Four file in City Council race
Less than a year after last April’s municipal election ushered in a new, younger majority on the Maryville City Council, more change is on the way for the municipal governing board.
At the close of the filing period Tuesday to get on the April 7 ballot, four people, including incumbent Jerry Riggs, had declared their intention to seek two open council seats, each carrying a three-year term.
The departure of Jeff Funston, who will not run for re-election, means that the five-member panel will acquire at least one new member this spring.
In addition to Riggs, a local accountant, the list of candidates includes Michael Baumli, Jason McDowell and Elizabeth Hawkins.
Funston, most recently elected to the council in April 2012, has lived in Maryville for 58 years. A retired businessman and engineering project manager, Funston served previous terms on the council in the late 1970s and early 1990s.
Riggs, who also has earlier council experience, is asking voters to return him to City Hall for a full term in his own right after being appointed in July 2014 to succeed Glenn Jonagan, who resigned a year into his second term.
The remainder of the current council includes Renee Riedel, now serving a one-year term as mayor, Tim Shipley and Rachael Martin.
Of the three council candidates seeking office for the first time, Michael Baumli is a network and security administrator at Kawasaki Motors who has been a Maryville homeowner since 2003.
A graduate of West Nodaway R-1 High School in Burlington Junction, Baumli holds an associate degree in computer programming from Vatterott College in St. Joseph and has served on the advisory board for Vatterott’s computer science and networking technology program for more than ten years.
Elizabeth Hawkins moved to Maryville from Montana 13 years ago and subsequently earned a master’s degree in business administration from Northwest Missouri State University. A financial services professional, she is a former president of the Greater Maryville Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and served as the chamber’s representative on the Nodaway County Economic Development board.
Other civic activities have included involvement in the Northwest Missouri Home & Better Living Show, Maryville Marathon & Chamber Country Classic, and Downtown Sounds summer concert series.
The third newcomer, Jason McDowell, is a 20-year Maryville resident and Northwest alumnus. For the past decade, he has taught science at Maryville Middle School and also served as assistant director of the ACES Alternative School.
Of the four candidates, Riggs is the only lifelong city resident. He is a partner in the local accounting firm of Marsh, Espey, & Riggs and prior to his appointment last year served two elective terms on the council in the 1990s, which included two one-year stints as mayor.
Major issues for the city during Riggs’ earlier service included construction of Mozingo Lake and the establishment of the Maryville Treatment Center, a minimum security prison operated by the Missouri Department of Corrections.
Unlike the City Council, there will be no personnel changes this year on the Maryville R-II Board of Education. At the close of filing on Tuesday, incumbents Frank Grispino and Elaine Wilson had both entered the race for new three-year terms without opposition.
