glasgow, New Franklin, and Harrisburg school boards, and New Franklin and Harrisburg city councils, were less aggressive. And seats are still left without candidates on the Armstrong and Glasgow boards of aldermen when the filing period closed at 5 p.m. on December 31.

Nobody has filed for seats on the Franklin City Council. The city did not submit its notice of filing to this newspaper until Monday, January 3, three days after the filing period had closed. Howard County Clerk Shelly Howell said the city will consult with its attorney to see what steps it must take before Election Day on April 8.

Three people filed for seats on the Fayette Board of Aldermen in the first hour of the filing period on December 10. Now, voters will have options in three of the four races that will be presented on ballots for the April 8 election. Former councilman Grafton Cook and well-known Fayette citizen Regina Powell will face off to finish the term on the Southwest Ward that was vacated by Leeanna Shiflett in October. The term expires in April 2026.

Mr. Cook was appointed by Mayor Greg Stidham to fill the seat until the April election but was rejected in a 4-1 vote by the remaining councilwomen, leaving citizens in the Southwest Ward underserved until voters decide on election day.

A three-way race has opened up in the Southwest Ward. First-term incumbent Marsha Broadus faces challenges from former alderman and mayor J.B. Waggoner, and former candidate Tristan Head. Broadus was elected to the council by write-in votes in April 2023.

Mr. Waggoner, owner of downtown business Inovatia Laboratory, served for seven years on the city council beginning in the late 90s. After three terms, he was appointed back to the council by then-Mayor Mike Hirsch, who later resigned upon moving out of state. Mr. Waggoner was then appointed as mayor, serving for a year. He formally announces his candidacy in a Letter to the Editor on Page 2 of this newspaper.

Mrs. Head, who formerly ran two downtown restaurants in Fayette, returns as a candidate to the council. She lost by just 19 votes to Shiflett for the open seat on the Southwest Ward in April 2024. She has also spearheaded Fayette’s annual Independence Day Party in the Park for the last two years.

First-term Northwest incumbent Peggy O’Connell faces a challenge from former alderman Pat Roll. Mrs. O’Connell was unopposed in her first election in 2023.

Mr. Roll, who retired as publisher of the Fayette Advertiser in 2018, served on the council from August 2020 to April 2021 after he was appointed to fill out the remaining term vacated by Larry Dimond, who resigned due to health reasons.

The only unopposed candidate for the Fayette city council is David Freese, a newcomer to city politics. He will be unchallenged in his bid for the East Ward seat vacated by longtime councilwoman Stephanie Ford.

Mrs. Ford is currently nearing the end of her fifth term. Leading up to the filing period, she had hinted at not running again but, prior to the deadline, told the Advertiser she had not yet decided.

The Fayette Board of Education will have a three-way race for two seats open in April. Two-term incumbent and current board president Skip Vandelicht has filed for re-election. He will face local chiropractor Aaron Cunningham and Braun Home caretaker Ray Snyder.

Incumbent Matt Hudson will not seek re-election. He served two terms on the Fayette school board, elected as vice president several times. He left after his second term but was appointed back to the board in June when board member Kristen Gibbs moved out of the district.

The final contested race is between four candidates for two seats on the Higbee Board of Education. Incumbent BJ Westfall will face newcomers Amy Perkins, Paige Petersheim, and JoNetta Weaver. Incumbent Robert Whisenand declined to seek another term.

School board members serve three-year terms.

The New Franklin city council and school board each have the same number of candidates as open seats, all incumbents. Ricky Newell (Ward 1), James Painter (Ward 2), and Charli Leach (Ward 3) all filed for new terms on the Board of Aldermen. Kevin Beaman and Kara Schnell both filed for re-election to the Board of Education.

The Glasgow school board has two candidates for two open seats. Board president Bob Draffen filed for another term. Newcomer Jeremiah Johnson will run for the second open seat.

The embattled Glasgow city council had three vacancies as the filing period ended. The only candidate is for the Central Ward. She is former alderwoman Renna Bean, who had been impeached by her fellow council members on November 2, 2023. A judge later overturned the impeachment in May after Mrs. Bean sued the city council. The city was also required to pay $25 per meeting for the meetings she missed, but the judge did not award Mrs. Bean attorney fees. She ran last April for her former seat on the council but was narrowly defeated by outspoken Fayette liquor store owner Jeff Parks by five votes, 21-16.

Full two-year terms representing Glasgow’s East and West Wards, and one year remaining for the other West Ward seat remain open.

The city council has had other setbacks in recent years despite Bean’s lawsuit. Five candidates were thrown off the April 2023 ballot after the Missouri Ethics Commission found they did not file financial interest statements ahead of the deadline. Additionally, former police chief Tyler Polson filed suit against the city for reducing his pay. Mr. Polson recently resigned from his post (see story on Front Page), but the case has not been deposed, according to online court records.

Harrisburg’s school board and Board of Trustees both have the same number of candidates as open seats. Incumbents Hal Fisher and Davin Stidham will run for fresh terms on the Board of Education. Incumbents Lindsey Wilhite, Kevin Fearn, and Susan Bell are each running unopposed for the city council.