Election Filing Is Complete For April Ballot

By ERIC X. VICCARO

eviccaro@stegenherald.com

As it turned out, Ste. Genevieve Board of Alderman Ward 1 incumbent Gary Smith opted not to run for re-election.

Smith’s Ste. Genevieve R-II School District colleague Kristi Cleghorn filed for the Ward 1 spot on Monday, Dec. 27.

The general municipal election will take place on April 5, in the incorporated communities of Ste. Genevieve, St. Mary and Bloomsdale. There also will be elections in the R-II school district and for elected positions in the county.

Cleghorn serves the school district as a special education instructor, who also helps guide Ste. Genevieve’s Unified Sports program. Smith is a business and technology teacher.

Ward 2’s Bob Donovan and Joe Prince (Ward 4) both filed right out of the gate in early December — when the process first opened up. Ward 3’s Jeff Eydmann filed on Dec. 14.

Ste. Genevieve City Clerk Pam Meyer noted Cleghorn, Donovan, Eydmann and Prince all will run unopposed. The term covers two years.

In St. Mary, all the incumbents filed — Mayor Carl Wyatt, Ward 1’s Ron Barnett and Annette Hacker in Ward 2.

During board of aldermen meetings, Wyatt typically provides police updates, Hacker covers the fire department and Barnett the street department.

There are no contested elections in St. Mary, with the last one two years ago when Gloria Bader and Wyatt deadlocked at 37-all in a 2019 municipal election. Former St. Mary Aldermen Paul Franklin also received 10 votes.

That forced a special run-off several weeks later, with Wyatt defeating Bader, 58-45. 

Wyatt is currently serving a third term as mayor, which includes a previous stretch from 1997-2005. 

St. Mary City Clerk David Woods reports the community will not need to have an election because “ number of candidates equals the number of openings.” Aldermanic terms cover one- or two-year cycles.

Still, St. Mary’s will be a polling place due to of other elections throughout the county.

Bloomsdale City Clerk Lynnette Randoll reported incumbents will run unopposed, with John Schweigert in Ward 1 and Chris “Sappy” Basler Ward 2.

Randoll reported there only has been one contested race in Bloomsdale since 2006. 

However, there have been times when new board members have been appointed because said aldermen couldn’t complete the term.

Both Woods and Randoll told the Herald there will be no referendum questions on the ballot. 

For the R-II school district, incumbents Terry McDaniel and Richard Rudloff opted not to run for re-election.

There are six candidates running for a pair of openings, with Samuel Barbagallo and Brad Arnold both filing on the final day, Dec. 28.

Barbagallo turned in his paperwork at 11:53 a.m. that day, and Arnold at 12:36 p.m. Joshua Gettinger filed at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 15.

Others who filed early were Jamie Ballew, Michael Stoll and Larry Pfaff, Jr., back on either Dec. 7 or Dec. 8.

Both Ballew and Pfaff ran for board spots last year.